How to Remove Stains on a Blythe Doll Body
OH NO! You've found a dark mark on your Blythe! What to do?
I recently posted a YouTube video showcasing a few stains on my Blythe doll, May. The dark marks were a result of her wearing the black leggings I bought in one of my previous Aliexpress hauls. I posted a YouTube video, a TikTok video, an Instagram reel, and even a YouTube short but I still wanted to post a Substack on this subject as well, so I could explain the process in more detail and share some extra tidbits! Consider this an extended edition for all you long-form content consumers! haha
Disclaimer: I’ve only tried this treatment on the leg part of a Takara Blythe doll body. I’m not sure if this treatment will work on other parts of the doll or if it will work on a fake Blythe doll body or a darker-toned Blythe. Please try this treatment at your own risk, I’m not responsible for what you do to your dolls.
Materials you’ll need:
10% Benzoyl Peroxide (I used this one)
Q-tips (optional)
Cling wrap
A clear sunny day
Instructions:
Before you start, I highly recommend checking the weather forecast in your area because you’re going to need a clear sunny day, possibly more. First, you’re going to want to strip your Blythe down and put up their hair to prevent it from getting in the way, especially if your doll has extra-long hair. Inspect the stain and cover the stained area with a thick layer of the Benzoyl Peroxide treatment. I used Q-tips to apply the treatment to prevent making a mess.
Using the clear cling wrap, cover the legs of your doll (or whatever body part you're trying this treatment on) with the cling wrap. Make sure to be careful so as not to remove the treatment.
Next, you’re going to place your doll outside in an area where the sun directly hits. I double-bagged May’s head to prevent her head from getting too much sun exposure. Leave your doll outside for a few hours, possibly several days. You can monitor the first few hours if you want. Bring your doll inside, rinse off the treatment with soap and water, and inspect the stain to see if it is still visible. Repeat this treatment until the stains are completely gone or less noticeable.
Performing this treatment definitely helped reduce the May’s stains which are still there, but barely visible. I read that over time, the stains will go away on their own due to the bleaching effect of the Benzoyl Peroxide. The stain on her right leg definitely went away but the dots on her left leg were still visible but only if you looked super up close.
I want to note that I did this experiment in mid-spring. If you were to attempt this during summer, you might be able to get quicker results because the heat would help lift the stain faster but you may also want to monitor your doll more because of the heat.
My Experience:
Because May’s stains were small, I thought I could get away with just applying the treatment and keeping her next to my window on a cloudy yet bright day. Some people reported back saying this works for their doll1. When I tried this out, I did think the stain lifted a little bit but it was still very visible.
I ended up putting May outside for almost 10 hours total! Because the weather in my area kept being irregular. The first day I placed her outside, it was really sunny but within an hour, dark clouds appeared out of nowhere! The next day, I placed her outside I only kept her outside for 3 hours until the sun disappeared and in downpoured. So, I kept playing chicken with Mother Nature until I was able to keep her outside for almost 5 hours which was the longest I kept her outside in a day.
If you notice in the first part of the video, I also placed the stain treatment on other parts of May’s legs. This is because she had very light stains on other parts of her body but after the first time I left her outside, those stains were gone! I’m lucky that May’s stains weren’t too dark or large. It still annoyed me enough to go through all this work though! haha
Final Thoughts
I wish I had taken better before and after photos. Someone even accused me of “faking” this video2, lol! The “before” part of the video was filmed with a ring light because of the darkness in my room, whilst the “after” part was filmed in natural light. If you look very very closely, you can still see some of the markings in the after clip, on her left leg.
I also did a vinegar water rinse to remove any potential black dye from the leggings that caused this dilemma. I first washed the leggings with soap and water a few times to wash away any excess dye. Then I placed the leggings in a bath of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water and left them to set for about an hour or two. Finally, I washed them with soap and water again and left them to air dry3.
If I’m honest, I’m very hesitant to put these leggings4 on one of my dolls again. From now on, I’m always going to make sure my dolls have some sort of stockings or nude tights underneath whatever they’re wearing! lol
If you've found a stain on one of your dolls. It isn’t the end of the world. Be patient and try this treatment a couple of times, and give it some time. If all else fails, you can always replace the body.
Have you ever found a stain on one of your Blythe dolls?
Resources: How I remove stains on dolls, How I remove doll stains FAST, Doll stains and care, and How to remove stains from your previous Blythe doll.
Maybe their window gets a lot of sun? My window doesn’t get that amount of sun.
The audacity! I don’t have the time or energy to do something like that! lol
You can try this clothing hack with any doll clothing that could possibly stain your dolls.
They’re cute but not worth all the trouble!