What's the deal with French Resin?

I can't speak for all of the resin colors, but I have two dolls in their 'french' resin - gray & tan and neither of them is transparent and I haven't noticed any yellowing so far either (or any other sign of color change). Thought then again I've only had them for a year and a year and a bit now, so this might take a while to show.

I've seen white skin resin and normal skin resin but I do not know if that was french resin either. Looked non-see through as well.

I do however have dolls from different companies in french resin and theirs is slightly translucent, but only where it's generally thin - like in the fingers. One of them is my oldest (and first) doll so far (nearing 3 years now) and I have not noticed any yellowing so far either and I treat and play with my dolls all the same.
To me it's not really an issue that their fingers are slightly translucent.


I believe do however it depends on the quality and the company. I've seen super-shiney frensh resin that had yellowed significantly that put even me off.
For a lot of people yellowing seems to be the horror of the hobby, so I guess it's understandable.

Best bet would be to ask for owner pics or comparisson pics of Withdoll owners, I guess.

 

I've had a french resin doll, I don't know if there is another type, but mine was like an environmentally friendly resin, which was supposed to be more resistant to yellowing.
If you put the doll up to the light, you could see your fingers through her head...kind of like you can with bone china.

It also felt soft...the texture was also quite...human, which if you've got fears of the uncanny valley kind like me, is just really unsettling.

This wasn't a Withdoll in particular though. This is just my experience with one doll with French resin.

 

This is what Environmental Resin looks like (which has the same translucent property as French Resin, although it is a different type). See how the fingers seem to 'glow' a bit? That's what this resin does. I personally think that it gives the resin a very skin-like look.

I've never owned a French Resin doll, although I did hear the rumours that it yellowed faster and I've seen pictures of it. The doll I have who's been cast in ER, however, hasn't yellowed one bit and he's about two years old now. Snowy is right that it really depends on the company and the quality of their casts. If you want to know how easily (or not) Withdoll dolls yellow, you could post a question in the discussion thread of this company, or ask for pictures in the Photo Reference sub-forum.

 

Some people don't like the appearance of french resin or environmental resin. The two have similar appearance but different properties. French resin yellows a lot faster than opaque polyurethane resin, whereas environmental resin is a lot more colour-stable.

I'm not a fan of french resin/environmental resin. I think it looks waxy and usually has a shine to it whereas PU resin (the more typical stuff dolls are made of) is more matte, but that is a personal taste thing. If there was a doll I absolutely had to have and it was only released in environmental resin I'd probably suck it up and go for it.

 

I would research the Withdoll thread and see how their resin holds up over time. I'd bet they're using the newer environmental resin that has the same translucent appearance as french resin but seems to be more colour stable.

Actual french resin was documented to yellow quickly, radically, and unevenly often over a very short period of time. I bought one of the original blue Bambicrony elves that were, unbeknownst to the buyer, made from french resin. That doll started yellowing within 2 weeks of receiving it while being kept in its box to avoid sunlight once I realized it was french resin. French resin dolls had the habit of turning banana yellow, see some of the old french resin Narae and Souldolls.

It all boils down to personal preference. I don't mind yellowing if it's a gradual thing over time. I do mind yellowing when it happens quickly and with a very noticeable colour change. I also just don't like the waxy appearance of french resin or the texture. Not my thing. Some people however don't mind this and see the translucency as bonus enough to deal with the downsides.

 

WithDoll has a series of images on their site showing yellowing tests on their environmental resin vs standard Korean resin (with a third resin they don't offer, environmental resin "without sunscreen"). I don't know if other companies have this, but the differences here are fairly dramatic. I do have one of their dolls, in the same color shown in the comparisons (Real Skin UV protect); I've only had him since October, but he sits out in my room all the time, and he hasn't shifted color any more than any standard resin doll I own. I don't feel that he's so "translucent" that he doesn't fit in with my standard resin dolls, either, but other owners may have different opinions. By all means, come join us in the WD thread; there's been some discussions about UV resin in there in the past that you can read over, and bring up your questions to actual owners as well.