Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Denise's Elective Procedure

Denise's original hairline and lips


Based on online images of the actual doll, I wasn't too sure I would add Denise, friend of Fashion Madness Kenya, to my collection until seeing her in person.  Even then, I still wasn't overly enthused about her hairline, the thinness of her lips, but particularly the too pale lip color that clashed with her appearance of white teeth.

I restyled her hair twice in an attempt to conceal her awkward-looking hairline.  Someone mentioned, and I agree, that her hairline makes her look "like those chicks that pull their lace fronts down way too far..." 

In the first restyle, I removed the rubber band from the top of her head that held hair strands from both sides of her head to create a top ponytail (not illustrated).


Next, I took these loose side strands and connected them with a rubber band at the nape of her neck.  This holds the strands closer to her face and creates a better appearing hairline as illustrated above.

THE PROCEDURE
To correct Denise's thin lips and pale color, I decided to enlarge them and fill in the teeth with acrylic paint.  The procedure is outlined below in the fashion of an operative procedure.  In order to maintain the flow of reading, photos of some of the steps are included below the description.



PRE-PROCEDURE DIAGNOSIS
Thin, pale lips with appearance of teeth

POST-PROCEDURE DIAGNOSIS
Correction of thin, pale lips with removal of appearance of teeth

PROCEDURE PERFORMED
Cosmetic lip enhancement

SURGEON
DBG, dollologist

ANESTHESIA
None – she is permanently anesthetized.

COMPLICATIONS
None

DISPOSITION
Back to doll room in satisfactory, improved condition.

ESTIMATED VINYL LOSS
None

SPECIMEN
None

INDICATIONS FOR PROCEDURE
Denise is an 11-1/2-inch fashion doll from the Fashion Madness Kenya line.  Her original thin lips with pale lip coloring and appearance of teeth were not very attractive to her or her new owner.   She desired a lip enhancement to hopefully accentuate her beauty.  Prior to the procedure, “before” photographs were taken.  Additional photographs were taken post-procedure.  Indications, risks, and benefits of the procedure were reviewed.  An informed consent was signed, which outlined possible complications of malformation due to over-enhancement and other unimaginable events.  No guarantees were implied or made.   

DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURE
Denise was taken to the procedure room and placed in the supine position.  Several applications of acrylic paint in the desired color mix (fuchsia) were applied above and onto her existing lips.   Additional layers of paint were applied to the midsection of her mouth to cover her teeth and to bump up that area. 

Midway through the procedure, after several layers of acrylic paint had been applied; the dollologist exchanged the use of acrylic paint for white dimensional paint.  The puffy texture of the dimensional paint,  expedited the lip enhancement, achieving the desired fuller-lip effect.  A timeout was allowed before additional fuchsia acrylic paint was used to cover the dried dimensional paint.  After another timeout, a one-layer application of Mod Podge sealed the paint for a matte finish.

Denise tolerated the procedure without difficulty.  She was transferred to the doll room in satisfactory condition where she put on new shoes and had additional photographs taken.   After seeing her new lips, Denise expressed her sincere gratitude and opinion that the appearance of her lips is now a cross between the lips of Kim Kardashian and Naomi Campbell.


PHOTO DOCUMENTATION
Several layers of acrylic paint applied
Dimensional paint used to expedite the enhancement
Fuchsia paint covers the white dimensional paint
Profile view
For shadowing, a dash of contrasting paint was added to the center of Denise's mouth followed by a few strokes of a lighter color to the lower lip for highlights.  Lastly, Mod Podge was added as a sealant.


As a refresher, Denise's "before" photo is combined with her post-procedure photograph (click to enlarge any -- except the first -- photograph.

Denise took one final photograph to show off her new shoes, which are a perfect match for her dress.
New shoes borrowed from Barbie
Surgeon's Assessment:  The lips are not perfect (not as smooth as I'd like).  I may have been a little heavy-handed with the enhancement, too impatient to allow the acrylic paint to dry between layers, and I probably should have removed the flat paint after discovering the dimensional paint worked better.  But as indicated above, Denise and I are more pleased with these than we were with her manufactured lips.

The dimensional paint was already on hand because I had planned to use it to create a molded hairstyle.  That has not happened yet, but probably will happen as soon as a doll patient is in need.


dbg

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11 comments:

  1. It may not come out exactly as you wanted, but the concept and procedure are there. great Idea.

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    1. You're right, TGM. For me, most things done by hand on the first attempt do not turn out exactly like I plan, but I am always willing to try. If I don't try, I'll never know the outcome and will not be able to improve the process should I attempt to do it again.

      dbg

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    2. As they say, "nothing beats a failure but a try."

      dbg

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  2. You did a great job, DBG! Denise looks much better. Thanks for sharing your technique for the improvement.

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  3. *clap clap clap* Very happy to have been in the observation gallery of this procedure. I really like the contrasting paint and the hair is much improved.

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    1. I am so glad you were able to observe the procedure, Muff.

      It was your use of modeling paste that led to my idea to use the dimensional paint for hair molding, which is still a TIP (thought in progress). The dimensional paint is only a couple of dollars a bottle as opposed to the more expensive modeling paste. I wanted to go cheap first to test the molding waters.

      dbg

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  4. Very funny quip about lace front wigs. Denise's elective procedure was a resounding success!

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  5. Great job Debbie! I agree with you, she looks much better after her surgery. The procedue was on point but oh so hilarious. Lol!

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    1. Thanks GG for confirming that one of my recent shenanigans (as Muff describes them) was on point. I'm always up to something doll related. If they won't make 'em like I want 'em, I'll either not buy or modify. Hey that's a good slogan: not buy or modify.

      :-)

      dbg

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