Why don't you touch a facup?

i can vouch that touching the face does make it dirty even if you can't immediately see it. for example, i have a puki puki who is so small it is very hard not to end up touching her face. i took a magic eraser to her face since i was cleaning her all over anyway, and lo and behold the eraser became greyish and her face did look whiter. and yes, i do keep my hands clean.

you really shouldn't do it if you want to keep your dolls face up ^^ to get the dirt off via cleaning you will end up removing the face up. and as everyone has already said it will damage it over time. this is something i also have experience with - blushing is especially prone to this.

 

When I get my doll, I'll be doing its faceup and tattoos and things myself, and since I figure it's also just good artistic practice to do those kinds of things, it's fine if they end up wearing off kind of fast. Besides, I looove caressing faces and things, so I'll probably be touching my doll's face a lot. So long as the faceup stays good for, say, 1-3 months, that's plenty long enough for me between new faceups/body tats. I have tons of the proper materials for that stuff already, so it should be fine for me.

So I guess it depends on the person's situation and preferences. If you spent $50+ on a faceup you really like, you can't do faceups yourself, or you're just a cautious type of person, sure, remember to be careful about the faceup. But if you like doing faceups, like changing the faceup every now and then, or like touching your doll's face and stuff, you shouldn't have to worry about it. Or something like that.

ali

 

My dolls face-ups get touchd all the time when I play with them - even just changing wigs or dressing/undressing/redressing can result in accidental touching of the face. I've never had anything smudge or rub off and I can't see why it would with a properly sealed face-up.

Yes, there's the dirt factor, but they're dolls, dolls are meant to be played with, which means they get handled. Handling anything can transfer dirt - so dolls need cleaning occasionally. The sealant on the face-up should be adequate to cope with that.

The alternative is not playing with them which is a pointless waste of a doll, in my not-so-humble-opinion.

Teddy

Teddy

 

There's a reason the Volks people wear gloves when handling dolls.

Some years back my dad got a new wedding ring because his skin ATE THROUGH the metal to a great degree. Then his new ring? Ate through the gold plating. So he just stopped wearing rings entirely. It's a pretty severe example and yes, you're not touching a faceup the way a ring is touching your finger, but I just wanted to point out that your skin CAN eat through things.

If you want your faceup to last ... don't touch it very much.

 

Ah. I personally don't really care that much about faceups to freak out about the gradual wearing away of them. Especially since I change them a lot. If they do start to look worn in places you can always get them touched up if you don't want to just get a totally new one. That being said though, just because my dolls are played with all the time, that doesn't mean other people's are too. So I would never, ever touch the face of a doll that wasn't mine, probably not even if I had gloves on.

So yeah. If you're like me (and Teddy, apparently), don't worry about the occasional touch, but don't exactly rub them like a magic lamp, either. Uh... unless you really want to... I mean, it's your doll...

 

Actually, there are plenty of other alternatives between "never ever touching the doll even for play" and "pawing its face with bare greasy corrosive hands". You just take an extra precautionary step or two. Change the way you turn the doll's head; wear gloves during maintenance; wash hands before playing; remove doll's head before changing clothes; etc.

I own a buttload of LE faceups, so I have gotten into the habits of only turning the dolls' heads by grasping them behind the ears. Took awhile to stop automatically reaching for chin-and-forehead. And I have almost gotten used to wearing gloves when handling the head, for restringing or eye-changing... thick cotton gloves make me clumsy because I have big hands, but this few seconds' extra effort gives me a lot of peace of mind.

If I accidentally press a fingertip to an immaculate matte forehead, I can see a wee shiny-spot of oil appear there right away - and it makes me mad. :P I run right for the soapy Q-tip and dab the oil off before it can soak in too far.

Even if the oil-damage to the sealant doesn't show up visibly, right away, it will show up later. Some sealant ages more gracefully than others, depending on the type & amount that was originally used (which can vary wildly brand to brand). I have some dolls who've grown very shiny indeed after a few years. Others look fresh-from-the-box even after a tumble down the stairs + 4 years of wear. Of course everything is going to wear, over time, but it's really not hard to minimize the collateral damage.

 

It's been my experience that if the sealing on the face is good, the faceup can handle some activity. Heck, I washed all my doll's faces just the other day. Not a thing out of place afterwards. I had given my Bjorn a faceup when I recieved him this summer and when he got Bic ink on his face this week, I figured there was nothing to do but reface him, since it was right across his cheek blushing. But even having to scrub really hard to get it off, it didn't harm the faceup a bit.

I touch my doll's faceups all the time.

 

Agreed. I play with mine a LOT, but there's never been a reason to touch the face intentionally. I position heads by the ears or behind them, I wash my hands before doing anything that might mean accidentally touching the head, and I'm super-careful when I remove the heads not to touch the face. I remove the heads on my Minifees when dressing them, and don't ever put over-the-head clothes on the others. I don't usually wear gloves but I do have some for that purpose. The only one that gets touched even accidentally is the Puki, since the glass eyes make it kind of frontheavy.

Faceups take work and time, and even on the ones I did myself I don't want to HAVE to replace them often, even if I may choose to do so. And I definitely don't want any damage to the ones who have factory, limited, or artists faceups!

 

Most companies give good sealants on their face-ups so I don't normally worry if I'm touching the face if I have to, but I'm usually careful because sometimes it could possibly chip if not smear. Either way, with professional face-ups I try to keep it in good condition as long as I possibly can. My girl, has a custom face-up and I love it very much so I try to keep it.

 

I've got oilier skin, so I touch my doll's faceups as little as possible. I know that the oils in my skin will attract dirt/grime, and possibly harm the sealant/resin over time. Touching a faceup (especially rubbing) will slowly wear away the sealant. I do play with my dolls; hold them, pose them, change their clothes, and sew them clothing (which needs lots of test-fitting). My dolls certainly aren't display only. I'm thinking about getting a pair of white cotton gloves though, it would mean I'd have to clean them less often. I wouldn't wear them every time I touch my doll, but when I was touching them a lot.

Usually the only reason I'll touch my doll's face is because I'm moving a stray wig hair out of the way. Even then I try to use my fingernail- very lightly, or try to move it without touching the faceup at all (messy wigs drive me bonkers). If her face gets dirty, I'll try to clean it with a damp q-tip or cloth. So far, with those simple precautions, I have not had any visible damage to her faceup at all, which is how I want it. Her company faceup suits her perfectly, so I want it to last as long as possible.
My other dolls (One disassembled doll and two floating heads ) are going to have faceups done by myself, and I'll want to preserve my hard work.

Unless you don't mind redoing their faceups often, don't touch their faces if you can help it. However, if you're dealing with somebody else's doll, assume that they'll freak out if you touch the faceup. Better safe then sorry.

 

Wow ~

This is a very intense, and helpful, thread. xD I haven't even gotten my first doll, and I was planning to be all touchy feely. Now I suppose I'll have to learn some restraint. x:

 

One of the nicest experience was when I got an old hypermaniac with half worn of original faceup and I went to town touching the face feeling the contours it was beautiful and I knew I would be wiping the faceup off but it really helped with bonding. There are pluses to having an old or worn faceup. It was a totally new experience for me! normally as someone said it hardly passes her/or my mind to touch it.

 

Well, actually, I handle my dolls a lot, they go to meetups etc--they're definitely not cabinet babies, but I still avoid touching their faceups. It's very easy to play with a doll without putting your hands all over it's face. I have some that I did myself, and those concern me less, as I can easily enough redo them. But, I also have some dolls with custom or default faceups that are not so easily replaceable--so I'd rather not leave more dirt or oil on them if at all possible. However, that does not keep me from playing with them in any way shape or form.

I do the ear thing too when posing--it's an easy place to grab and turn.

 

I touch my boys face-ups all the time- when I'm moving their heads around, or playing with their hair, or just admiring how adorable they are, but that's also because I do them XD so if it gets smudged or dirty, (which mine haven't yet- I think it may be because I tend to have very dry hands...) I can just re-do it, and I usually get sick of seeing it after a couple months anyway... but that is just me...

 

some ppl are afraid it might come off if u touch it. i believe that as long as u dont touch it with ur nails, there's no problem (i poke my boys face all the time)
AND, if u fingers are a little dirty and stain your doll, u can just wash it!
trust my experience. i work in a garage and im not a very delicate person and my boys faceup are still OK

 

Second all of this! Some of my crew have elf ears, so I'm trying to get in the habit of moving their heads by pinching the back of their skull. And I always wash my hands before handling them. If I'm sewing for them I take off whatever pieces I can (usually just the head).

Don't forget: while you might not remove the face-up, you can still damage it. For example, my MNF Woosoo's default face-up came with a bit of glitter. I'm pretty sure if I wiped my hands over his face I'd remove the glitter, but the paint would stay.

Body blushing, OTOH, is a different story. That's going to wear away faster simply because it's usually touching clothing, or near/in joints that rub together.

 

I wear gloves when handling my resin dolls. I never ever touch the faces of my dolls except to clean. I hold the side of the face when tilting heads and arranging wigs, I always wear gloves.

We do not allow non company artists to work on the faces of our dolls, this applies to all dolls, not just ABJDs. If we feel that the company's artist did not do a satisfactory work, we will NOT erase the original makeup and let someone else work on it, a professional doll company must defend it's own reputation. The makeup on all my dolls' faces, once faded will never be restored, redone or touched up unless the company's artist do the work. Hence, I'm super careful.