The Shower!

[Dragon Universe]

Hi all I my Andromeda has been around for over a year and today I finally got the courage to try and give her a shower. Before I would sponge bath her using natural soap and a microfiber washcloth. I was afraid that because my shower is also a full size bathtub that might be dangerous for her and me. But I figured out how to lift and stand/lean her up against the shower wall near wear I normally enter it. She stood there fine and I was able to clean her and me off and I figured out the safe way to get her back out. That out of the way I want to know how often does everyone normally shower their "girlfriend" (to me that is what she is to me)? Also I have read that some use mineral oil after on theirs before they use the rejuvenation powder. I just want to know if that's actually safe for TPE skin and also how long does it take to dry before using the powder as I would think putting it on right away would become a sticky mess?

[Arthur1960]

Hi, I would be cautious about exposing your tpe gal to water over a prolonged period of time, a brief light shower seems to be ok but due to its porous nature tpe doesn't like over exposure to water. As for the time it takes baby oil to soak in, what I always do is massage in the oil then leave it for around 3 hrs and then apply the powder. Usually the baby oil has soaked in well within that time but I like to be sure. As for frequency of cleaning and oiling, I had been doing it on a monthly basis but have now extended this to every 6 weeks as my gals are always dressed so have minimal dust exposure and there have been reports in the last few months of the harmful effects of over saturation of tpe with mineral oil (ie it can become too soft and tear easily) so you need to get a good balance. I'm sure the frequency you use baby oil will be effected by environmental issues of temperature and humidity, it's all about replacing oil that's lost, there are some very informative threads on this very subject.

[Dragon Universe]

Hi, I would be cautious about exposing your tpe gal to water over a prolonged period of time, a brief light shower seems to be ok but due to its porous nature tpe doesn't like over exposure to water. As for the time it takes baby oil to soak in, what I always do is massage in the oil then leave it for around 3 hrs and then apply the powder. Usually the baby oil has soaked in well within that time but I like to be sure.

Thanks very much, so only shower them once a month? Thanks for the tip on the mineral oil, I will get some then.

[Arthur1960]

The mineral oil is simply Johnson's baby oil, it's clear and fairly cheap.

[Dragon Universe]

The mineral oil is simply Johnson's baby oil, it's clear and fairly cheap.

Thanks!

[JunkGuy]

2-3 hours is about my wait time for baby oil to absorb enough before powdering as well. It absorbs rather quickly.

Note that if you apply Vaseline to high stress areas, this can take 2-3 days to absorb - its thick and absorbs quite slowly. You'll want to do this when you can leave your doll alone for a while. Usually, I just do this ad-hoc before I'm going to be out of town for a weekend.

[Dragon Universe]

2-3 hours is about my wait time for baby oil to absorb enough before powdering as well. It absorbs rather quickly.

Note that if you apply Vaseline to high stress areas, this can take 2-3 days to absorb - its thick and absorbs quite slowly. You'll want to do this when you can leave your doll alone for a while. Usually, I just do this ad-hoc before I'm going to be out of town for a weekend.

That's good to know. Thanks. Not sure if I plan to use Vaseline. Since it is petroleum based I wonder if it is harmful to TPE?

[Arthur1960]

Vaseline is recommended for use in the care for your tpe gal, if you check the latest care threads you will see how it's recommended to be used. I've been smearing a little onto the groin area of my gals maybe a couple of times a month to keep the tpe supple there. Basically any area of tpe that will be stressed, such as groin, elbows, knees etc needs to be kept supple, if not cracks will eventually appear. I didn't do this for the first 3 months of having my first doll and I also sat her in a bath of water (which is not recommended for tpe) I could see the beginnings of a weakening of the tpe on both sides of the groin so after I did some more research I began to use Vaseline and baby oil and thankfully it didn't get any worse and that was nearly a year ago. I have an OR156H that has had a thin smear of Vaseline on her groin a couple of times a month from day one and it looks as smooth as when she first arrived which was back in January this year, so you can draw your own conclusions there. Equally you do have to be careful not to apply too much Vaseline (or baby oil) too frequently as you then run the risk of making the tpe too soft increasing the risk of it tearing when under stress or weakening it so much the tpe begins to 'crumble' so it's all about getting the right balance.

[Dragon Universe]

Vaseline is recommended for use in the care for your tpe gal, if you check the latest care threads you will see how it's recommended to be used. I've been smearing a little onto the groin area of my gals maybe a couple of times a month to keep the tpe supple there. Basically any area of tpe that will be stressed, such as groin, elbows, knees etc needs to be kept supple, if not cracks will eventually appear. I didn't do this for the first 3 months of having my first doll and I also sat her in a bath of water (which is not recommended for tpe) I could see the beginnings of a weakening of the tpe on both sides of the groin so after I did some more research I began to use Vaseline and baby oil and thankfully it didn't get any worse and that was nearly a year ago. I have an OR156H that has had a thin smear of Vaseline on her groin a couple of times a month from day one and it looks as smooth as when she first arrived which was back in January this year, so you can draw your own conclusions there. Equally you do have to be careful not to apply too much Vaseline (or baby oil) too frequently as you then run the risk of making the tpe too soft increasing the risk of it tearing when under stress or weakening it so much the tpe begins to 'crumble' so it's all about getting the right balance.

Thanks for the advise I will look into getting some. I will probably only use after a shower once a month.

[Babel99]

I have Jael for about a year and a half so far ... I have some skeleton issue but her TPE is quite nice.

- I personally sit her in the bath (2 inches of water) and put a ziplock over the neck ... I wash her with a light anti bacterial soap and rinse her with the shower head. I do that once ever week or two.

- i let her dry in front of a fan for 2-3 hours. Then I powder her.
- Once a month I also put unscented mineral oil(baby oil). And I add vaseline to the crotch, elbows, knees and pit arm. I let her dry all day under the fan.

Her TPE is still splendid.