2. Powdering and Oiling

Now your doll is nice and clean and smelling of fresh soap, and has finished airing naturally on the bed. It's powdering time. At this stage it is advised that they are lying on a blanket as the powder will go everywhere. The blanket that came with her in her box is usually good for this, if it's large enough.

So why do we need to powder? If you touch the skin of a TPE doll after a nice wash, it will feel quite tacky. There will be resistance if you draw your fingers along her skin. The powdering will make their skin feel smooth and dry, which is much more like human skin. It's great for when you need to dress them in stockings and such like. Powdering is important for the well being of your dolls skin as it will be more resistant to scratches and scrapes. At least to a point.

So before you start, research how to powder your doll yourself using vendor sites and user YouTube videos. Everyone does it differently, has different time scales and only you can decide what is best for you. I can only guide on the way I personally do mine.


Of course, powdering can be overdone this like everything else, which can overly dry the skin and make splitting of the TPE more likely. So only powder when her skin feels tacky, or you need to get tights or some other tight clothing on.

Silicon dolls are much more prone to sweating and becoming tacky than TPE, you'll find you use the powder much more on these, especially if your taking photographs to get rid of the shine.

So what kind of powder do you need? The two main choices are Baby Powder or Corn Starch. Corn Starch powder flakes are slightly bigger than talc which is one reason so many doll owners prefer it. I believe I heard mutterings that it doesn't smell as nice... but I have never tried it so can't comment on that too much. Corn starch is a more American thing, but you can still get it in the UK.

Whichever you go for, I use baby powder, apply the powder all over her body with a large makeup brush. Once you've finished one side of your doll, flip them over and do the other. If, when you thought you finished, you feel around your doll and find the odd patch of resistance, you could apply more powder on those parts. The brush could be better on their face too as you just need very little powder here. I tend to put a little powder on a small plate and just dip the end of the brush in to apply.


There is lots of conflicting advice about oiling your dolls. Some say every month, others say no more than 3 or 4 times a year. I am more in the later camp, I tend not to oil at all if i can help it. It probably depends on the brand of doll as every blend of Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) is different. If your doll came with care documents then just follow that advice. If not your friendly vendor is probably extremely knowledgeable and can help you with advice on this, or try the manufactures website to see if they have articles on how often to clean, powder and oil.

Use water based baby oil, pour some into your hand and then rub it into your dolls skin. Rub it over every inch of the outside of them. Don't use it in any holes as it cause dampness which could cause mold. When you have done one side, pause and go and have a well deserved cuppa while it is absorbed into the TPE. When it has dried, turn your doll around and do the other side. Use sparingly on their face as it can, and will remove makeup.

Silicone dolls do not need oiling.

That's the cleaning process completed.