Barbie dolls are made with nylon or saran synthetic fibre hair 1. You can dye the hair using an acrylic paint wash, but synthetic doll hair doesn't take dye the way human hair does. A Barbie with thick strands of nylon hair will take acrylic paint better than dolls with thin strands 1. Use a blonde Barbie for best results.
Squeeze a dime-sized amount of acrylic paint in a paper cup.
Mix water into the paint one teaspoon at a time. Stir until the dye is the consistency of watery ink. It may take several teaspoons to achieve this.
Put the Barbie on a rag and fan her hair out away from her body.
Dip the flea comb into the dye and carefully comb it through the hair. Cover all the roots and ends, but don't get any dye on the face or body. The dye will stain the plastic.
Place the Barbie upside down to dry. It may take more than a day for the hair to dry completely. Comb the hair once or twice a day while it's drying to prevent it from getting stiff.
Tips
Add plenty of water to the acrylic paint. If the dye is too thick the paint may flake off when it's dry.
Warnings
Don't let any wet hair fall on the Barbie's face or body. Acrylic paint can be difficult to remove from the plastic body. Once the dyed hair is dry, do not let it get wet again. Acrylic dye will wash off nylon hair with soap and water.