Some good friends of mine, who happen to be twins, just passed down all of their old Barbie dolls to my daughter. I have no idea where mine are (I'm going to have to ask my mom about that one!) So seeing all of theirs made me reminisce, some look pretty familiar. As my daughter and I unpacked the box *full* of Barbies, we noticed that some of the legs had gotten a little sticky. So, I went ahead and washed them with some soap and water with a regular kitchen sponge. I dried a couple with a towel and noticed they are still sticky! So I got in touch with the google gods...where else would I turn!? And this is what I found.
This experience is totally normal with some dolls from the 70s & 80s – some even develop splotching (especially on their legs) depending on the composition of the plastic/vinyl.
Wash the dolls in a mild soapy water then lightly dust the effected area with talcolm powder to limit the sticky effect.
One of the most important things is to try and keep the dolls separate from each other when stored – the plastics can actually interact off each other.
I dusted some powder on all the legs, and it worked like a charm! My daughter is having a blast with alllll these Barbies. I think we are going to need some more Barbie clothes ASAP! :o)
I wrap mine in acid free tissue papers, that keeps the plastic legs from touching and the hair from getting tangled.
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