How to Give a Barbie a Makeover

Take off any clothing and accessories. Find a nice tub or sink which is deep enough for you to dip her into the water. If she's is filthy, wash her body with soap or washing up liquid. Do not do this on wood floors.

Wash her hair using shampoo or soap. For a smooth finish, soak with fabric softener, rinse you could also brush shampoo and conditioner through her hair and wash it out thoroughly, and let it dry.

Take a small pick comb (some Barbies come with these brushes) and pick out knots. A wide-toothed comb can help remove mats.

Take some scissors (if you are young, you might need adult supervision) and cut Barbie's hair into a new hairstyle. Try doing something simple like short hair or bobs, or layers if you like. Don't hold the hair between the index and middle finger while cutting; it will stretch out and might come shorter than expected.

Consider dyeing her hair. If you want to be creative and funky, you can dye Barbie's hair using Kool-Aid. Massage some Kool-Aid powder into her hair (as well as enough water). Dry her hair and then wash out any remaining powder. It should wash off using hot water and soap. Washable markers work well too.

• If you don't like the Kool-Aid idea, you could use a permanent marker such as a Sharpie to color her hair. But remember, a permanent marker is permanent.
  

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• If you don't want to dye her hair at all, you can temporarily use a fluorescent highlighter to give Barbie some awesome highlights. The liquid in a highlighter most of the time is not permanent, so if you are not satisfied, you could try again.
  

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• Another way to temporarily dye Barbie's hair is to use washable markers. You can use washable markers and color directly onto Barbie's hair. However, being washable, this dye will wash out.

Make some clothing. If you have experience sewing or you know how to, find some really neat fabric. Try designing a cool fashion for Barbie and sew it together. If you hate your current Barbie outfit, you can just alternate it to suit your liking (like sewing on beads, etc).

Apply makeup if desired. Use acrylic paint and a small paintbrush. You can use black for eyeliner, red for lips, pink for cheeks, etc. You can soften the acrylic paint colors by adding water. After the paint has dried, go over the paint with a matte finish to make sure the paint stays on the Barbie. If you want to remove the makeup from the Barbie before you start painting her, you can remove the makeup by using pure acetone and a q-tip. You can finish off her lips with some Vaseline to provide lovely shine to those lips, or you can use a clear gloss acrylic paint.

• Never, ever, ever use ink on a doll of any kind, especially a Barbie. The ink will expand on the vinyl and permanently change and damage your Barbie. So do not use a pen to create her makeup, unless you want to end up with a ruined doll.