Daddy Steve: Most Sasha folks are well aware of the 'falling hair' problem that sometimes afflicts the older English brunettes. For some reason (probably related to chemicals in the dye), the hair can become weak and brittle, causing it to break off at the root. However, the brunettes are so lovely that we all go ahead and buy them anyway, hoping they will have 'good hair.'
I've been pretty lucky in this regard, but it was not to be the case with Logan, a 1968 Gregor. I found Logan last fall on eBay with a very reasonable buy-it-now price. The seller advertised him as having never been removed from his tube, and I do think that may have been true. Certainly he was never played with or displayed. His tube still had the often missing cardboard disk/stand on the lid. Inside, he was still packed in a long plastic sleeve with a sponge foam cushion (I remember that my childhood Gregor was packaged the same way).
Logan's face paint was vibrant! The lips, which so often fade to a putty color were still coral pink. His vinyl was completely matte, with no marks or scratches. He basically looked the same as when he left the factory over 50 years ago. However, all those years sealed in his tube did not help his hair at all. He was shedding like a Christmas tree in July...
Because he was so pristine otherwise, I felt that he deserved a new head of rooted hair. Re-rooting a Sasha doll is no small task. The original rooting process was lightning fast--probably taking only a minute or two. Replacing all that hair must be done by hand, and can take many hours. After the actual re-rooting, the hair has to be cut, styled, and made to lay 'just right.' Boy dolls can be more problematic as their shorter hair doesn't have as much weight to help it lay flat.
Lovely, but that hair wouldn't last for long...
I decided to send Logan to a lady in Spain named
Jackie Rydstrom. Jackie specializes in re-rooting Sasha dolls. Some of her clients are like Logan; brunettes with falling hair, while others are victims of 'junior hairdressers.' She does absolutely marvelous work, which you can see here:
http://sashadoll.net/
So, I sent Logan off and waited. You may recall that with all the pandemic chaos across the world, winter 2020-2021 was not the best time to attempt to ship anything internationally. Logan eventually arrived in Spain after traveling for over a month (and with an inexplicable detour through Poland). Jackie went right to work on him.
First, she had to remove all of his old hair, which wasn't difficult at all. Basically all she had to do was wash it and it pretty much disintegrated. Then it was a matter of threading bunches of new hair into each rooting hole--again and again. After all the new hair is in place, the artistry takes over: trimming, feathering, layering, and shaping.
After washing, everything fell out except for a small clump in the back.
He looks a bit like Pharaoh's son in the movie The Ten Commandments.
Re-rooting in progress.
Re-rooting complete (but not cutting and styling).
Now he looks like one of those swashbuckling heroes on the cover of romance novels.
All finished and back home in Minnesota.
I really love Logan's new hair. It does the same thing that an expert haircut does on a big person; by framing and accentuating his handsome features, particularly his wonderful arched eyebrows. It's also great to have a brunette with truly rock-solid hair. He'll probably be a bit of a daredevil.
Anthony: Just because you've got new hair, you don't need to get cocky, kid!
Tyler: Coooooollll.....
Mikko: Aw, don't listen to Mr. Stick-in-the-mud!
The girls are certainly impressed with Logan's new hair.
Marta: Ooooh, so soft!
Daphne: And yet so firm!
Logan: Oh, ladies, behave!
