Being Positive about Yellowing

So far, my yellowing dolls don't bother be too much (unless they're wearing white, then I develop mixed feelings.) One of my girls though, is a sickly character and I didn't want to give her liver issues on top of everything else. She's the only one thus far to get a dezombification bath, and I'm not in a hurry to do the same to my others.

 

One of my more expensive dolls, back when I started collecting ball jointed dolls, was my iplehouse EID Aurora in their beautiful real skin resin.

She is actually the doll I've set as my profile picture. She was my muse for a long while, and even though I took plenty of pictures, she was never taken out in direct sunlight.

I had to store her for about 3 years while I prepared for my college internship, and then when I started to live with my fiance. The thing is that when I was finally more stable, I decided to unbox Aurora again, only to discover that her resin had acquired the dreaded green tint of oxidation.

I was very upset at the beginning because I had taken as many precautions as I could to protect my doll. But I still love my doll no matter the years, and at some point I might try to restore her.

It was a partially oxidized iplehouse SID Storm doll in tan resin, that I consciously bought second hand, that taught me to love these types of dolls in spite of their yellowing, or in my doll's case greening. I gave gave him a faceup that covered most of the greenish tint, and I plan to give him tattoos to cover the rest, or I might try use dye to restore it.

The possibilies are endless, so I have learned to value the dolls as they age.

 

I don't know why but yellowing made me scare a lot.
Even though my child becoming yellow naturally but I really hate that; so I tried to make my child de-ageing sometimes, but I failed.
I had bad feeling when seeing yellowed BJDs, and still trying to get over that...

 

I've been collecting BJDs for seven years now, and so far I've only noticed yellowing on two of my dolls. I was a bit dismayed when I realized my Dollzone Wendy had yellowed. But as she changed from normal pink to looking like their new normal yellow I don't actually mind. I still adore as much as I always have. My first doll's yellowing I fell less positive about. She's a Soom doll in tan, and her face and hands have faded and taken on slightly greenish color. It bothers me as it's my fault for not protecting her from the sun as well as should have. Most of her resin is still its original color (or at least close to it) so a decent face-up and blushing would be able to hide it. (Yes, my poor doll has been blank for 7 years! Bad me!)

 

My doll has yellowed a bit over the year I've had him, but I don't mind. It's not very obvious unless you put him next to another doll with white resin. Honestly, when I first got him I thought he was way too white and it stressed me out. I like him a lot more now that he's mellowed. He has a warmer, more human colour.

 

I've got dolls that go back to 2004... I've only had a few serious yellowing issues--the others aren't that yellowed--and some sort of came yellow. It obviously doesn't bother me a lot. I have a lot of white skin dolls--and they tend to show yellowing more obviously. But my very first doll came already a creamy-white, and MSC in those days would also yellow--so I was kind of used to it from day one. Most of the dolls that came later were a lot more stable, yellowing-wise. Most aren't uneven. So I try to ignore it.

 

My 1st doll is a preowned Aidolls Hani, she is really yellowed when i got her ( Lemon yellow ) but i really love her alot. But since my 1st is so yellow, i dont feel much about it. Lucky for me, they are all evenly yellowed.

 

I don't mind yellowing at all, and it's almost something of a point of pride--like a battle scar. It means they've been around a while. I have a severely yellowed doll and he's in my top three--I'm not his first owner, but it gives him character in my eyes and feels significant to me historically since his sculpt is a landmark point in his company's history. None of my other dolls are as yellowed as he is (I mean, he's around 12 I think?) but they're slowly aging and I have no problem with it. They have the same feel as antique dolls to me.

 

The only doll I own that I wish was still paper white is Fei-Lau (DZ Edward). He's now a lovely creamy ivory and not "yellow" by any stretch of the imagination. However, he is the God of Winter Storms so it's more in keeping with his character that he's paper white. Do I love him any less or think that he's now "wrong"? Nope. I knew that eventually he'd lose the paper white tone and that it's just the process of aging. Unless you see him next to something that's paper white, you won't think he's anything other than a white skin doll.

I do have a doll with severe mellowing that I believe is a combination of age (he's 11 years old this year) and a wonky/unstable batch. He's an RS Jun in the old blue (that frankly looked like a very pale grey/dingy white). All my guys live in the boxes due to lack of display space and a cat that is convinced wigs are his toys and dolls are just fancy cat toy stands. I'm the first owner of Jolen and I hadn't realized that he'd mellowed so very much as it was easily a year since I'd had him out prior to discovering the mellowing. When I did take him out, he'd mellowed to an utterly even gorgeous light turquoise blue. This is a through-and-through colour change to the best of my knowledge without cutting into his resin as even the inside of his head cap is the same light turquoise blue. I'm actually rather happy about this as this colour is much better for his character than the original blue he was purchased as (coloured resin regularly offered was pretty rare back in the day).

I have a few dolls as 2nd hand purchases that have mellowing (generally even) and it doesn't bother me. I have a doll en route to me right now that is supposed to have slight uneven mellowing (he's 12 years old) but I had a hard time picking that out in the sales photos so I'm not concerned about it. He's also got rough seam sanding and while that is very visible, to me it looks like scars and that's worked it's way into part of his character. If the mellowing turns out to be more visible to the naked eye, then that'll be worked into his character as well.

I also have 2 Unidoll boys, one in WS and one in NY. Unidoll NY, even fresh from the company, was VERY yellow. Their WS brand new had a decidedly yellow undertone to it. I've written in Edenlei's very yellow tone as part of his character and his skin is described as being the shade of purest gold by his husband so it's all worked out nicely there. Kathiel (the WS one) is more like some of the very pale NY produced by other companies so that doesn't bother me terribly either.

 

I haven't had a doll long enough to yellow, but I know it's inevitable. So, i'm keeping the mindset that if I find beauty in antique items, then so too shall I find beauty in a doll that eventually yellows a bit. Just like us humans, we age, change color ect. I'm trying to keep in mind that there's nothing wrong with aging, and it can be just a beautiful as process as nature itself.

 

None of mine have aged that much as I have not been in the hobby that long. I just realized a have started my third year! I have noticed a bit of colour difference on a couple of them, and I bought some store displays that were already turning yellow, and even slightly green. I really do not mind. It gives a bit of character to the doll, and shows they have been loved and cared for long enough to show their age.

 

First of all I love this topic and idea of finding the positive in what can be considered a negative occurrence. And I love the introspection on display in your post. So difficult to look at ourselves objectively and on top of that seek out perspectives that may differ from our own. Plaudits to you my friend

Everyone is different. So if in this hobby you value maintaining your dolls in a certain condition I see nothing wrong with that. Perhaps their perfection or near mint condition is an element that is attractive to you. And that's OK.

I have multiple dolls in various stages of repair. Some I bought secondhand and were yellowed when I purchased them. I embrace the yellowing as a part of the dolls' aging process; similar to how I am aging. Among other things, it serves as a reminder that we are aging together and highlights the finite nature of the present moment. They are precious and fragile which makes these moments even more valuable. Like the great philosopher Depeche Mode said, "Precious and fragile things need special handling." And the yellowing is certainly evidence of how fragile they are. Even if you lock some in a box, they won't stay perfect forever.

My first face up was on a doll I bought secondhand who was yellowed and well past her prime. But I love her all the same. And she'll continue to yellow and I'll continue to "yellow" and with any luck we'll continue to enjoy each other's company until there is no more color left.

I hope my perspective added something your ambition. I wish you all the best along your introspective journey.

 

My white Baha is pretty yellowed, but she's also 12 years old so it's understandable by now I think. I still love her the same as if she was still pearly white. I gave her a bath the other day to try to remove some of the staining. I think it worked, but she's still a little bit yellowed. That's okay, though! She's special in her own way!

 

I don't think its pretty bad. I don't really have a yellowed doll right now but, Colour matching Face-up could help you neutralize the color. Its inevitable. Resin is a porous material, I have learn a lot of it on my carrer (Dentistry), because its a common material to use in Rehabilitation.

I don't think I would mind it

 

I have dolls dateing back to 2008 and I've bought dolls with extreme yellowing as project dolls. I have no problem with regular resin yellowing but I really don't like how quickly french resin yellows though. I had a couple of doll in French and environmental resin and I ended up selling them because I couldn't handle how extreme and fast they yellowed. This was years ago though so maybe that resin type had improved over time.

 

Well my Pasha has not yellowed at all, so could it be the climat of some countries ?
I have just received my "Grail" that is St Mi-na by CH, she is first version from 2004 and her body is as yellow as one can imagine. The blank head was kept into the original bag so it's a nice creamy white color.I am to try to whitened the body with some baking soda, even human use it for their own teeth and it works, so I am to try.

 

What did you do with the head, in this case? I've thought about removing the yellowing on my own 11-year-old doll, but I really want to keep the faceup, especially since it's not mine.

 

I have a doll from 2004 that has yellowed as far as I think she will. I’ve not been super careful of sunlight, she’s been outside for photos and sat in a room that had windows for most of her life. She’s even been in a swimming pool (and washed and unstrung afterwards). But I will say I lover her colour. Yes, it’s yellow, but it seems Volks seems to mellow yellow. I’ve given her faceups that are more on the peachy side than pink, and it really makes her look outdoorsy and earthy. Never would have discovered it had she not turned.

 

I ended up wiping it beforehand because I was worried it would remove some of the face up if not all. I had some parts that were really tough to get off that ending up staying on, so it’s possible that I maybe could’ve tried to keep it. I ended up doing my own face up afterward and love it a whole lot, but I can’t really say how it would go with the head and not removing it. Sorry about that.

 

No, thank you for the reply. I think she's still cute even while yellow and it'd bother me more if the body and head didn't match, so I'll just keep her as is. Just gotta be careful about sunlight.