Extreme American Girl Doll Hair Restoration

Today we’re fixing up an old American Girl Samantha doll! This also serves as a great tutorial on how to repair an American Girl doll. All of the tools I used in the video can be found in the links below:
- Dental Pick: amzn.to/3VxoMJQ
- Flat Iron: amzn.to/4clhGyJ
- Curlers: amzn.to/3yWma0b
- Steamer: amzn.to/3RtEjsQ
- Spray Bottle: amzn.to/3yYTYtA
- Hair Elastics: amzn.to/3Xq9by1
- Bobby Pins: amzn.to/4aZxZjG
- Toothbrush: amzn.to/4bSHL8t
I’ll receive a small commission on sales made through the above links within 24 hours of clicking. Thanks for supporting my channel!
✦ Patreon: / idreamofjonny
✦ Doll Shop: idreamofjonny.com
✦ TikTok: / idreamofjonny
✦ Instagram: / idreamofjonny

[@rory_gilmores_coffee]

i lost it at "i mean, her parents are dead, this really isn't her biggest problem." 😂 lmao, she looks great though!

[@idreamofjonny]

🤣 thanks!

[@catdogmom155]

Amazing work! I laughed out loud at the Titanic part. RIP Samantha and fam 😂

[@idreamofjonny]

👋🚢

[@bethjones7755]

Brooke absolutely sold me on this channel, and despite really not being into American Girl dolls, and this video was super entertaining to watch.

[@idreamofjonny]

Thanks, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Brooke is awesome 🩵

[@daniellemiller5959]

Your channel has inspired me to find, restore, and display my old Samantha doll. ❤

[@idreamofjonny]

That's awesome, thanks! I hope you have fun restoring her!

[@melissabazile]

FREAKING AMAZING!!!!!! BEST DOLL HAIR TUTORIAL EVER!!! Thank you!!! Can’t wait to hear more about this on Patreon! 🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@therobotdevil2284]

Oh I am SO coming back to this video many times for restorations - this is so helpful! Edit: love the chad michaels reference, lol

[@abbytaegusuga]

That transformation is insane!! Great work!! Loved the surprise Chappell Roan mention at the end 🤭

[@ghostcatm4788]

showing how you did the bangs was soo helpful!! ive been rehab-ing a pleasant company kirsten and her wig was ROUGH

[@mkrachel7677]

the editing style is so cool! you deserve so much more views and subscibers.

[@awkwardtaco8259]

i’ve been looking into restoring my sisters’ childhood dolls (that i often got to play with, as a boy who wasn’t allowed to have dolls). incredibly useful!!

[@idreamofjonny]

you'll love bringing them back to life! good luck!

[@tinmanlover1994]

I've never seen a white body restoring before And Samantha looks amazing. When I curl my Samantha's in curlers I just go crazy with the curlers and leave it in for a few days and take them out and she looks Brand new straight out of the box.

[@idreamofjonny]

One of these days I will learn to enjoy the curling part, but the rest is fun!

[@angelahare9472]

I have the hardest time getting curls to set.I have been wanting to restore my childhood 90s Samantha's hair. Love this restoration video. I would love to see more of these.

[@idreamofjonny]

You might need a little more heat! Many more vids like this are on the way!

[@robinkrueger5977]

WOW!! 👀 She's beautiful!😍

[@idreamofjonny]

Thanks!

[@robinkrueger5977]

@@idreamofjonny you are very welcome!! Great job!😃❤️

[@clairewatkins1720]

Amazing transformation! And you always crack me up! Have a great day! 😊

[@logcabin3551]

What an amazing reclamation! You worked a miracle!

[@ariaseymour9634]

That is an incredible transformation. Holy cow.

[@Joolieannie]

Girl you ate it up so proud of your work

[@idreamofjonny]

Thanks Jools 🍽️

[@schminckiette]

She looks beautiful! You did a great job. 😄 Thank you for showing us the process and for making the world a better place. 😉 I have a doll wig that I feel more confident working on now.

[@crystalbluepersuasion3897]

Incredible transformation!

[@BmcC102]

Fantastic job, Jonathan! This video has inspired me/convinced me to restore the curls on my white body Samantha... luckily, her bangs are still great, but the curls could use some work. THANK YOU FOR THE TUTORIAL!

[@idreamofjonny]

Thanks so much! Good luck with the restoration!!

[@tudormiller887]

Great restoration AG doll video.❤ Watching in 🇬🇧

[@idreamofjonny]

Thank you! Hi from 🇺🇸!

[@thoseponytoys]

i know you say you dont want to spend much on dolls, but conditioner ( or fabric softener ) does really work wonders on synthetic hair ! it makes tangles a blessing to work through, as dish soap mostly works more like a shampoo ( not to mention conditioner does give the hair a pretty shine ^_^ )

[@idreamofjonny]

It deeeefinitely helps speed up detangling, but I still refuse unless it's a doll meant for play heheh

[@KittyPajamas]

So inspiring!! My childhood '88 Sam has a new wig because her original is a hot mess. But of course I kept it with the hopes that one day I could restore it. She needs hella wefts added, so if you have a tutorial for that in the works, I'd be thru the roof excited!

[@idreamofjonny]

I am gonna do a weft video before too long! Hopefully we can get your girl fixed!

[@KittyPajamas]

@@idreamofjonny YAAAAY!

[@dakotatwilight]

I absolutely loved this restoration video. Wow 8 hours total work congratulations, but then you are by now a real pro. I agree nothing beats the original wig. I have two PC Samantha, tanbodied I don't have that kind of cash for whitebodied, and one by some miracle had her elastic and mini ponytail still. You bet I cut that elastic real quick and replaced it. All I needed on #2 was water and a bit of heat to make it beautiful, I admit #1 took more time and work, wish I had your example, though I did similar. I am dead against the fabric softener method, it does leave a minute residue on the hair even after washing out thouroughly, multiple times, and there is no saying what that might do to the hair fiber itself on a chemical or microbiological level. And as my comment shows I did try it. Unlike some cheaper dolls with cheaper hair fibers where it might be of help as a play line doll, I don't see the benefit at all with PC/AG dolls. I have only had two dolls where I couldn't rescue the wig, one was a AG Mia it literally was disintegrating before my eyes, and my first PC doll, an early tanbodied Kirsten with bubble eye and the softest eyelashes. Her wig is literally straw and breaking when you look at it. It looked like your Samantha hair but worse. With days of gentle work it still was a disaster, I bagged it up to save. I never throw out a wig, except Mia because it was only a wig cap with a few sparce hairs and even the wig cap was coming apart. I did find a replacement wig for Mia. PC Kirsten I decided with all her other issues(fading vinyl color, no facepaint, blackened toes and fingers(as in colorless vinyl) to customize into a cousin for my 2024 Reproduction Kirsten I just got. I will be just putting back the original face up like my new Kirsten has.

[@juliearankin]

I've been waiting for this video! I got my Samantha's hair cleaned up and straightened, but need to get it in the updo and curled. This is so helpful! I even took her to the AG store doll salon and they didn't make it look acceptable to me. I will have to do it myself to do it right.

[@AndreaA127]

Wow, thats pretty amazing!

[@idreamofjonny]

thanks!

[@ThoseMagicChangesAG]

0:07 who knew Jonny had such great knocks?

[@idreamofjonny]

🤭🤫

[@paulettepalmer4860]

It's a miracle!😯

[@idreamofjonny]

🪄🎩

[@bellaboo8952]

AAA+ SHE LOOKS GREAT!!!!

[@AgDollsDownUnder]

How is she the same doll this is INSANE!!!!

[@iamsoverybored878]

This is helpful in case i find a AG doll second hand.

[@idreamofjonny]

I hope you find a good one!

[@nildajurado8423]

Wow amazing job 😮

[@idreamofjonny]

thanks!

[@heidi6880]

amazing!

[@megs4480]

Absolutely incredible work! She looks perfect. I enjoyed this video so much!

[@idreamofjonny]

Thanks so much!

[@princesssadieloo]

Amazing! Great job! Sigh…, 21 AG/ pleasant company dolls and no white body… some day…😢

[@idreamofjonny]

You'll get your white body before too long! Just keep watching eBay!

[@CherishedDollFriends]

Thank you so much Jonathan. This was super helpful. I have an old PC Samantha who needs this treatment. I will give it a try now thanks to your great tips! 😄

[@idreamofjonny]

Glad the video was useful! Good luck, and have fun!

[@steph585]

You did amazing amazing job!!!! Very helpful tutorial.

[@idreamofjonny]

Thanks a million!

[@agsquish]

this is amazing !!!! 😮

[@idreamofjonny]

thank you! 🩵

[@granddaddychaddy2851]

I highly recommend Twin Peaks, it's not for everyone though

[@user-qq1gv8hf8n]

Hey! I know your first love is AG. Would you be open to covering fashion dolls as well? Occasionally I mean. I would like to see but understand if you prefer to focus on your fave

[@idreamofjonny]

I actually do want to do that soon! All of my Barbies are still packed away so I've been out of the loop with fashion dolls lately, but I do wanna get back into them!

[@PekingeseLover]

i've been so scared to try and fix my pleasant company mollys hair.. im gonna try this heat method since shes been detangled and washed by me a few months ago i just cant stand the dryness

[@Selenas_Elegant_Dolls]

Good video but you should have done more research rinse all the soap out of the dolls hair then applied a type of conditioner the way you would treat a synthetic wig, easier to detangle and would have been less time consuming,

[@samuraireincarnation3853]

My samanta I don’t know if she’s a white body I think she’s a 1996 I got her at a thrift store

[@desnakellum-yanzuk2217]

Cheap, you are not…Practical.

[@idreamofjonny]

Eh, maybe both 🤣

[@ALT-vz3jn]

Please make a video for restoring curly hair! 🫠Pleading shamelessly, because you have some of the best hair restoration videos I’ve seen. For example GOT26, MAG46/Gabriela, MAG58, TM67, 83, 85… I know you’re all about PC dolls, but literally NO ONE on AGTube has ever made a good video for fixing jacked up curly AG hair. Everyone just says to wet each curl and wind around a pencil, but that just doesn’t work when the curly hair is really jacked up it only works when the curls aren’t matted and frizzed up. I feel I’m missing some crucial information to successfully restore those curly wigs that are more often than not on dolls of color. They deserve so much better 🤗