Care

How to look after your American Girl/Boy doll, the clothes and accessories

The dolls, clothes and accessories from the American Girl brand are quite expensive to buy, however if you take good care of them, they will last for generations. One day they might even be worth more than the price you originally paid for it. For example, a Pleasant Company (that was the name of the American girl brand from 1986-1998, after which it was sold to Mattel) Molly (a historical character) doll can be found on e-Bay for thousands of dollars. Also, second hand American Girl dolls that are not collectors’ items are sold on average for 80 up to 200 euros. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can find a doll for 40 euros, but this is quite rare. Never cut off any labels on your American Girl items as this makes them less valuable. You should also not cut off the neck-strings on your American Girl/Boy for the same reason.

Care

The dolls have vinyl heads, arms, and legs, which you can clean by just washing them with a wet cloth with only water (or with a tiny bit of mild soap on it). They have a cotton cloth body with stuffing inside. You should not wash your doll entirely; it is better to keep your doll as clean as possible. If it does get dirty and you really want to wash the body, you must take the head off (and optional the arms and legs), take the stuffing out and then you can gently wash her cloth body in lukewarm water with a tiny bit of washing powder. You can find a lot of videos on how to do this on YouTube.

You can wash the hair of your American Girl/Boy doll, but again I would advice not to do this if it is not necessary. Only wash the hair if it is dirty and make sure no water gets into the eyes. The eyes of the dolls have tiny metal parts in them to make them open and close and they shouldn’t get wet as they might get rusty and then your doll’s eyes will not easily open and close anymore. Therefore, you should never wash the entire doll. You can check on YouTube again what is the best way of washing your doll’s hair.

The hair on your American Girl Doll is a wig, which is securely attached to the head. It is like high quality wigs created for real people. Made from a blend of acrylic fibres of different colours and textures, it maintains styles well and creates a rich variation of colours just like on a human head. When you brush the hair, you should use a brush that is only ushed for your doll (not your own brush as it can be a bit greasy from your own hair). Before brushing your doll’s hair spray, it with a little bit of water to make it a bit moisture or damp. Then, take hold of a small section of hair near the ends. Gently brush out the tangles. Keep brushing small sections, working your way up toward the base of the wig, but always brushing down toward the ends. If the hair is wavy, be very gentle at the ends of the hair to help preserve the curl. Be careful brushing the hair on top of your doll’s head as the brush can scratch over the wig and damage it. If you use a pin brush you should only use one that doesn’t have sharp ends (normally the pins are covered with a tiny ball of plastic).

Also, the clothes you should only wash, when necessary, as each time you wash them, they get a little bit more worn out. Always try to keep your American Girl doll clothes as clean as possible and they will last for years and years. As an example, I have the ‘American Girl of Today Earth Day Outfit’ which retired in 1998 and still looks brand new, already being 24 years old.

The dolls come with lots of accessories and sets, which will also last for years if you look after them carefully. The animals are stuffed toys, and you should try and keep them clean as well, as especially the older animals (like Licorice (cat) and Coconut (dog) don’t like to be washed. The newer pets can be washed a bit more easily (just soaking in lukewarm water with a little bit of washing powder, rinse well with clean water), but I would still advise you not to wash them if it is not necessary as they will not look as nice anymore after washing.

Please look after your American Girl/Boy items carefully and they will last for years and years.

 

Kind regards Maaike Elizabeth