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As discussed in past issues of Black Doll-E-Zine, taking care of  dolls consists of keeping them clean and properly displayed to protect against the elements. Doll care can also consist of changing a doll's clothing, hair, or other attributes.   While some collectors prefer to allow a doll to maintain its original manufactured state, others desire to have fun with their dolls by changing their dolls' appearance to one that more appropriately suits their tastes.  Some collectors may choose to redress, re-wig or restyle the hair, reborn, or even colorize their dolls.  Some examples of these types of doll care makeovers, which include before and after photographs, are illustrated below.

Babies

        Lee Middleton's Jesus Loves Me (Before)                         JLM (After, courtesy of Margaret Rogers)

Lee Middleton's Tiny Ruffles (Before)                                                            TR (After, courtesy of Margaret Rogers)

Artist Dolls

          Philip Heath's Aaron (Before, courtesy of Rosemary Legg)         Aaron redressed for Christmas  (Courtesy of Shirl Scott)

                Elissa Glassgold's Alicia (before)                 Alicia redressed with restyled hair (Courtesy Shirl Scott)

Alicia with combed out curls, pierced ears, and earrings

Joyous by Pamela Erff and Gloria Vanderbilt                            Joyous redressed (Courtesy of Shirl Scott)

Shirl Scott's Joyous with new hairdo

Fashion Dolls

Special Appearance Violet Waters (original) and SA Violet Waters in Franklin Mint Marilyn Monroe "Red Evening Gown Ensemble" (courtesy Melodie Anderson)

Reborn Dolls

Reborn dolls are usually made from a play line manufactured doll that is customized by a reborn artist to look like a real baby.  The most commonly used doll for the "reborning" process is manufactured by Berenguer, but other manufactured dolls are used as well.  The example below is the Berenguer 15620 doll, originally a Caucasian doll, now a beautiful African American, life-like doll complete with heartbeat!

Berenguer 15620 doll (Before)                                     15620 reborn by BrownSugarBabies

                                    Juan Dolls "Jessie" mold (before)                     Juan Dolls "Jessie" reborn by Karen's Dolly Kreations 

Colorized or Dyed Dolls

A before picture of Deluxe's Darling Debbie, a 1957 Fashion Doll that was usually sold in grocery stores around Christmastime.  This doll is also known as Sweet Rosemary, but for the purpose of this article, she is referred to as Darling Debbie.

Darling Debbie, dyed and drying out - notice that not only did her vinyl "skin" dye, but her hair and miraculously her blue eyes are now brown, too!  Fingernail polish was used  to paint her lips and the whites of her eyes, which had darkened in the dye bath.   Below, Darling Debbie has been cleverly dressed for a night on the town.  (The dress is actually a majorette's cuff.)  Her gold dangle earrings and gold custom-made high-heel shoes are a perfect match for her purple sequined "dress" that has gold accents at its bodice.

These are just a few "makeover" examples.  Just remember not to be afraid to express your creativity through doll play:  redressing, re-wigging, and the other options explored in this article; but whatever you choose to do, have fun!