First doll regrets

Wanted to open up a thread about things you wish you had known or mistakes you wish you had avoided when you got your first doll. Going to get my first doll soon and wanted to make sure I make the right choices and take good care of her!

Don't over wash her, you'll just damage the skin om a TPE doll. I ended up just washing my dolls 1, maybe 2 times a year.Of course, that is the outer body of the doll. If you have intercourse, then, of course, that will have to be cleaned afterward

Howdy Noxnoctis,

Do I regret anything about my first doll?

Not a thing. She was a perfect first doll. Your first doll is always going to be a learning experience. Maybe dolls will work out for you, maybe dolls won't.

My first doll in 2016, probably only lasted about a year (my doll maintenance techniques were flawed, I ruined her nether regions, and I accidentally tore off her big toe when moving her clumsily). She was a WM140A with the 61 head. Her TPE (from 2016) had a really strong chemical smell. Apart from that, she was excellent. Yes, I kinda wish I'd taken better care of her (actually done some research on how to care for dolls), but it is what is. She didn't make me go into dolls big time back then, it was a brief encounter, but I would be back to the doll world in 2021.

The funny thing is that I still have a 61 head 10 years later (same doll face, produced in 2024, different body and skin tone.) So Aniyah I from 2016 was definitely a big success.

I think the biggest regrets people have about first dolls is:

1. Overestimating their strength. So many people think they can handle a 40kg doll, and it turns out they cannot (I can handle a 40kg doll reasonably ok, but my first doll was only 25kg and I definitely prefer sub 30kg dolls.)
   
2. Spending too much money. As I say above, your first doll is going to be a learning experience. Don't buy a £10000 doll thinking this is going to be your forever companion. Buy a quality but good value doll (like a WM doll at under £1500) and anticipate she might not last long.
   
3. Considering how a doll will fit with their social life. Alas, in the world we live in, there are a lot of judgemental c**ts who will look down at you, or laugh at you, or run away screaming from you ... if you have a sex doll, and I say f**k them all! 😆. I've never had a social life, so nothing for me to lose there 🍻.
   

Maybe one regret, I didn't get into dolls sooner, but that would probably have been quite hard, as I don't think good quality and good value TPE dolls were around much before 2016.

All the best.

HtS

First time I seen the Aniyah 1 vesrion. I like a lot. I think the hair suits very well.

I posted about my first doll in your hello thread. My second was better but was still a bit dodgy. Then I found TDF and went to a recommended vendor. Ok still went a little wrong (WM decided to change their skin tone without saying) but at least the doll didn't break within days!

I saw the dust on Aniyah II face I wondered if my home computer could cure that, so I had a go. I also asked it to put in light and shadow effects to make the picture a little more dramatic.

Hi Nox

The only regret I have about my first Doll is not finding out enough about how to look after her, beforehand, and not learning how to carry her properly and safely. She was 38kg and getting her out of the box gave me the best workout of my life! I should’ve looked up techniques for unboxing her beforehand.
I dropped her so many times, didn’t realise how fragile her fingers were and broke all of the wires in a short time, and didn’t care for her skin as well as I should have. There was even a huge chunk out of the top of one of her feet - all my manhandling tore a huge gash in it. I didn’t realise that dark coloured clothing, especially black, would stain the TPE skin because the Doll would sweat oil.
It was a great learning experience, though. My biggest regret though, is that I gave her away because she was so scarred and all of her joints became loose with all the moving and posing for photographs.I still miss her and I wish I’d not given her away. I don’t regret having her in the first place.
I think Hunt’s advice to you is sound. Don’t go buying a super expensive Doll to begin with, but buy something that you know is probably going to be worn out within a few years. Don’t try and preserve her just have fun with her, and you will learn a great deal about dolls just through experience. And of course you can ask us lots of questions here.

Regrets? None really. I'm a very cautious buyer with most things. Carryover from having grown up in a very low income household I suppose. No financial woes these days, but that mindset remains.

Anyway, before I got my first doll back in 2017, a TPE lass that I still have, I researched and researched again for better part of a year before plunking down my coin. As a result I knew exactly what I was getting and what to expect long before she ever arrived. No surprises, no disappointments, no regrets.

Wow, I saw this in my welcome thread, but didn't realize she was meant to have been silicone at the time 🤣 I'm sorry for you but glad you found some successes in the future, and hopefully a refund for that first doll!

Wow, happy ten years of being in the doll life! It's such a shame how many judgmental people are out there, I always say if it doesn't hurt anyone then it's nobody's business, don't see why people care so much... The world would be a much better place if everyone embraced their true selves and stopped being on their high horses. Here's to freaks like us 🍻
I'm happy to hear about your successes, Aniyah is so beautiful, I'm guessing you never forget and stop loving the face of your first 😍 I'm definitely trepidatious about the weight, and now this thread has me wary of accidentally ripping fingers/toes/other parts, so I consider this a valuable learning experience

Thank you all for being so welcoming and helpful, I'm very excited to start my journey, and I guess also get a good work out out of the whole ordeal as well! 😅 I guess there's been a lot of consesnsus about staining and ripping as well as weight, I suppose one can only be so prepared about such things mentally before putting things into practice. Hopefully will get access to the sales forum soon 🤞

How do you wash her, standard dish soap or is there something particular you find works best?

These are a bit outdated now, but still better than nothing.
https://www.mylovedoll.uk/forum.php?id=62

Pyroc may have broken my hand before even taking a picture (I was sitting on my hand when he repositioned me and suddenly realised my fingers were now 2 foot long) but he has an articulated upgrade for me that these interlopers haven't given him time to do, plus work interferes with his doll time!

Is it a TPE doll you're getting?

How you clean them is different for TPE or silicone.

Personally, I don't wash my dolls. Like for 5 years I haven't washed them, except the odd one or two. If your doll got really dirty, you can wash them, but if they don't look dirty, just leave them be. The more you wash them, the quicker you wear them out.

TPE dolls, generally use Johnsons baby bath (mild soap), dry them off, then Johnsons baby oil and wait for the oil to be absorbed (oil does nothing for some TPE brands), finally a good powdering and gently brush the powder off.

Silicone dolls, the same but don't oil them (oil is bad for silicone.)

Simple.

And if you like to cream 🥧 your doll. Cleaning is simple too. Stick your fist in (if it's a TPE doll, they are very stretchy - silicone dolls, probably not a good idea) and grab as much jizz as you can with your hand. Then with some quality kitchen roll from your local supermarket (I use Plenty), stuff that inside her, wiggling it around, in and out, until the towel comes out feeling quite dry. Then stick an aquarium pump up her for a few hours and she'll be as dry as can be (it's moisture which is a problem, leave any moisture inside her and she'll go mouldy).

As someone who has been cream 🥧 ing my dolls for years (my favourite sex doll is 5 years old), and I'm still alive, I know it works.

7 years ago I was waiting for my first TPE doll to arrive. I had a WM doll on the way from China and I still have her. I was fortunate to find the UKLDF and some of the members there were most helpful in teaching me about what to expect and how to look after her. I was given advice on cleaning, powdering, attaching eyelashes, doing make up, moving her and dressing.

The advice was good and her hands and fingers remain damage free aside from both the little finger wires have detached from the palm plate. I've snagged fingers over the years but never intentionally bent them so I think that's helped. There is some wear in the TPE in places but for a 7 year old doll its to be expected.

I have no regrets, dolls are awesome and I have 8 TPE dolls living with me now.

I would agree with many of the comments already listed, with weight being the crucial consideration. With dolls you also have the issue of “dead weight” in addition to the weight not being evenly distributed throughout the body. Think big hips, big booty, and big breasts can affect the centre of gravity.

There is also the other factor of expectation v reality issue where the professional photos on the vendor website will be different to factory photos and even when received in-person when unboxing. Many buyers comment that the doll they receive is not the one in the photos. It is the same doll but the professional photos with lighting, posing, make-up (and sometimes a.i) are designed to present a doll in the most appealing light in order to encourage sales.

Not really, but then i live with plushie ladies from Valentina Girls. My only slight regret is not adding more custom parts to Coco.

I also have a hybrid doll. Her head is TPE and body is fleece, called Thea

since 2012 I have always bought the lower budget dolls and still have and love them all despite their flaws
My only regret was not being able to afford one with a posable skeleton until I finally got my Kimber doll in 2022.

Where did you get your hybrid doll? This is an interesting option I haven't considered before!

Good to know, sounds like giving them baths is a pain in the ass, so I'm glad to hear that you've been completely fine without any for 5 years. A mouldy doll is a very frightening thought I hadn't considered before though, so I'll be sure to follow these methods very carefully... 😅 Thanks for all the advice!

I've noticed many of the photos on the vendor sites are amazing, so lifelike and beautiful, always wondered how they would compare to the real thing. Seeing real photos of dolls from owners, I sort of gathered that it was probably the result of good image-making. Those photographers must have a great gig though, seems like fun to be able to take pictures of so many beautiful dolls all day