I know it can make a Barbie fan cry to see a formerly lush-locked girl scalped and punked. Of course, it sometimes looks pretty good - Miki and Alex are darn cute with their short 'dos - but more often, you could gleefully throttle the kid who decided to play "Beauty Shop" with this doll before you came to her rescue.

But what really gets your webmistress'  water works going is when she sees a Ken doll who's also got the business end of a bad haircut. I mean, the poor bast...err, guy's got enough to deal with - he doesn't even have a real place in the doll world without her...a literal boy-toy, and now even that's gone. So let's restore some of his self-esteem by giving him a whole new look !

Problem is, it's not as easy to re-forest Ken as it is Barbie. You can reroot Babs and co. - it's time consuming, but the hardest part is getting her head off. The rest is tedious, not difficult. And her head will go back on unless you really booted it. At one point, Barbies even came with wigs, and a new line of Silkstones will shortly. But Ken - well, his head/neck joint isn't much like his former inamorata's. Many times, if the head is removed, the only way to get it back on is with glue, thus eliminating what little neck motion and poseability he had. This is especially true with the Disney Mattel dolls. I haven't even tried to detach one of those new pivoting head joints ! And what about those molded-hair guys ? I bet they'd like some hair to blow in the wind, too !

So, I figured out a cheap way to fix a punked-hair Ken. Actually, there are several ways, and the least-expensive involves more work, but it can be done.

Did you know you can buy doll wigs ? Oh, my, yes. I've been advised that Ken will take a size 4-5, and the 'mini Bebe' looks great on him. Do a quick eBay or Google search for 'Mini Bebe' or 'Barbie wig', and you'll probably get a spate of sites. It'll probably cost ya $10. to $15. plus shipping, which isn't too bad. The Fashion Queen Barbie wigs often show up on eBay, and several are short, but I have no idea if they'd fit Ken's larger head. There's about a half-inch difference between Ken & Babs heads.

Still, it may seem a bit pricey to blow $15. to reforest a $2. thrift store guy. So, here we go - the hands-on approach. I'm using a Mattel Beauty and the Beast Wedding Prince for today's experiment. I messed up his hair myself, trying to style his ponytailed coif to resemble Urusei Yatsura's Inaba, way back when I was young and ignorant and didn't understand the Zen of doll hair styling. Select the one most in need of your attention and the one least likely to make you cry if your first attempt doesn't go so well.

Find your nearest Dollar General. Root around a bit in the toy section until you find the 'Trendy Scene' dolls. Yes, they're knockoffs of 'My Scene'. I think you already know where I'm going with this. Their oversize heads are bigger than yer average Barbie's - so their scalps should fit over Ken's ! They only cost $3., and for that money, you also get two new Barbie outfits (they fit Teen Skipper bodies great, too !), two pair of shoes, a purse, and a scalp. Even a spare body ! Actually, the body's not bad for a knockoff. Put it aside for later experiments. There's several hair colors to choose from, even two styles. Pick the combination of hair and clothes you like best, and let's go !

Here's where you get to have some fun destruction. Pop the 'Trendy' doll's head off. It's much easier than removing a Mattel doll's head, I can tell you. Just pull. Starting at the back of her head, using a craft knife (please be careful !) or sharp scissors, cut her face off. Cut close to the hairline, but don't nip into it. You can always trim it a bit closer later. Put the face aside - it'll make a fun 'masquerade' mask later ! Glue it to a toothpick and have one of your dolls carry it next Halloween or Mardi Gras - you can even decorate or paint it ! Wouldn't it be a fun display to have a Vintage doll carrying a fake 'My Scene' mask ? I halved the ears when I cut mine, then trimmed 'em off the scalp later. You may want to do the same first, and check the fit before you cut closer.

Back to the task at hand. For fun, see how the scalp fits your guy. If your Ken's got molded hair, skip to the next paragraph. If your Ken still has some rooted hair, now's the time he goes bald. The wig you just made will fit much better on a mostly-bare head. Put the new scalp aside for a few. Cut his hair as close as you can with scissors, then grab a razor. Yup. A regular face-scraping, leg-shaving razor - single blade if possible. Wet his few remaining locks down and carefully shave the stubble of his former crowning glory. Be careful - a sharp blade can cut into his scalp. Even though it'll be covered by the wig, you don't want gouges in his face, and I can tell you, Mattel roots the line of hair closest to his face the densest ! It's OK if you leave some stubble, it'll give the wig something to 'grab', but you don't want large tufts pushing against the wig's innards and making it fit funny.

OK. He's scalped, and there's a fun wig just sitting there, all alone. Let's get 'em  together ! Since it's important to cover that first line of rooting or painting, put the wig on to cover it first, and slide the rest on aligned with that. On my example, the scalp fit close enough without gluing or otherwise attaching it. I'm not even sure what glue would work best - maybe Plastix. It's designed to work with that kind of vinyl. I found it at a hardware store, for another project. Or you can choose to not permanently attach it - as you can see, it'll probably stay on well enough by itself. However, you can also see that the new scalp kinda shows. What to do ? How are we gonna cover that up ?!

Boil Perm !! If you've never done a boil perm, now's a good time to learn. I'm gonna do a simple 'bowl cut'  for my guy, but you can do a lot more - works on Barbies, too ! Grab a few rubber bands and start a pot of water boiling. Just two or three cups of water will do fine. Snag a hairbrush or comb while you're up, too.

Now then. Leave the wig on your guy. While the water approaches 'boil', comb your doll's new hair out. Generic dolls are rooted much more sparsely than Mattel products, so it may take a bit of trial-and-error to bring the hair forward enough to cover the scalp-seam, yet not leave bald spots. Play with it a bit 'til you get something you (and he) like.

For the simple bowl cut I'm doing, I  brought the hair around, and secured it at his neck with a blue rubber band. You can tell I'm going for bangs (to cover the seam) because his face is mostly covered. I'm not gonna cut it until after the boil perm dries. After all this work, I don't want it to be too short !

Now, this is a bit tricky. Please have a clear workspace, potholders and a cold wet washcloth or small towel ready. Once the water's boiling, station yourself and your guy over the sink. Carefully hold him with one hand while pouring the boiling water over his head with the other. Make sure it's good and soaked, front and back. Some folks believe in dipping your doll's head in the boiling water while it's still on the stove, but I don't want anybody to melt a doll here ! I've done it both ways, and it works as well one way as the other, and pouring the water reduces the chance of melts. Plus, it is kind of a wrench to your heartstrings when you dip a trusting doll's head in boiling water...

Now that you've poured all the water over his head, grab the cold, wet towel and put it behind his head. It's too hot for you to touch ! Ease him into a sitting position and find a place for him to dry and recover from his ordeal. Toss the wet towel in with the laundry, you don't need it anymore. It'll usually take several hours (or better yet, overnight) for his hair to dry. You can even put him in front of a fan if you like. Remind him that even Barbie suffers for beauty, and let him rest.

When his hair is dry, remove the rubber band and fluff and comb the new do. I like to use an eyebrow comb. Now you get to have some fun, like the kid who scalped him in the first place did ! Like a hairstylist, start small, and cut a bit at a time. Bangs may fly up, so be sure to trim them very gradually  - that way, they can be brushed into the longer side hair if they bristle too much.

From there, it's up to the two of you to style and play with his new hair. Mine still needs some trimming, but I wanted to get this up ASAP ! You can even re-boil -perm it if you decide you want some curl. Look for some of those itty-bitty rubber bands in the hair styling section of your local store combine em with regular-size bobby pins to make Barbie curlers ! Or check with the beauty supply place, as they also carry tiny perm rollers. A rolled up tube of fabric makes the best pageboys ! And I learned by accident that holding a doll's bangs down with rubber bands during a boil perm gives it these cool waves - that's how Miki and Alex got their curls ! A rubber band over the bangs, one over their hair and ears, one over their hair around the mouth, and another holding the hair down at the neck.

I hope this helped ! Theres a lotta needy Kens out there so go scalp a 'Trendy Scene' for them ! Or give the one you just fixed several new hair color and style choices. I'm sure Ken - and Dollar General - will appreciate your efforts !