Return to Home Page
Magazine Articles

DOLL WIGS & THE MATERIALS USED TO CREATE THEM



September/October 2009
Volume 50 #5

~~ Doll Wigs & The Materials Used To Create Them ~~
 

My article is basically a brief overview of the many types of doll wigs created and the materials used to make them.  Other types of fibers have been used to create wigs over the centuries. I wanted to cover the most well known.
 


  The wig is possibly the most important part of a doll's appearance. As with people, hair is "The Crowning Glory." Just look at the late Farrah Fawcett, whose luxurious mane made her famous and began a hair trend in the 1970's that millions of young girls copied (I was one of them!) So our doll wigs have to have the appropriate style and fiber.

   Wigs are made from two types of fibers: Natural and Synthetic. Natural fiber wigs are mohair, human hair, floss, flax, or cotton yarn. Natural wigs are what earlier dolls wore (Prior to the 1950s). Synthetic fiber wigs are saran, nylon, sarlon, and modacrylic and are predominantly worn by later dolls. Of course there are still dolls of today which wear the natural fibers and these dolls are mainly high-end collectible dolls and One Of A Kind (OOAK) Artist dolls. Whereas the average mainstream playdolls of today wear synthetic hair.

Natural Fibers


Three Mohair Wigs

Mohair is the hair of the Angora goat. Mohair can be very curly and silky, also can be thick and straight.


Three types of mohair

In my opinion, mohair is the nicest and most versatile of all wigs. It can be dyed a variety of colors and easily styled. It holds a curl much better than human hair, and mohair wigs have a lovely soft look about them. The 1930s Ideal Shirley Temple doll ONLY wore a mohair wig. What other fiber could hold all those fabulous curls?!  Mohair wigs were used on a variety of antique and vintage dolls until about the late 1940s.


Four antique human hair wigs

Human hair wigs are self explanatory:  they're made of human hair.  As you can see by the photograph, human hair is the best wig for those long corkscrew curls. A good antique human hair wig is very pricey. Human hair tends to be the preference for many antique bisque head doll collectors.  Early human hair wigs were imported from China, but the hair was very straight and coarse.  Then European wigs were imported and they were more desirable because they were softer and finer.

Caracul wigs are from the fur of the karakul lamb of Central Asia


Two Caracul Skin Wigs

 Early dolls from the 1800s such as papier-mache, patent washable, select French dolls, and wax over composition wore "skin wigs." These were caracul wigs. Most were light shades, even white, and were short-cropped with tight curls. Later dolls of the 30s, 40s and 50s such as Effanbee's "Sweetie Pie" and American Character's "Tiny Tears" also wore caracul wigs.


Three Floss wigs

Silk floss and flax wigs gave the appearance of yarn. This was because the wigs were made by twisting continuous strands of the threads together to produce the yarn look. Silk floss wigs were worn by high end Boudoir dolls with elaborate hairstyles. Arranbee's "Nannette" and Madame Alexander's "Cinderella" of the 40s amd 50s wore floss wigs. These wigs could be braided and upswept into very elegant coiffures and the floss had a shine that made it regal looking. Flax wigs -- so-called yarn wigs -- were worn by Effanbee's "Little Lady" during WWII due to the shortages in mohair and human hair.


Synthetic Fibers


Three on left are saran,
two on right are nylon

Saran wigs were used predominately in the 1950s. Dolls such as Ideal's "Saucy Walker" and "Sara Ann" and Richwood Toys' "Sandra Sue" wore this type of wig. Saran is the trade name for polyvinylidene chloride made by the Dow Chemical Company. Saran wigs could tolerate high heat and therefore the wigs could be heat set and tolerate boiling water to set the hair. But saran wigs had a tendency to get frizzy very easily.

Nylon was invented in the 1930s by E.I. Dupont. The first company to use it for their wigs was Ideal in the 1940s for their Toni doll. The nylon wig was great for little girls to use their Play Wave set on. Nylon was very strong but did not have the heat tolerance that saran did. Nylon was very water absorbent which made it good for perms.


Three Sarlon wigs

Sarlon wigs were produced in the 1950s and the combining of the saran and nylon produced a more durable, heat resistant wig that did not frizz as much.

Modacrylic wigs are the wigs of today. American Girl, Barbie, Bratz, Lee Middleton, and other collectible dolls of today have these wigs, either with caps or rooted directly into the scalp.

 

 

 

 

©2009, Doll Castle News
& Louise Sleeter

 
Dolly Wig Test

Here are ten questions to test your dolly wig knowledge. Have Fun!

  1. What was the only composition doll to have human hair rooted directly into the head?

    a) R&B Nancy b) Monica Doll c) Effanbee Little Lady d) Vogue Toddles
     
  2. What was the name of the Effanbee Little Lady with the blonde flax yarn wig, cloth body & limbs, composition hands and wooden neck piece?

    a) Peggy   b) Betty   c) Ruth   d) Patricia
     
  3. What composition celebrity child doll of the 1930's wore a mohair wig with a braid across the top of the head?  Sometimes this special hairstyle is the only way to identify this rare doll.

    a) Carol Ann Beery   b) Deanna Durbin   c) Shirley Temple   d) Margaret O'Brien
     
  4. What fashion doll of the 1970's had a unique head design the allowed the top of her head to move to change the color of her hair?

    a) Barbie   b) Tiffany Taylor   c) Dawn   d) Cher
     
  5. What is the name of two 1960's Barbie's that have three interchangeable wigs?
    Choose two.
    a) Color Magic Barbie   b) Miss Barbie   c) Fashion Queen   d) Twist & Turn Barbie
     
  6. What is the name of the 1950's Arranbee doll that had a metal knob on the side of her head to raise and lower her hair?

    a) Judy   b) Marianne   c) Betty   d) My Angel
     
  7. What name was given to a late 1800's China head doll which had a bald head with a "black spot" and was suppose to wear a real hair wig?

    a) Flat Top   b) Biedermeier   c) Covered Wagon   d) Dolly Madison
     
  8. What color hair does Vogue's "Wee Imp" have?

    a) blonde   b) black   c) red-orange   d) green
     
  9. Mattel's 1961 first issued Ken doll had what type of hair?

    a) rooted synthetic   b) painted hair   c) flocked   d) saran
     
  10. Human hair wigs were used on the 1700's Queen Ann Period English wood dolls.
    What other material was used?

    a) mohair   b) caracul   c) cotton   d) flax

 

 

Answers:

  1. b

  2. d

  3. a

  4. b

  5. b, c

  6. a

  7. b

  8. c

  9. c

  10. d