Michelle with Bangs

Inspired by the first lady's recently revealed new hairstyle, my Official White House Portrait Doll of Michelle Obama by Franklin Mint now wears a banged wig.

Using a wig that belongs to another doll, I tried it on Michelle for size.  It's a little large for her head, but it achieves the desired effect as illustrated below:

Michelle Obama doll by Franklin Mint with original hairstyle and with new banged wig

How does she look?

  
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To Wig Cap or To Root?

That was my question.

I am customizing a doll to look like someone. The customization involves changing the hair, clothing, and accessories of an articulated Christie.  I chose this head sculpt because it most resembles the person the doll is fashioned after.

The hair needs to be pixie short and gray. I knew finding a wig in the desired style and color would be a challenge. This is the reason I opted initially to make a wig cap, buy hair, and glue the hair onto the wig cap. The makings of the wig cap are illustrated in the slide show below:

Creating the wig cap was a piece of cake. I have done these in the past for smaller dolls. Curly hair was used for their wigs. Gluing straight hair to the most recently created wig cap proved to be quite a chore. In my frustration, I wound up yanking most of the wiry (Kanekalon braiding) hair off the wig cap and rooting the hair directly onto the doll's shaved head. Surprisingly the rooting tool that I used in the past for reborn dolls worked.




The result, shown above, is my first attempt at rooting hair on a playscale doll. In the future, if I ever do this again, I will exercise more patience, after I buy the proper rooting tools and hair that doesn't fight back.

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After witnessing my struggle to apply hair onto the wig cap and later watching me root hair onto the doll's head, my husband informed me that I was trying to glue too much hair at a time to the wig cap. He proceeded to explain how it "should be" done:  "A few strands at a time.  You're trying to rush it," he said.  I rolled my eyes while I continued to root.  Then I challenged him with the following statement, "Here, [shoving the wig cap in his direction] you do it, since you know how."   The image below is what he was able to accomplish in less than 30 minutes. 



It would look better if the Kanekalon fibers were not so wiry, but I can tame it after he completes his process.  He stopped to allow the "few strands at a time" to dry.  He'll fill in the gaps later.  (Show off!)

Whether I use his wig cap for another doll is questionable.  Maybe I will transform a playscale doll into a grandparent after I tame the hair. 

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Essentially Wild to Tamely Twisted

I was going to give Lizette's unruly crimped wig a twist-out similar to the technique shown here.    However, once I began twisting the layered segments of the wig's tracks, I discovered the twists were looking pretty good.  I also tested one twist by undoing it to see how it would look.  I did not like the still crimped appearance.  So twists it is!

I used BB Foam Moisturizing Wrapping Lotion by Bronner Brothers to smooth out tiny sections of the crimped wig before twisting each.  I applied black beeswax to the twisted ends (this step could have been skipped) and tied black thread to each end to secure the twists (a tedious, long process).  Initially I used black vinyl bands to secure the ends, but several of these broke.  I avoid using rubber bands of any color because eventually with time, rubber hardens, breaks, and crumbles.  The black thread will be a more permanent method to hold the twists. 

Lizette modeled for a series of photos wearing her restyled tamely twisted, formerly wild crimped wig.

In this final image, three twists from each side are pulled back and held with a light blue hair clip.

Lizette asks, "How do I look?"

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