Restoring 2001 Irwin Sailor Moon Dolls (and Princess Serenity!)

I have these old Sailor Moon dolls and decided to clean Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity (Serena) up! This is the process. The two are extremely improved
The custom Princess Serenity dress is available here (no affiliation):
www.etsy.com/l...
Sources used for information in this video:
• How I Do Dolly Laundry - A Thousand Splendid Dolls Tutorial Playlist. Really good basic resources.
• How to detangle, fix a... - Specific guide for Saran hair repair
• How to Defrizz Doll Ha... - Specific guide for flat ironing Saran hair
• Video - Specific guide for curling Saran hair

[@yanderemoka6891]

Serina? I thought her name was usagi?????

[@TamasRoom]

These are North American dolls from the early 2000s based on the Dic/Cloverway dub. In that one she's called Serena, so on the box of the doll this doll is called Serena too. That's the only reason I'm using that name.

[@-ivyforest-5730]

In English Serena ._.

[@chesterharperyt2578]

@@TamasRoom ohh

[@kaliuchissss]

English is Serena, Japanese usagi.

[@alejosop]

In Latin America called Serena too

[@aidanboyle7374]

I have never had any interest in sailor moon, dolls, or doll restoration, but this series is so soothing I could watch it for hours

[@joelikechi-konkwo1074]

Same man same

[@auralunaprettycure]

I would recommend showing interest in Sailor Moon as a grown man I can say it’s a good series

[@qwertydoolittle3264]

me neither but amazingly I enjoyed the video and finished watching it.

[@randomstuff5250]

Same

[@sungexpression9093]

“It was frizzy. It was messy” lol the sound of defeat in your voice She turned out great!

[@blueroses93]

Ooh, this reminds me that I still have a Sailor Mercury doll of this brand. Stupid child-me thought her hair was too poofy, so trimmed it... OTL It was nice seeing these dolls from my childhood get the repairs they deserve! I love this video!

[@Kt-cn2rq]

😆

[@BluePenguin200]

Ironically the original Sailor Moon’s whitish hair colour is more closer to what Naoko originally envisioned for the character before her editors decided to make her change it to blonde🤍😂

[@DylanRomanov]

I kinda like the platinum blonde but Usagi looks great with the golden blonde too. It would have separated her from the look of Venus.

[@BluePenguin200]

@@DylanRomanov i agree! I personally prefer Neo-Queen Serenity/Princess Serenity with silver/platinum blonde hair, since I think it suits the whole “moonpeople” thing

[@auralunaprettycure]

I remember crying at that story, that the producers said white hair made her look like a “granny” and laughed in her face. I’m surprised at that, it’s pretty disrespectful

[@neonfarbenrausch]

Wow, I remember that :D Weird Sailor Moon trivia in my head. Had all the artbooks and mangas and read all her comment sections on those...

[@lynkuromuno2642]

@@auralunaprettycure and here right now so many anime girl have a white hair 🙄

[@Magicbased121]

As a doll customiser i'm impressed with your persistence in atleast trying to fix the doll's hair i would have just rerooted it from start but you gotta so what you good to do they turned out beautiful, if it helps invest in pipecleaners for curling.

[@LadyxBleu]

"With the ugly heads" Me, who loves those dolls with all my heart: *goes to lay down for awhile to get my emotions together*

[@TamasRoom]

I'm sorry I called them ugly, if you think they are beautiful then they are!

[@seannabio5310]

Hehe

[@KingOfGaymes]

I’m sorry but.. the noses.. 😭

[@estrella66176]

Please have the dolls in my basement they are horrifying

[@LadyxBleu]

@@estrella66176 ahah Idk if I want some that have been in a basement but I pay quite a lot for dolls still in the box when I find them on ebay and etsy

[@kattriella1331]

I will forever be angry at mother and grandmother for throwing out the Sailor Moon dolls I had collected as an ADULT. They decided to come in and "clean" for me while I was away at work and thought they'd do me a "favor" and dispose of some of the "unneeded, childish things" in my collection. Yeah, I was not happy, and I still haven't recollected them again . . . They also destroyed the box of my S. H. Figuarts Sailor Uranus figure. I now keep all my collectibles under lock and key, so nosey relatives can't ruin them.

[@Coolskeleton2030]

Bruh, thats sucks

[@honeyeggs9145]

^^ agree, throw away their stuff that is old and valuable. they just threw out most likely 1000 dollars worth of dolls.

[@jinx7797]

I never had dolls, but I understand the frustration of others deciding what you bring into adulthood. My mum threw my original Scooby-Doo and Pokemon films on VHS while I was at school. And I'm still vocally bitter about it, even after the Pokemon movies were replaced a decade later.

[@eileenconway2966]

I have a 1965 Skipper bend legs doll and I’d be LIVID if someone threw her out! I’m so sorry this happened to you!

[@lanaqqw]

that must suck, oof.

[@YouTubeByAdamSandler]

These ended up looking really great! I have an old Sailor Chibi doll in the storage that has gone waaay too frizzy to display, these videos are giving me inspiration to maybe start doing something about it

[@bathestyles6525]

I had no idea the rabbit hole of dolls and doll restorations that existed. This is so captivating

[@Ddot5ky]

Never been a big sailor moon fan but this is surprisingly interesting to watch

[@Coolskeleton2030]

Same

[@BearlyActive]

as a doll customizer i freaking love this! i get to listen to you talk and watch dolls be fixed up! Its a win win!

[@hotaruchibi1669]

I love that you have the Serena and Rini 2 pack! I got my own set from my kindergarten teacher years ago, when I was moving. It was such a nice surprise! ^_^ I may have to try restoring them when I find them, and display them as you do

[@joshjenns]

I look forward to these videos appearing in my subscription box, i love seeing the process of doll restoration. It must be so rewarding seeing your childhood toys look brand new again, it makes me satisfied to see a part of someone’s childhood feel complete

[@blaineishere3851]

Excellent job! This is a really fun series!

[@crystaleevee1334]

This totally popped up at random in my feed. I also still have my old Sailor Moon dolls from when I was a kid. Fortunately I was a weird kid who took ridiculously good care of my toys, so all my dolls are still in excellent shape with all the parts. (Well, almost perfect, the hair on some of the dolls has gotten very straw-like, probably from age or the fact I live in the desert.) I occasionally check in on eBay hoping to score the ones I’m still missing, but it’s wishful thinking as the prices have really jumped in recent years. I have been thinking of buying up the ones in awful shape for cheap and try and restore them. The ones in poor shape always look so sad in those photos. Maybe I will some day when I have the time/better set up for such projects.

[@InsanityAnthony]

The old man from Toy Story 2 that fixed woody got nothing on you ! Great job :)

[@janetteltschik748]

LOL!

[@CroakPad]

Imagine if she used the music from that scene for these videos.

[@InsanityAnthony]

@@CroakPad That would be hilarious but Disney would copyright her in a second

[@imfsresidentotaku9699]

​@@InsanityAnthony Not to worry. I found a sound-alike cover that should be safe from Disney. The copyright holder may monetize the video, but at least it won't be blocked. /watch?v=pcpB9HInWhw

[@Double_K_A]

These videos are oddly therapeutic. I always like seeing things get restored.

[@rachelstocker8806]

I have all of these dolls, I wouldn’t trust myself to retouch any of them but this video is so satisfying to watch! Beautiful work!

[@BeetaroniPizza]

I think you tried so hard to make the old head work you earned the new head.

[@Pokemon32961]

Me too. I would’ve given up and just gotten a new head but from an original released sailor moon so it’s still basically has the same history

[@astoldbyneon43]

Woah, I didn't even know they made these types of dolls! And the end results look so good compared to their original state!!! 😻

[@meringue_meow]

Just recently ordered a Princess Serenity doll, and I'm so excited for to come in so I can restore her!! Thanks for being a great inspiration Tama!

[@к.костић]

I want a Sailor Saturn doll so badly, she was always my favorite. I loved Pluto too!

[@simmerszalai9196]

don't think Saturn was made time dolls came out I had all the dolls never saw the Hotaru doll.

[@rsquaredpiful]

@@simmerszalai9196 she was made as a limited exclusive item in Canada

[@soramoose]

Great Job Tama, Been loving this series - I find it very relaxing - best of luck with the continuation of the your restoration

[@ruderalph5191]

This is so nice and this is one of the first times i have seen people put so much care into these old toys. I love it and even though dolls are not my type but keep up the good work and care towards these dolls.

[@sungexpression9093]

I love your videos! You can always get an enthusiast to reroot the hair if it’s unruly.

[@GrandCorsair]

You took way better care of your dolls then I did as a kid. I would cut the hair off and loose the shoes instantly.

[@aifayashajaganshi]

I remember wanting these dolls so badly as a child. good to see you. still have them and love them

[@tabby5228]

Huh. I have some of these dolls. Never played with them, far as I remember, but being a sailor moon fan, I had to have them when I saw them in stores. The boxes got pretty faded from sunlight, but only the back side. Nice to see others still have them.

[@Simply-Becca]

I found sailor mercury at my local flea market with box . she was beat up but seeing this video has inspired me to pick her up this weekend and fix her up

[@te1egramsam]

I had both of these dolls when I was little, man I miss them. My mom threw them out since they were in such rough shape. It was nostalgic to see them again in this video!

[@l1zziebunn3h]

OMG those sailor moon doll outfits are so CUUTE I CAN"TTT!!!

[@ochibawolf]

Oh my gosh you did a great job!

[@OfficialSparklyPig]

RE yellow sleeves - Something you could do is put another layer of white fabric in between the sleeve and the yellow stuff, that will cut down on or eliminate the yellow coming through. I'm not going to read through the 300 comments to see if this was posted already lol

[@marksmithwas12]

Amazing restoration :) I love how you've ended up with more recruitments (dolls) since you started this project lol

[@TheCamdog9]

I actually got the Princess Serenity doll and still have it. She still is in pretty good shape, the only thing that deteriorated was the gold bead necklace and bracelet. They both loosened over time and the bracelet is now too big for her wrist. The elastic bands broke over time as well on all of my dolls that had them, including Sailor Moon herself. Luckily I was able to find bands that were thin enough to twist onto the red hair pieces and put them back on. Jupiter's green ones just fell out and I am trying to find bands so that I can put them back into her hair. The opening is much smaller compared to the pink hair pieces for Chibi Moon and Black Lady so it's tough.

[@poptarts4prez]

This was generally really interesting to watch. I have never been into this kind of stuff, but this video was nice.

[@laurabrown7133]

I think you did an AMAZING job! Wow! The ordangos on my Irwin Black Lady doll, Super Sailor Moon, and Princess Serenity ended up falling off and I just used super glue to glue them back on. The hair elastics have also crumbled and I just super glued my best. If I was creative I could of used hair elastics before super glue haha

[@annedoingherbest3458]

I grew up with all my sister's old sailor moon dolls and this fills me with joy to see these

[@shyniestar]

i always hated dolls as a kid and considered myself a bit too tomboy to really like sailor moon but these doll restoration vids are v satisfying

[@YukeWeiss]

It's fun seeing you do something like this. It's lots of fun and really interesting.

[@NaniNani-ch8ts]

I have four of the first run of Irwin dolls!! I got them as a kid and I have the sailor moon and chibi moon in theirs stands and sailor Uranus and Neptune still in the box. I remember I used to also have sailor Mercury and (I think) sailor Jupiter but being a kid I played with them so much their legs came off 😅... I’ve always thought that since their faces were so odd that they were knockoffs, but this is really exciting! Now I’m thinking checking out ebay to replace the ones that little me destroyed...

[@Alex96D]

I love these videos honestly there so refreshing and the commentary is just soothing!!!!!

[@damarisvarela555]

Okay i popped off when you bought the queen serenity dress omg

[@Sakuyamon]

I dunno if you have gotten this advice before but if possible, you should use a metal comb on the hair. Plastic on plastic cause more friction and you get frizz. Also, if you need moons for chokers, foreheads or some other doll shenanigans, look for nail decorations. There are sets on both ebay and ali express with small crescent moons (and stars) that are perfect size for 12 inch dolls.

[@Majin_Lee]

0:16 this is exactly why im watching the video. i love watching people restore old things!

[@zachszeszol3666]

i’ve been a long time fan of your videos!! (Like over 8 years!) i had no clue you got married!??! Congratulations!!

[@rocyrino]

I frigging love Sailor Moon. And your cahnnel as well. Makes up for my crappy childhood!

[@FlameEmber]

So thorough and so much better than the original look! I also had all of these dolls growing up and can affirm that the scuff marks on the legs happen even if you only played mostly gently indoors. I was 11 when these came out, and they were super precious to me so I wasn't being rough with them, but the crunchy, frizzy hair And the scuff marks of the legs especially Just happened inevitably.

[@pw2160]

This is cool 💖 I love the level of detail you go into.

[@aviral9892]

This is really fun to watch. Love your content

[@bluekinopio9390]

I’m not a doll person but I love watching these

[@MirandaWeaver]

This is fun to watch! It makes me wish I still had my sailor moon doll. So many moves..and she ended up lost. 😞

[@justlynn2223]

I will say as a person who also owns an early version of Sailor Moon, I think the crescent moon detail was either added to the design later or the moon fell at some point as my own doll also doesn’t have the moon and I’ve never bought any second hand parts for her.

[@dolljunk]

FYI the Irwin Sailor Moon dolls use nylon hair, not saran hair. Saran when burnt actually singes/turns to ash while Nylon is the kind that melts (this is an easy way of identifying hair fibres on dolls). Saran also when damaged tends to just snap off while nylon when damaged "snags" and turns into a spongey kinda texture. It's mostly due to saran being made up of leftover plant material while nylon is entirely synthetic that leads to this kind of weirdness. (It's also why saran needs conditioning every few years or so cuz it dries out by itself) It'd also explain why when you tried to recolour her hair the pigment just faded because you would need specific polyester dye to make a lasting effect on the colour. You did try your best to save the hair but at that point the damage to the hair was basically too far gone and no amount of fabric softener and individual strand straightening would have saved the hair. Loved the video btw, but I just wanted to clear up the difference between saran and nylon.

[@TamasRoom]

Thanks for the information! I don't know if you also saw the Sailor Venus video, but I mentioned in that one that I wasn't sure between the two which one it was, but that thankfully Saran and Nylon seem to be more or less the same in terms of care. I guess now I know! I have basically zero experience with dolls beyond these ones so I didn't have any way to compare hair types.

[@dolljunk]

@@TamasRoom no problem! Just wanted to clarify the difference as I am a bit of a doll nerd haha. And also wanted to bring it to your attention since you said you were going to reroot her and i wanted to make sure you were informed about which fibre to use if you still wanted her to be as close to factory condition as possible rather than unintentionally customizing her by using saran hair. Btw if you're gonna maintain your dolls' nylon hair I do recommend picking up a metal flea comb for pets, and a regular metal bristle pet brush for general detangling. A big problem with nylon snagging badly is the plastic combs can snag and damage plastic hair, while a metal comb can go a lot easier without damage. I just picked one up at the dollar section of my store so it should be relatively easy once lockdown ends.

[@victoriam.8652]

@@TamasRoom which of these dolls you grew up with, who was your favorite and why?

[@GansterComputerGod]

Quick pro tip! you can soften plastic easier by wrapping them in a warm heating pad for a moment. It’s safer, and obviously quicker. :) **You can get cheap ones on Amazon, or even pop a hand towel in something hot ans wrap that around em!! Works better than water method in my opinion.

[@LilleeJean]

Omg this restoration is amazing

[@Princess-Daisy]

Love these videos! I’m always down for a good doll restoration video, especially since I found one of the Sailor Moon dolls at my thrift store that I’ve been slowly fixing up 😅 Great job, they both look beautiful and I can’t wait to see what kind of reroot you’ll do with sailor moon if you post that 👀 P.S. I don’t know if anyone else mentioned this or if you already knew it, but the most likely cause for her hair fading to a more platinum blonde is due to sun exposure fading it away. It’s why so many chibiusa dolls have significantly lighter/white hair. It’s most common with light pinks or purples, but I’ve been it happen with light blues, goldish-yellow, and orange. It just means your sailor moon was very well loved :)

[@drskelebone]

@5:22 Spa day! XD I love this series, and would love to see more (although, I guess at some point you'll have cleaned and restored everything you own).

[@drskelebone]

@10:06 lolololololol :crying laughing emoji:

[@calebgoodman2076]

I feel sorry for Usagi if her hair is actually that hard to do. They came out amazingly in the end though! They look really pretty!

[@morgancoleman1457]

this is inspiring me to maybe try to fix up my sailor moon + sailor venus dolls from when I was a little kid! their hair is SUCH a nightmare, but maybe I could save it with some effort. great video

[@kastironwoman6009]

I like your voice & cadence. Glad you dont shove the sentences together cutting out all pauses. That makes me anxious. So nice listening to you and getting ideas on doll restoration.

[@connoroneill2836]

You inspired me to start to get a collection of sailor moon dolls

[@Supersmallchibiwolf]

I love Sailor Moon and found this randomly. I think it was the Sailor Moon meme videos that got me here or clip videos. Cool video it was surprisingly interesting. ^_^

[@shunganeva9115]

Woah what luck that the algorithm recommended me your channel! I remember watching your Pokémon Green video many years ago

[@lunakai976]

You’ve inspired me to try to clean up my old dolls to hopefully sell them at some point, and while I don’t think I did all of the steps exactly like you did, I think most of them came out great. I came back to this video because 4 of the dolls I tried cleaning up have awful hair that just puffs out in every direction, (I think I ruined it by dry brushing the hair too many times). Though I don’t trust myself to straighten doll hair, I’ll definitely try the boil wash with fabric softener and hope for the best

[@BobbyJoeXForgotenSB]

I 'm glad i found these videos! I had recently pulled out my old sailor Moon dolls and sadly noticed i was a rather destructive little girl XD. I am planning to fix them up for display and your videos are a huge help!

[@RunMeThrough]

Hell yeah! Great job not wasting as much water this time 👏 👍 👌

[@nanopanda]

i think you'd definitely get better results with replacing the doll hair completely. although its nice to preserve things, its not a big deal if we gotta replace parts.

[@MMDMizuki]

I remember having a sailor moon annnnd remember taking the hair bands off because I wanted to see her in different hairstyles then lose the hair bands too after that I think I also lost her boots too, I don’t remember =^=

[@eddiehillreviewsfigures]

That's really great that you can restore an old figure I'm a toy reviewer by the name of Eddie Hill then review you're doing awesome

[@originalkingdomhearts]

This really makes me want to find my old sailor moon doll.

[@jasminnemcdonald94A]

They look so much better

[@XNyanko]

The re-root will be fun, depending on what you end up doing....

[@gabzpot]

That's very cool. Great work.

[@Lady.Charis]

What a wild ride.

[@deathlyshadowspirit4791]

Omg your are so lucky I wish I had the whole collection all I have is the whole series minus crystal version

[@Fishylucifer]

Seeing the old Sailor Moon Doll commercial brought back so many memories.

[@clairelehman9925]

Omg Sailor Mars!!! I had that doll and she was my *favorite*

[@KingOfGaymes]

YEAAAA MY KIND OF CONTENT I have all the og sailor scout dolls, Super sailor moon, Uranus, and chibi moon! I love the Irwin dolls so much and loved my sailor moon to death as a kid (so much that she lost a leg.. but I still carried her around xD) I’m glad as an adult I finally got all of them like I wanted when I was little ❤️ and it’s so fun to see other adults loving these dolls! Edit: Also damnnnn you have the rare sailor Saturn doll.. that’s how I know you’re a big fan 🪐💜

[@banyalaplace]

They came out gorgeous!

[@RetroAli]

i am so here for these vids i love it!!!

[@deadlycrma]

i may be wrong but from my expirence their hair is typically acetate wich is very hard to bring back...ive had to reroot most of my sailormoon dolls with the exeption of sailor mercury

[@emilyweekes-brooks9175]

yeah😀😀

[@jeanphilippeprimeau5596]

For curling the hair, what I do with my vintage Barbie doll: I place some hair conditioner into the hair, I divide the hair to be less thick. I cut long paper pieces. I simply place the hair on the paper and fold the paper over it, like a sandwich. I rolled it around a Bobby pin and secure it with needles or pins and I boil It.

[@OnikaTrishul]

I can’t with chibi-usa and rei just (👁__👁) in the back

[@kawakami5724]

I enjoy this so friggin much makes me wanna buy more sailor moon dolls I had three but let’s just say RIP well I have one left but I need more 😭

[@ludalfa]

As a hobbiest i love this. How did i not learn about this til recently. Also why was i unsubscribed

[@Bethiilight]

those are vintage collatables hell yeah, nice vedio

[@sparkleprizm199]

They are so cute!!

[@scottadams8202]

I love these , you did a great job !

[@x3zack]

wow beautiful! and wonderful job!

[@serenasilvercrest3154]

Great video so much information you put into this video! I have a question were you able to take out Princess Serena's earrings and put them back on her head?

[@amandaslough125]

I'm not sure why the youtube algorithm gave me this, but it's very amusing, if makes me sad inside because the mini dolls of that time my Venus has a cracked skull from me accidentally stepping on her.

[@adamforkan5488]

I really loved this video it was so interesting

[@PuzzlePinkdolltuber]

I love sailor moon!! Just subscribed

[@SuperJuanTV1]

Im glad this video blew up 🤩

[@meepMepp]

For the sailor moon doll, are you sure the hair is saran and not nylon? i have restored a lot of my little ponies and that frizz.... so many long hair ponies have exactly that type of frizz. It's super unbrushable and even with straightening won't move especially on the ends. I used to just cut it off, but i recently found a small barrel curling wand that works very very well for straightening doll hair since it keeps a flip. And it also seems to be better at getting the ends, probably because it clamps very tightly. Maybe this helps for the sailor moon doll too, even if it's not nylon. Also, when straightening saran hair, for me the sweetspot with saran (on barbies and monster high atleast) was around 100-120 degrees celcius, you obvi still need to keep it wet for straightening because.... saran... but it does lessen the fear of melting the hair of a lot.

[@TamasRoom]

Hey thank you so much for the tip! Do you know of a video that might serve as an example of how the barrel wand is used on doll hair? I still can't figure out how to use one on my own hair so I haven't invested in something like that, but I might if it could be useful for these projects! I originally did think that Sailor Moon might have Nylon hair, but none of the other dolls do to my knowledge so I think it is just very very damaged? But I have literally no experience with any dolls that aren't these so it's hard to tell

[@meepMepp]

@@TamasRoom there actually is a video showing that method! It's by derpyderp910, he also shows it on a my little pony. I think the title just something like "how to defrizz my little pony hair", so it shouldn't be too hard to find (i hope). Doll lines can be weird in terms of hair useage, from what i heard bratz dolls used nylon and saran interchangeably, so they might've went for that route too. Could be very damaged saran tho, you're right about that. I can recall frizzy hair like that from barbie horses, but i'm pretty sure barbie dolls never use nylon, only saran and kanekelon 🤔 so maybe that's something to look into...

[@GansterComputerGod]

Oh one more thing. Hair much easier to brush using a tooth brush! :D you can always use a comb after too!

[@sarah3796]

I remember wanting these so hard