What do you consider as "poor care" of dolls?

Permanent and unintentional damage caused by ignorance and the owner has a fit over it. If it's an owner's intention to smash a doll up for whatever reason, I don't see that as poor care.

 

When I see a doll that has been modded until it is literally an unloved wreck, I consider that to be poor care. I love seeing a badly modded doll that has been rescued and restored to beautiful lovable condition again. I have done minor restorations on a few of mine that I bought second hand, and it is very rewarding. Leaving a doll in the sun or extreme heat is poor care to me also, because it creates damage that could have been prevented easily.

I don't wear gloves, but I do wash my hands before handling my dolls. They do get dusty. I occasionally pick MY dolls up by the neck, arms or legs, but I am familiar enough with them to know what they can take. And I may neglect some of them in temporary favor of others, but neglect doesn't hurt dolls as long as they are in a safe place.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

To me it's all the basic things like leaving them out on a window ledge, etc. on sunny days. Letting pets play with them. Some little kids? If they're rough and don't know how to handle them. Smoking in the same room as them.

But I also don't understand people that buy them and leave them in the box 99% of the time. I mean yellowing is bad I guess but it's not THAT bad that you're afraid to get them out and leave them out.
I take the time to close my curtains when my girls are just sat in my room and I'm out and sit them in shade in the room but I really don't understand leaving them in their boxes all the time. That's just my opinion.

 

I guess to me "poor dollie care" is like being a bad dollie parent. To me theres a difference between dolls who are well loved and damaged versus dolls who are damaged by the owner not caring about them. For example, I have seen tons of well loved dolls out there. dolls who are yellowed and chipped but its because their owners are over the moon with them and take them everywhere. Dolls who have sustained damage from thier adventures are 100% ok with me, i think it gives them character and accidents happen. But i have seen some dolls out there horribly unevenly yellowed from being left on a windowsill, drawn on with sharpie, dropped from sheer carelessness, thats what i consider poor care.

As far as the neglect and stuff? I dont always have time to play with my dolls... i cant think of anyone who would really. I dont think they are 'neglected' when i leave them sitting in the cabinet for months. Theyre safe and out of harms way, no sun, and ill come back to them when i get a chance.

 

What "poor care" means to me is when someone does something to a doll that damages it with the knowledge that it is doing harm to the doll. I'm not talking about intentional yellowing to match a body to a head or vice-versa, which is done with the intent of making the doll's color consistent- I'm talking about if someone were to do a face-up with sharpies or soak a head in pure acetone despite being repeatedly warned not to, i.e. not caring what they did to the doll.

Now I will say that there are cases when people are so new that they don't know better, which doesn't constitute "poor care" to me so much as it does lack of knowledge. In a lot of these cases (at least from what I've seen) the owner didn't know what certain products would do to the doll, and if they did they wouldn't have used the things they did in their face-ups.

Now as for the neglect side of things, my dolls are just that to me- dolls. Inanimate objects. Yes they are special to me and I do enjoy taking pics of them, making them clothes, etc., but I'm not going to worry about it if I don't have the extra time to do a photoshoot or sew a new outfit. This being the case, I don't consider it neglect when other owners aren't able to take their dolls out and about either.

 

I don't get too up in arms about people taking *risks* with their dolls-- provided those risks are researched. Any heavy modification is a gamble, but you have to start somewhere, so as long as someone knows what the dangers are and is safeguarding their own health by using safety equipment, then it's their doll...

Things that are chemically bad for the resin does bother me, though-- again, especially because it's not hard to research a little and learn what you shouldn't put on it. It can be a fussy material.

I think water photoshoots are gorgeous even though it's bad for the elastic, but elastic is easy to replace, and the resin itself isn't harmed by it. Photoshoots that involve height are a risk, but they're a risk people understand when they balance a doll up high for a picture. So while I would be hesitant to do either of those things, I don't cringe at seeing them. And I don't get up in arms about grabbing a doll by anything-- as long as what you grab is firmly attached to the rest of the doll, it's not alive and isn't going to be hurt if you grab it 'carelessly'.

With my dolls, I am very fussy about sunlight, but that one I don't expect others to be as anal about-- because I'm an extremely pale person, I'm used to avoiding direct sunlight with my own skin, so it feels normal to me to keep my dolls covered up and out of the sun.

 

I honestly don't know why everyone is so up in arms about this topic. Once some one pays THEIR money for a doll they can do what the hell they want with it.

 

I wouldn't say 'up in arms', but it's a debate topic, so it does tend to bring out the stronger opinions... So far I haven't seen anyone bring out the pitchforks and torches, though.

(which is good, because I'm sure I have my own practices that some people would be aghast at...)

 

When I see a doll that has actual makeup on their face or has been left to sit all day next to a window makes me sad. D: And like said before sharpies are also VERY SCARY!

Also If someone has an animal and their dolls are sitting on the edges of shelves and grab them or pull them down by the legs. (for an example I have 3 full sized German Shepherds and they can react a shelf.)
I shouldn't really judge though, since people can do what they want.

 

I admit I shouldn't care as much as I do what other people do with their things. But like someone said, it's wasteful to ruin a doll for poops and smiles. I don't think I'd consider a well loved doll poorly cared for. Sharpies, etc = poor cre to me. That being said, I used the wrong sealant on my doll...twice...and felt like an idiot when I realized. The first time being a newbie mistake. I lift my doll by her head sometimes, though carefully. I take my dolls everywhere. My tinies often travel in a hat in my purse.

As someone else said, I'm also pale and am pretty good about keeping my dolls out of the sun. Daylight I think is fine, photoshoots in direct sun aren't neglect, but leaving a doll in direct sunlight for long periods of time just makes me sad inside.

*I hope I made sense. I should be sleeping and I think it's showing in my grammar and sentence structure...

 

While a doll owner is welcome to do whatever they like with their doll, I cringe whenever I see careless modifications, or mods to a point so extreme, the doll is complete loss.

Not researching what a ball jointed doll is made of, and proceeding with careless faceups, then crying foul when it all goes wrong, that's poor care in my opinion. This forum is a treasure trove of information from experienced owners...take advantage of that!

Also, leaving dolls where animals can get to them, or in the sunlight, or taking pictures outside on hard surfaces...a lot of that is just inexperience, but it's all stuff that could be avoided with a little common sense.

 

What is a sharpie???

Other than that, i find non-caring people for careless. poor care for me is doing stuff to you doll that you know could damage it. Ofcourse, there's people that doesn't care how much they pay for their stuff and do what ever they see fit. But to me its the same as being completely ignorant. i've seen this, -especially- amongst younger girls who get everything they point at. They don't care the least and try out the most freakish stuff. boiling them in coffe to se if they tan (wierd idea) drawing their face with a permanent marker, making tats with permanent markers (note, not doing a good job or the least attempting to make it pretty). 'loosing' their clothes somewhere, dying their wig instead of buying one in the color they want.... (they did that, yes... The wig was useless after) drying the wig in the microwave... (plastic, not heat resistant..) the worst part was the parents buy them a new one once the old isn't fun anymore, or the least pretty. They throw them out and get a new one/new ones. (Not mentioning names on any of them)


After that i can cringe a little at people who grab them by anything, their head, their arms, their feet and making a non-perfect mod from girl to boy, or boy to girl.. i cringe at the sight of a breastless girl who they now call boy. If they wanted a boy, buy a boy-mold? if you want a girl, buy a girl mold.. I mean, there's SO many molds that there's bound to be one fitting the description you want. Im-perfect minor mods is also being careless, minor mods to me doesn't matter much. opening eyes, removing killer nipples giving a piercing. As long as they're well made. I've seen my share of poorly opened eyes and such. I'm not saying i'm an expert, but i would at least ask someone i know to be able to do it perfectly instead then.

People are free to do at they like, but i really hate people like those girls. I don't say anything because it's theirs and non of my buisness, it just hurts my little doll-heart when i see cruelty to them ^^; The minor stuff like the major genderbenders and such is more acceptable than treating them like a barbie, at least they're loved after the mod like before the mod. :3

 

@BakaYukiko:
A sharpie is a type of alcohol based permanent marker. It's extremely bad for dolls because it seeps into the resin and cannot be removed except with heavy sanding. It's just the band name in the US.

Also, you're free to do what you want with your doll, but one can't complain that it's ruined in the end. All actions have consequences. Also, as long as they aren't treating anyone else's doll in the same way, and accept that they probably won't be trusted with someone else's doll... to each their own.

I consider poor care:
-Using sharpie on them
-Improper use of pure acetone (to where it melts the resin)
-Putting their doll near harmful materials
-Leaving/storing them outside or in a hot car for HOURS or DAYS

 

As others have stated on here already, people can do what they want with their own dolls and we really can't tell other people what they can and cannot do with their resin. I'm not about to make judgment calls on other doll owners' care of their dolls, because I'm sure there are people who would freak out and call me a "bad doll owner" if they knew some of the places my resin folk have been. I take my dolls outside all the time, often when it is sunny. I have, on occasion, lifted a doll by his head or neck, though never by the leg, foot, hand or arm. I've carried my dolls around in a backpack, wrapped only in a towel. I've modded one of my dolls' hands by boiling.

That having been said, my standard of doll care is high enough that I consider "poor doll care" to be:
- letting small children or irresponsible adults handle my dolls
- handling with dirty, sticky or greasy hands
- letting them sit in direct sunlight for hours or days at a time
- leaving them where pets could damage them
- picking up by hands or feet
- using Sharpie or other permanent marker/paint (omg this one is the worst IMO)

 

I think mostly it's mostly dirt and scratches. My wife and I have bought several used dolls and I am always shocked by all the scratches, dirt, and dust on them. My oldest doll is about 3 now and not even he has anything like that on his entire body. My dolls look brand new in comparison. So I don't really know what people do with their dolls, but I play with mine but in my opinion apparently take very good care of them.