Hey Gang!

I was in Target and purchased the new Greg Naturalista doll and decided to get one more doll, Liya! She has 4C hair like me.

I already have the Grace Doll which I posted a while back.

Now as a woman who has gone back to wearing my hair naturally, I thought this was a big deal. I couldn't wait to get a perm and have worn my hair permed since I was 14! Learning about the health issues that are associated with perms, I finally let the perm go just before COVID-19 hit. It was a great time to do it. I cut off the permed hair(called the big chop!). I was working from home and didn't have to worry about how my hair looked.

What I did need to do was to decide what to do with my hair without the perm! I braided it once it was long enough to braid (yeah, I was close to bald). I stopped using shampoos with sulfates and switched to using a cotton tee to dry my hair. I found products for natural hair, talked to friends and family who have natural hair, and watched a lot of natural hair videos.

My hair now!

My hair is longer in this picture than in the one above! There is way more shrinkage when I wash it now! Oh, and for anyone who thinks wearing your hair natural is a lot less work, it isn't. It is the same amount of work if not more.

Now for the dolls!

Promo Photo of the line of dolls!

The real test of any doll is seeing it in person! It is a great thing to have dolls that are representative of our culture and I think these dolls do it!

Promo Liya

My Photo

I thought the head on the girls seemed small to the size of the body and the neck seemed too long for the girls. Greg doll is OK in his proportions. Liya's hands and feet are large like the Grace doll from my previous post. I will change the head onto a MTM body to give me more options,

She is darker in person and has a darker lip color than the promo. Or..it might just be my lighting.

Her body!

OK, For Real For Real!

I found when styling, she had a lot of hair shedding. This is something I try to avoid with my own 4C hair. (Not all of her hair seems to be rooted to me. It gives the 4C feel but I noticed it when separated there are pieces in there that aren't rooted.) I know my hair will grow back despite the shedding but Liya's hair will not. I sleep with a cap on so that I don't get lint in my hair from the pillowcase. This doll's hair will get lint in it if not protected as a doll that is played with. Wetting it and styling it didn't work for the doll like it does for my hair! Shampooing my hair with 4C products defines the curl but not with the doll. I wondered if soaking it in fabric softener might do it for her hair. You can't do a ton of styling or you will comb much of the doll's hair out in the process. MyFroggyStuff did some styling of Liya's hair. I don't know if she purchased multiples for her video or if they all were the same doll.