Here I will be putting how I clean my ponies. More tutorials and pictures coming soon!
Pony Hair Tutorial
Before you start - check the breaking hair section of the "Common Issues" page above. Make sure your pony is NOT one of these!
Green Apple
Baby Wave Catcher
Baby Tea Lily
Peach Surprise
Jazz Matazz
- There is an almost 100% chance of their pink or orange hair falling off. The rest of the hair is also bad quality and will become damaged once brushed.
- The other ponies on the list are hit and miss, grab a small strand of hair and pull gently. If it breaks, they are affected. Try again to be sure, but if that breaks too, they will need extreme care while washing. make sure to support the hair in your other hand when rinsing, and dry straight after.
Magic Message G1 ponies
Surprise Newborn G1s with diapers intact (animal symbols fine)
- Their symbols will come off if exposed to too much water
Careful with:
Battery operated ponies
G1 sea ponies - they have a hole in their head and adults have metal weights which are prone to rusting.
Anyone on the commonly damaged hair list - this seems to affect random batches. some ponies will have lovely hair and others will have awful stuff!
Heart Bright and Star Flight - Their wing mechanisms have metal parts and will rust if wet.
You will need:
Step 1 - pick your pony/ponies. Do the worst messes first, then it gets easier!
You may hurt your hands if you do a large amount, so pace yourself and do so many per day/week if you like.
Side note - If your pony has tail rust (brown or orange discolouration around the tail hole and/or top of tail) and her head can be easily removed, fix the rusting first. This hair tutorial can be done with the pony disassembled, but the products used to clean off rust will dry the hair, meaning you’ll have to repeat most of this tutorial again.
Step 2 - wet the hair. Use water that’s a comfortable temperature, if you’re doing a lot of ponies then freezing water will do a number on your hands! Make sure you don’t use hot water if the pony has factory curls that you want to preserve. Avoid wetting the top of the tail, as the water can get in and cause rust.
Optional step - add shampoo or soap. If the pony’s body was dirty, there’s a good chance the hair is too! If the pony has gunky/slimy/dirty feeling hair or there looks to be something grim in it, add some washing up liquid or shampoo and rub it in. Make sure to avoid the very top of the tail, unless there’s something sticky etc. in it. This way water won’t get near the top of the tail when it’s rinsed off. Feel free to play with the bubbles and give your pony a new, foamy look! Rinse thoroughly, and squeeze the hair while rinsing to ensure you get all the soap out. The hair will feel odd and not silky at all, but don’t worry. Once the water runs clear, move onto the next step.
Step 3 - add conditioner. Any conditioner will work, a cheap one is fine. If you have a lot of ponies to clean I’d suggest buying a cheap bottle as opposed to using your own, as it’s the more the merrier with this step! Make sure the hair is wet and add a good amount of conditioner into the mane and distribute it evenly with your hands. There should be some excess conditioner that can be put in the tail. Again, avoid the very top so that you don’t have to rinse the top directly.
Step 4 - comb. For very tangled ponies, you might want to seperate the hair a little first. Using your fingers, try to separate the hair into sections. At first, just go with the hair and split it wherever is easiest. Then, pick a section and further split it down. If you run into a large tangle, try taking a few strands and pulling them away from it. Eventually you’ll be down to the few strands that are causing the knot. Carefully pull, holding the strand near the knot. If it won’t budge, try the other(s). Do the same for the tail. Repeat until all major tangles are gone. It may be tedious, but you will get there! And your pony will have lovely, tangle free hair! If the pony only has minor tangles or crunchy box hair, simply use a large doll brush and comb through, beginning at the ends and going up to the roots. Make sure you use lots of conditioner no matter what method you use.
Optional step - leave conditioner in. You can do this if your pony has particularly dry or damaged hair. It will not improve the look of the hair, but it will feel much softer if the conditioner is left in for a while. I like to leave them for a good few hours or overnight. The hair will be crispy and will feel quite solid. Don’t worry, the next step will take care of that!
Step 5 - final check. Run your fingers through the hair. They should slide through all parts with ease. If the hair is silky, you can try running a brush or comb through, to check for any smaller tangles. Flip the hair over and go through the underside too.
Once you’re happy with the hair, rinse throroughly. The more conditioner you used, the longer you should rinse for. Make sure the water runs clear with no bubbles in the sink. If your pony has any missing hair plugs (little holes where the hair has fallen out) make sure to avoid getting water in them, as it oils cause rust or mould. Squeeze out the excess over the sink, then squeeze with a towel (especially the top of the tail) and leave to air dry.
Step 6 - Later/the next day. Your pony’s hair should be mostly/all dry now. Give it a comb and make sure it’s lovely and silky. If it is still slightly damp, or it feels like there is still a little conditioner in the hair, use a toothbrush to gently break up the strands. This gives the hair more movement and it will look and feel beautiful!
Step 7 - enjoy your shiny pony!
Notes:
Tinsel (especially the clear stuff on g3s) will look more crinkled once dry, sometimes it looks like it is fixed, but it often crinkles again, you haven't done anything wrong!
Some g3s have poor quality hair and slight damage to this hair will be almost unavoidable when combing, again, don't worry!
Steaming/fixing damaged hair - coming soon!
Sticky ponies
You will need:
Before you start - check the breaking hair section of the "Common Issues" page above. Make sure your pony is NOT one of these!
Green Apple
Baby Wave Catcher
Baby Tea Lily
Peach Surprise
Jazz Matazz
- There is an almost 100% chance of their pink or orange hair falling off. The rest of the hair is also bad quality and will become damaged once brushed.
- The other ponies on the list are hit and miss, grab a small strand of hair and pull gently. If it breaks, they are affected. Try again to be sure, but if that breaks too, they will need extreme care while washing. make sure to support the hair in your other hand when rinsing, and dry straight after.
Magic Message G1 ponies
Surprise Newborn G1s with diapers intact (animal symbols fine)
- Their symbols will come off if exposed to too much water
Careful with:
Battery operated ponies
G1 sea ponies - they have a hole in their head and adults have metal weights which are prone to rusting.
Anyone on the commonly damaged hair list - this seems to affect random batches. some ponies will have lovely hair and others will have awful stuff!
Heart Bright and Star Flight - Their wing mechanisms have metal parts and will rust if wet.
You will need:
- Pony/ponies with messy hair
- A tap and sink
- Brush/comb or toothbrush
- Conditioner
- Shampoo/soap/washing up liquid (optional)
- Towel
Step 1 - pick your pony/ponies. Do the worst messes first, then it gets easier!
You may hurt your hands if you do a large amount, so pace yourself and do so many per day/week if you like.
Side note - If your pony has tail rust (brown or orange discolouration around the tail hole and/or top of tail) and her head can be easily removed, fix the rusting first. This hair tutorial can be done with the pony disassembled, but the products used to clean off rust will dry the hair, meaning you’ll have to repeat most of this tutorial again.
Step 2 - wet the hair. Use water that’s a comfortable temperature, if you’re doing a lot of ponies then freezing water will do a number on your hands! Make sure you don’t use hot water if the pony has factory curls that you want to preserve. Avoid wetting the top of the tail, as the water can get in and cause rust.
Optional step - add shampoo or soap. If the pony’s body was dirty, there’s a good chance the hair is too! If the pony has gunky/slimy/dirty feeling hair or there looks to be something grim in it, add some washing up liquid or shampoo and rub it in. Make sure to avoid the very top of the tail, unless there’s something sticky etc. in it. This way water won’t get near the top of the tail when it’s rinsed off. Feel free to play with the bubbles and give your pony a new, foamy look! Rinse thoroughly, and squeeze the hair while rinsing to ensure you get all the soap out. The hair will feel odd and not silky at all, but don’t worry. Once the water runs clear, move onto the next step.
Step 3 - add conditioner. Any conditioner will work, a cheap one is fine. If you have a lot of ponies to clean I’d suggest buying a cheap bottle as opposed to using your own, as it’s the more the merrier with this step! Make sure the hair is wet and add a good amount of conditioner into the mane and distribute it evenly with your hands. There should be some excess conditioner that can be put in the tail. Again, avoid the very top so that you don’t have to rinse the top directly.
Step 4 - comb. For very tangled ponies, you might want to seperate the hair a little first. Using your fingers, try to separate the hair into sections. At first, just go with the hair and split it wherever is easiest. Then, pick a section and further split it down. If you run into a large tangle, try taking a few strands and pulling them away from it. Eventually you’ll be down to the few strands that are causing the knot. Carefully pull, holding the strand near the knot. If it won’t budge, try the other(s). Do the same for the tail. Repeat until all major tangles are gone. It may be tedious, but you will get there! And your pony will have lovely, tangle free hair! If the pony only has minor tangles or crunchy box hair, simply use a large doll brush and comb through, beginning at the ends and going up to the roots. Make sure you use lots of conditioner no matter what method you use.
Optional step - leave conditioner in. You can do this if your pony has particularly dry or damaged hair. It will not improve the look of the hair, but it will feel much softer if the conditioner is left in for a while. I like to leave them for a good few hours or overnight. The hair will be crispy and will feel quite solid. Don’t worry, the next step will take care of that!
Step 5 - final check. Run your fingers through the hair. They should slide through all parts with ease. If the hair is silky, you can try running a brush or comb through, to check for any smaller tangles. Flip the hair over and go through the underside too.
Once you’re happy with the hair, rinse throroughly. The more conditioner you used, the longer you should rinse for. Make sure the water runs clear with no bubbles in the sink. If your pony has any missing hair plugs (little holes where the hair has fallen out) make sure to avoid getting water in them, as it oils cause rust or mould. Squeeze out the excess over the sink, then squeeze with a towel (especially the top of the tail) and leave to air dry.
Step 6 - Later/the next day. Your pony’s hair should be mostly/all dry now. Give it a comb and make sure it’s lovely and silky. If it is still slightly damp, or it feels like there is still a little conditioner in the hair, use a toothbrush to gently break up the strands. This gives the hair more movement and it will look and feel beautiful!
Step 7 - enjoy your shiny pony!
Notes:
Tinsel (especially the clear stuff on g3s) will look more crinkled once dry, sometimes it looks like it is fixed, but it often crinkles again, you haven't done anything wrong!
Some g3s have poor quality hair and slight damage to this hair will be almost unavoidable when combing, again, don't worry!
Steaming/fixing damaged hair - coming soon!
Sticky ponies
You will need:
- Sticky pony
- Washing up liquid
- Toothbrush (you could also use a bottle brush or similar)
- Baby powder
- Oil - I used sunflower oil
- Wet the pony. The hair can get wet too, but you don’t need to wash it if it doesn’t feel sticky. However, it will likely get wet or soapy regardless and need a rinse at the end!
- Add washing up liquid. Put some on the pony and spread it over the body with your hands. Try not to get it in the tail too much, as it’ll take a long time to rinse out, potentially exposing the washer to lots of water.
- Wet the toothbrush and scrub the pony!