My Little Pony Restoration Guide

Rerooting

Why Reroot?

Rerooting is the process of removing the pony's hair and replacing it with hair. This is often done by restorers and customizers alike. Be warned that if you do choose to reroot, it may reduce its resale value. If you do resell a rerooted pony, please be ethical and make it clear to the buyer that the pony has been rerooted. So really, you should only reroot a pony if it's absolutely nesessary. Some reasons you may want to reroot a pony are:

- Severe matting - Matted hair that can't be revered with the use of fabric softener or other methods is eligible for rerooting.

- Rust - You can tell if a pony has rusted by the red/orange stains coming from the base of the hair.

- Mold - Rerooting a pony with a mold problem like Pony Cancer can prevent the mold from spreading through the hair. Please not that a mold problem can't be solved by rerooting alone; it requires the pony to the quarantined or have a full-body deep clean (an OxiClean bath is a popular solution). 

- Disintegrating Hair Syndrome - This is an issue with some G3 ponies where the hair will break and fall off in large clumps at the slightest touch.

- Haircuts - What happens when you leave a kid alone with a pony and a pair of scissors. Unfortunately, This was the fate of my Rainbow Swirl, who I found at a charity shop. 

Steps to Performing a Reroot

- Cut off what's left of the pony's mane as close to the base as possible.

- Submerge the pony's head in boiling water to loosen the glue and carefully begin removing the head. Remember to be extra gentle as you may accidentally rip the plastic. If the head isn't coming off, try using an exacto knife. 

- Once the head has been removed, pull out the tail from the inside and remove the washer.

- Use a rerooting tool to apply new hair to the mane. A good place to find some new hair that will match the old hair is Dollyhair.com, a website that sells hair for all kinds of dolls, including My Little Pony.

- Use a Q-tip to apply glue to the inside of the head to keep the mane in place.

- Put the new tail into the body and use a plastic zip tie to secure it. This will help to prevent future problems with rusting. 

- Trim the hair as needed until the desired look is accieved.