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Resin Fumes

May 22, 2015

    1. It's common knowledge that resin is toxic. But I thought precautions should only be taken while doing things like sanding or casting. Last month I received a body for a hybrid I was doing. While taking photos for the box opening, I noticed the resin smell was particularly strong. I don't mind the smell of resin so it didn't bother me. I played around with the jointing, and took her arms apart to add kips in her shoulders. Well, I put the body back in the box and walked into the other room...and realized I felt really light-headed. It stuck around for a good minute or two, and then drifted away.

      Coincidentally, when the head arrived for said body from a different company a month and a half later, it too had a very strong chemical smell. After the box opening and posing her for a bit, I got up and left the room feeling a little strange, but I wrote it off as that "box opening high" we BJD owners are all familiar with. In my questionable state I crushed my thumb between two doors in an attempt to switch the laundry. Then after nursing my wound (which had a surprisingly large amount of blood), I suddenly felt dizzy and sick to my stomach and dropped down to the floor - I couldn't even make it to the chair that was within a few feet of me. I'm not a squeamish person so I know it wasn't the injury that triggered it. It passed after a few minutes and I was fine after that (except for my poor thumb:pout:).

      So now I'm curious if anyone has any experiences with resin fumes just from handling their doll. I have to admit I'm a little shaken by the incidents and I haven't touched her since. I have handled many BJDs and have never a problem. I'm actually not sure if it's both the head and body, or just the body that affected me. Either way, I've been avoiding my poor new girl...
       
      #1 Venetica, May 22, 2015
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    2. I've never personally experienced this, but there was a thread on here about resin "weeping," where the resin hadn't set properly and therefore emitted a strong, obvious odor when the person unpackaged their doll. However, it also had a wetness to the resin as well, and the doll, according to the owner, had felt moist, and a little sticky. Was this the case at all for you? Maybe you should see a doctor regardless, as it may be completely coincidental and unrelated to the resin.
       
      #2 Zeodyte, May 22, 2015
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    3. I haven't had any experiences like that when I was modding some of my doll's accessories. (They were also made of resin.) I did however experience something similar after I hit my finger with a hammer instead of the nail. I guess all the blood rush to my head due to the shock that I got dizzy and felt sick for a few minutes. I actually had to lie down till he adrenaline passed through my body.
       
      #3 Cyberwings, May 22, 2015
    4. I've had strong-smelling new dolls from a few companies, and none of those were badly set or weeping. The worst were a Leekeworld head and an Illusion Spirit full doll. While neither of them made me lightheaded, they did make my hands itch/burn after handling them. My dad, who has some experience with polyurethane resin, says it's not the resin itself that causes the smell/reaction in this case, but the plasticiser added to the compound to make the resin 'sturdier' and less breakable. It's the same reason heat makes resin both easier to bend and smelly -- the plasticiser is to some extent heat-activated. As the plasticiser in the surface layer of resin evaporates, the smell and reaction will eventually get less, but you can also prevent it from evaporating out of the doll (and causing fumes/allergic reactions) by sealing the doll with MSC or a similar sealant, which seems to trap the plasticiser in.
       
      #4 Little Lost Pixie, May 22, 2015
    5. I would take Zeodite's advice and go and get a check up with your doctor. It could be completely unrelated to the resin smell.
       
      #5 Kavarr, May 22, 2015
    6. Oh yeah, I remember reading something about weeping resin now that you mention it. But this wasn't the case for me, everything was perfectly dry. However, I get the feeling the body was rushed out to me because the company had posted the news about discontinuation and mentioned a date that every order would be shipped out by. I asked them about my order since it had been about a month and it wasn't shipped, even though it had been a few days after the date they specified. They apologized and shipped it out soon after. I have no knowledge of the casting process, but I'm wondering if the parts need to be left out in the open for a while before packing into the box. The head had a different chemical smell though, didn't smell like resin to me (which I like), it was an off-putting odor.

      @Little Lost Pixie, very interesting thank you for the insight! This information backs up my theory.
       
      #6 Venetica, May 22, 2015
    7. I know it's certainly been a few years, so I don't know if my information is out of date, but I feel as if every resin doll I purchased (except for my SD Sara) had a strong resin smell fresh out of the box. To give you an idea, I owned maybe 12 or 13 different resin dolls and all but one of them had the strong resin odor. I don't think it ever affected me much, but I can detect a resin odor from a mile away now, lol. If the wafting of resin smell is strong enough to make you dizzy, definitely go see a doctor. I don't know if this is normal or if I have an abnormally high constitution, but even hours of sanding, painting, and breathing resin dust didn't produce much of an affect on me, so I worry that you might be dealing with something worse.
       
      #7 ragdolly, May 22, 2015
    8. I've had a few dolls with a strong resin smell, but never experienced any negative effects that I'd noticed. Usually when they smelled like that I'd put them in a dark room, crack open the windows, and leave it alone for a few days until the smell calmed down. Hopefully your doll with stop smelling after it's bee out in the open for a little while.
       
      #8 Senko, May 23, 2015
    9. Most of my dolls had that "fresh resin" smell out of the box (I've owned at least 24 resin dolls I can think of), but this is the only one that was ever strong enough to affect me. It's never bothered me before, in fact I actually like the smell of resin.

      I have sanded resin only once (for at least a half hour, maybe longer), and did not wear a mask or do it in a ventilated area, and even that had no ill effect on me.

      I am happy to report that I have spent some quality time with my doll taking her completely apart to suede her, and I did not feel dizzy or sick. The strong smell seems to be gone. I guess freeing her from her box was all it took.
       
      #9 Venetica, May 24, 2015
    10. Some do need a while out of the box to get rid of that really strong smell. Please don't go sanding without a mask Venetica as you may not feel ill at the time but it may affect you later. See this thread.
       
      #10 Kavarr, May 24, 2015
    11. Well that's good! If you are no longer experiencing side effects, then perhaps there was another reason for the dizziness. I'm glad to hear that you are doing well and that you and your new doll are getting the bonding time you so deserve!
       
      #11 ragdolly, May 25, 2015