>>8608600As long as it's not heavily gelled (which most of them are) Disney classic doll hair is very soft, and shiny when new. If the doll is new, and you wash it to get the gel out the hair will still be soft, and shiny. They use different grads of nylon on different characters/dolls. Ariel usually gets the best quality hair. For example I have the unbraided long hair version of this
>>8611682 2D Rapunzel the series doll, and her hair started to get puffy at the ends even though I never brushed it, played with it or even moved it all that much. I'm guessing it's because the hair length was unusually long so they used a cheaper grade of nylon to compensate for the cost of the extra length of the hair. If you find the doll at a thrift store in used conditions you would probably have to reroot it if you want it to be soft silky, and new again because the more the hair has been played with the more it will look like a puff ball once you are done boil washing , and brushing it out. Even if you use conditioner or fabric softener it will still be a puff ball. You're only options would be to carefully use a hair flattening iron or reroot it.
When it comes to Esmeralda I got her this week, and the hair is gelled to the max which I don't mind since it helps keep the curls and style. The back of the hair is in three big main curls which you can separate to get more curls and volume. I also have the Designer Esmeralda, but I'm kinda happier with the classic doll.
