Warmer weather is here, and for my dolls that means it's time to get out the collection of mistreated individuals in need of stain removal. 

I spotted this girl in a lot of doll heads in need of TLC. There were several great dolls in the lot, but this Barbie styled by Chriselle Lim was the main prize. Her face was stained and her lipstick had rubbed off, but I thought she was definitely worth saving!

➡️ Swipe to see each step of her transformation.

It's neither a costly, nor a complicated process, but it does require some time and patience.

You need:

✳️ A stained doll face (or a hand, or a shoe - items made of flexible vinyl only). The method is effective for most kinds of deep staining, the kind that seeps into the plastic, bleeds out and can't be removed with pure alcohol or acetone. Marker and human makeup are probably the most common culprits.

✳️ 10% Benzoyl peroxide cream, mine is an acne cream.

✳️ Cling wrap, a ziploc bag, or something similar.

✳️ An undisturbed, sunny spot.

The process:

Clean your subject with soap and water. Apply a generous amount of benzoyl peroxide cream directly on the stained areas. It's probably safest to avoid the face paint, but I haven't (yet) had any issues with the paint fading. The cream is only effective when it's wet, so make sure the layer isn't so thin it'll dry out. Wrap the whole item in cling wrap to keep the area moist, and to trap heat. Place your item in a warm, sunny spot for the day to let it work, and voila! Now you just need to unwrap and clean it.

Sometimes a stain is more stubborn and requires repeated treatments. In the case of my featured doll, it only took a day to clean her right up. She does still have a few tiny black spots around her eyes, but I don't really mind. I think they give her character. Maybe I'll add more freckles in the future... 

Acne Cream for stain removal