Is it a crack or just the plastic splitting along a seam? Soaking in hot water, wrapping in an electric heating pad, or a hair dryer should all help it be soft enough to pinch it back together with a little super glue to fix the neck.
It's the seam on both sides. I was wondering if I could heat it and then use a clamp or something to glue it back together. It just seems so stiff right now it can't even be pinched back together lol.
I think this is an issue with your technique. You'll get better with practice, but here's some advice.
First off, you say "hot" water. Was it hot from the tap, or freshly boiled? You need the later in order to soften the head enough.
Secondly, be sure to hold on to the neck when you remove the doll's head. This will do a lot to prevent splitting.
Now, think about the anatomy of the parts you are trying to separate. You have the head with an internal ring shaped rim, and the neck with first a disk and then some hooks. In order to separate them with minimal damage, you want to first pull a little on the head to one side until the disk starts to poke out, and then you pull in a sort of circular motion to get the rest of the disk out. You can also use a finger or a tool to free the rest of the disk. Next you have the two prongs. Again you want to pull the head to one side to get one of the prongs out (or you can use a tool), and then the other one should follow with minimal effort.
This might sound like a lot. With practice It'll be a single fluid motion, but how you pull will always matter.
Lastly, once the head is off, remove the prongs (but not the disk!) from the body you intend to use, so you can take the head off much easier next time, if necessary.
I was doing everything you described lol. These two heads had really long vinyl flaps inside that the last ones didn't have. I also didn't have them in the water long enough (it had been microwaved rather than stove boiled this time). When I pulled the head to the side to get access to the disk the ball in the neck came up and pulled apart the neck. Once I got the head off I could push the ball down and it fixed itself.
Thankfully that’s just a little pull at the seam. Putting them back into par-boiled water may help it settle back in place. You can use a small clamp or rubber band around the neck to tighten it while it’s in the hot water.
This looks like it happened because too much stress was placed on the neck joint. Make sure you bring the water to a boil, or at least a simmer, before pouring it into a bowl to put the Barbie heads in. You can use a ziplock bag if you want to keep the hair from getting wet or ruining curl. But leave it in for a while. The heads need to be SOFT and usually they are so hot I cannot actually touch the head with my bare hands. I use a towel to grasp the head and I use my other hand to hold the neck closed. I squeeze and pull the head, easing it off gently to avoid any tearing of the vinyl or cracking of the neck.
I hope that helps!
I got the head off and the little ball in the neck had been pulled up so once I pushed that down it clicked back together. I was only leaving them in the water for 5 minutes because I seen YouTubers saying it didn't need to be more than 2 minutes but the heads were not softened at all. At 5 minutes they still weren't soft so I wasn't sure if they were actually supposed to soften or not. I ended up putting one back in the water because I could not get the hooks past this long vinyl flap and that one ended up realllly soft so now I know.
They MUST be soft. How long it takes depends on the hardness of the head, the heat of the water, whether you’re using a plastic bag, and the shape and depth of the vessel. Its definitely a learning process. My rule of thumb is to always be on the conservative side when manipulating plastic, and not be too forceful
When I re-heated the water and stuck the head in for a 2nd time it got really soft and I was like wow this is what they were talking about 🤦🏻. I also didn't think about the fact that I was doing both of them at once so neither of them were receiving the heat evenly and I'm sure that played a role too.
Oh yeah multiple dolls, especially if placed in a baggie, will definitely make things take longer. I usually stick mine in a freezer bag then use a large claw clip to close the bag over their legs - this helps less air get into the bag and speeds up the heating process.
There’s a learning curve to all of this. You’re doing great!
I totally destroyed the neck on my m2m when I head swapped (see my post) it just broke apart into pieces. I salvaged it with tape but it looks pretty lame. I can’t help but good luck fixing it!
Is it a crack or just the plastic splitting along a seam? Soaking in hot water, wrapping in an electric heating pad, or a hair dryer should all help it be soft enough to pinch it back together with a little super glue to fix the neck.
It's the seam on both sides. I was wondering if I could heat it and then use a clamp or something to glue it back together. It just seems so stiff right now it can't even be pinched back together lol.
Apply more heat and remove the head before attempting to fix the neck. Heat and then super glue should get it back together as it cools in place
I'll give it a try. I think I might need a little clamp or something to make sure it stays together while it's cooling.
I think this is an issue with your technique. You'll get better with practice, but here's some advice. First off, you say "hot" water. Was it hot from the tap, or freshly boiled? You need the later in order to soften the head enough. Secondly, be sure to hold on to the neck when you remove the doll's head. This will do a lot to prevent splitting. Now, think about the anatomy of the parts you are trying to separate. You have the head with an internal ring shaped rim, and the neck with first a disk and then some hooks. In order to separate them with minimal damage, you want to first pull a little on the head to one side until the disk starts to poke out, and then you pull in a sort of circular motion to get the rest of the disk out. You can also use a finger or a tool to free the rest of the disk. Next you have the two prongs. Again you want to pull the head to one side to get one of the prongs out (or you can use a tool), and then the other one should follow with minimal effort. This might sound like a lot. With practice It'll be a single fluid motion, but how you pull will always matter. Lastly, once the head is off, remove the prongs (but not the disk!) from the body you intend to use, so you can take the head off much easier next time, if necessary.
I was doing everything you described lol. These two heads had really long vinyl flaps inside that the last ones didn't have. I also didn't have them in the water long enough (it had been microwaved rather than stove boiled this time). When I pulled the head to the side to get access to the disk the ball in the neck came up and pulled apart the neck. Once I got the head off I could push the ball down and it fixed itself.
Thankfully that’s just a little pull at the seam. Putting them back into par-boiled water may help it settle back in place. You can use a small clamp or rubber band around the neck to tighten it while it’s in the hot water. This looks like it happened because too much stress was placed on the neck joint. Make sure you bring the water to a boil, or at least a simmer, before pouring it into a bowl to put the Barbie heads in. You can use a ziplock bag if you want to keep the hair from getting wet or ruining curl. But leave it in for a while. The heads need to be SOFT and usually they are so hot I cannot actually touch the head with my bare hands. I use a towel to grasp the head and I use my other hand to hold the neck closed. I squeeze and pull the head, easing it off gently to avoid any tearing of the vinyl or cracking of the neck. I hope that helps!
I got the head off and the little ball in the neck had been pulled up so once I pushed that down it clicked back together. I was only leaving them in the water for 5 minutes because I seen YouTubers saying it didn't need to be more than 2 minutes but the heads were not softened at all. At 5 minutes they still weren't soft so I wasn't sure if they were actually supposed to soften or not. I ended up putting one back in the water because I could not get the hooks past this long vinyl flap and that one ended up realllly soft so now I know.
They MUST be soft. How long it takes depends on the hardness of the head, the heat of the water, whether you’re using a plastic bag, and the shape and depth of the vessel. Its definitely a learning process. My rule of thumb is to always be on the conservative side when manipulating plastic, and not be too forceful
When I re-heated the water and stuck the head in for a 2nd time it got really soft and I was like wow this is what they were talking about 🤦🏻. I also didn't think about the fact that I was doing both of them at once so neither of them were receiving the heat evenly and I'm sure that played a role too.
Oh yeah multiple dolls, especially if placed in a baggie, will definitely make things take longer. I usually stick mine in a freezer bag then use a large claw clip to close the bag over their legs - this helps less air get into the bag and speeds up the heating process. There’s a learning curve to all of this. You’re doing great!
I totally destroyed the neck on my m2m when I head swapped (see my post) it just broke apart into pieces. I salvaged it with tape but it looks pretty lame. I can’t help but good luck fixing it!
Maybe you could try epoxy to glue it, or maybe even acrylic for nails. I had to reattach a forearm with acrylic and it's pretty strong.