The Doll Forum

Well, B eats me fairly regularly, and he seems fine...

I think this is a really good question. Are there any studys made that proves TPE to be safe? What kind of oil and other chemicals do they use?

I don't know much on the subject, but I have been searching for more information.

I am trying to stick to primary sources, and it's becoming a lengthy process.

The one study I found was testing for leaching from tubing made of different materials.

TPE and Polyurethane were on the list.

Now, this is tubing, and not whatever mixture they use for making TPE dolls, so this informarion could be completely innaccurate.

This is just the best information I could find, at this moment.

So take whatever I say with a grain of salt.

The material leached out by the silicone modified tpe TUBING is:

Hexanedioic acid, and dioctyl ester

The material leached out by the polyurethane TUBING is:

Hexanoic acid, and 2-ethyl

Google these for more info, if you want.
Carboxylic acids have strong odors ranging from awful to pleasant. Mostly awful, though. Common smells are vinegar, rancid butter, goat...

Esters usually emit pleasant odors, sweet and fruity

Once again, take this with a grain of salt... for all I know, it could just be mineral oil

According to what I've read, mineral oil/plasticizers can be added to make the TPE material more flexible and tensile.
Additionally, in order to produce softer TPE, different polymers and copolymers can be added to styrene block copolymers.

ONCE MORE, I COILD BE WRONG SO TALE EVERYTHING WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.

So, I guess the oil leaching out could be one of the above... except for hexanedioic acid. I think it is a solod at room temperature.

If any of my information is incorrect, please feel free to correct me. I am not a professional in this field of study