Why should I use an independent doll hospital for American Girl dolls when American Girl has an official doll hospital?
Updated: Nov 4
First things first. We are an independent doll hospital and we are not competing with American Girl, we are filling in a gap. Let's take a look at the services that the American Girl official doll hospital (or care center) does with a comparison to Bbeauty Dolls Hospital on what we offer.
Problem | American Girl Care Center | Bbeauty Dolls Hospital |
Bad Hair | Care and Repair will replace the full head $79, or the Refresh and Renew will have a basic brushing and styling option. The wig is never replaced. | No replacement of head. Your vintage doll keeps her original head. Styling wig cost of $10 or wig replacement of $38 for wig and gluing. ($8 if you provide your own wig) Includes our selections of Pleasant Company replica replacement wigs, historical era wigs, and modern wigs. |
Stuck or broken eyes | Refresh and Renew service option $69 will replace the eyes with 8 offered choices from stock doll eye colors (Mattel) | Options to clean the eyes or replace the eyes with your choice of color from our stock, or alternatively from a different brand widening eye color styles and choices. $15 for eye changing service, $9 for eyes or $0 if you provide your own. |
Restoration of Lindsey Bergman Dolls | No new head option, cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out. (Service cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a Lindsey replacement wig to fix her hair ($38 for wig and gluing) |
No new head options, cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out. (Service cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | While we don't have exact replica wigs for each of these discontinued looks, we can re-wig any of these dolls renewing their look | |
Restoration of Kanani | No new head options, cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out. (Service cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a Kanani replacement wig to fix her hair ($38 for wig and gluing) |
JLY #4 | No new head options, cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out. (Service Cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a JLY #4 Replacement wig called Tiffany in Black to fix her hair ($38 for wig and gluing) |
Cecile Rey | No new head options, cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out (Service Cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a Cecile replacement wig in dark brown ($40 for wig and gluing) |
Kaya | No new head options, cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out (Service Cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a Kaya replacement wig called Willow in Black ($38 for wig and gluing) |
Elizabeth Cole | Head replacement. Mattel mold. Cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out (Service Cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a Elizabeth replacement wig called Sarah in Heritage Blonde ($38 for wig and gluing) |
Molly McIntire | Head replacement. Mattel mold. Cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out (Service Cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a Molly replacement wig called Molly in Chestnut Brown ($38 for wig and gluing) |
Samantha Parkington | Head replacement. Mattel mold. Cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out (Service Cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a Samantha replacement wig called Samantha in Light Brown ($38 for wig and gluing) |
Kirsten Larson | Head replacement. Mattel mold. Cannot repair the wig and will only brush hair out (Service Cost: Refresh and Renew option $69) | We offer a Kirsten replacement wig called Kirsten Loops ($38 for wig and gluing) |
Loose Limbs | Refresh and Renew $69 | We offer a limb tightening and restringing service for $20. |
Missing Limbs or damaged torso | Care and Repair $79 (choose torso and limbs, head, limbs only or torso only); Advanced Care and Repair $99 allows you to replace the body and the head | $4 to attach a missing limb, cost of the limb is separate and must be located for compatible options. American Girl Hospital might be the better choice for this service. If only the torso is torn, our torso replacement is $15. |
Ear Piercing | Add on Service for $23 | $8 and includes the option for American Girl earring size or human size earrings |
Marks and Stains | "Skin Cleaning" from surface dirt is in Refresh and Renew but doesn't include lifting stains, replacement limbs are available in the Care and Repair package for $79, Advanced Care and Repair for full body and head $99 | Treated the same way as Missing Limbs or Damaged Torso, donor limbs are located and a small service to attach. Cleaning is an option, marks and Stains are difficult to get out and require bleaching. We don't provide this service. |
The Refresh and Renew service by American Girl is a package option including the following: Skin cleaning, hair brushing/restyling, limb tightening, replacement of eyes, reattachment of head for $69. It is the same price whether you only need one of these services or all of these services. It is a flat fee. A loose or wobbly head is a $3 neck restring here.
The Care and Repair service by American Girl is a package option including the following: Body replacement including torso and limbs, head replacement including hair and eyes, limbs only, or torso only for $79. It gives you the option to choose only one of these options for the rate.
The Advanced Care and Repair service by American Girl is a package option for replacement of everything in the Care and Repair service for $99. It gives you the option to choose more than one or all of the options for the rate.
With this comparison chart - let's look at what the options are. The official doll hospital treats it's doll patients coming in much like a warranty issue. It does a factory reset by replacing heads, arms, legs, eyes with the available manufactured pieces. A worker may be brushing or styling the hair for you, but the hospital isn't actually restoring, it's replacing. It's 3 packages make a flat fee even if you need something small. For instance if you wanted the hair brushed and styled, the Refresh and Renew package will get that for you at $69. This makes no sense for value so it's best to use the packages when your doll starts having multiple problems so you can get a better value for the service cost.
The expectation of turning your doll in and that she will be "restored" is not really what is happening. If you read the comments from those customers who send their doll in - the ones that are disappointed were wanting that service because they feel like they paid a high price for it and their expectations were not met. American Girl's Care Center is not really a doll hospital. Employees are brushing the hair and replacing the parts with factory new parts. Nothing is getting preserved, and when they run out of a head mold. I explain what a head swap does to a Pleasant Company doll's look and value in Why you shouldn't send your Pleasant Company doll to the American Girl Doll Hospital. There's no more factory reset for your doll. All those who thought they would get a faithful restore of their Pleasant Company doll are definitely disappointed because American Girl only has modern parts to work with. There are no fine soft lashes on the blinking eyes, or chubby Pleasant Girl original face molds, and they aren't re-wigging so your hair is either a new factory head or your original hair, combed and styled for you. We can add soft lashes to a doll's eyes ($12). A torn or stained cloth body can be patched or washed instead of replaced.
So what is useful about this? American Girl parts are not available to the public to purchase, in fact Bbeauty Dolls has to use donor dolls to get parts for missing legs, or searching for original eyes. If your doll is actually missing her leg, or the torso is ripped or torn, and you do want a factory replacement, then this is exactly the service you should go to. American Girl will have the leg you need, a brand new torso, and a brand new head. Bbeauty Dolls would have to search for those parts off another doll. But getting a new body and a new torso and a new head - you've basically just bought a new doll. American Girl gives you a little break as new doll prices are $115 and replacing the full pieces is $99, so there's not much savings there. And if you only needed a torso you are still paying $69, so not much savings there either.
Here's where we fill the gap. That first Refresh and Renew package is steep if you only need a single service, and if you only need a wig replaced we are definitely the better deal. With eyes - you have many more options than the 8 colors available to you than the stock eye colors. We allow you to send in other brands, not just ours so if you find something particular you love, we are happy to install them for you. Your wig options open up a lot of choices as well. If you have a Pleasant Company treasure, you'll be happy to know we make most of the character wigs to set them right again, but also you can choose from era specific wigs and modern wigs to transform your girl if you want to give her a new look. This provides you with a world more of combinations and options than is available to you at a factory reset.
Conclusion:
Where the American Girl Care Center is Better:
Missing limbs
Damaged Torso
Dye Transfer, Permanent Marker, Highlighter
Limb or body replacements
Getting a new head
Must be ok with current Mattel designs, molds, and parts.
American Girl Dolls Only
Where Bbeauty Doll Hospital is Better:
Preserving Pleasant Company Doll looks
Keeping the look of your doll the same. Not sure which repairs can be undone later? Doll Repair: Permanent or Reversible? helps you choose.
Re-vamping or customizing the look of your doll (face-ups quoted per doll)
Eye Replacements which open up more options
Wig Replacements which open up more options
Open to multiple brands of vintage, modern, and 18" dolls
Visit our doll hospital page for current rates and services.
A note on our sources: Prices and services for the American Girl Doll Hospital were taken directly from the American Girl website. What to expect from each repair, and the results, comes from reading actual customer reviews written after services were performed, for both Pleasant Company dolls and American Girl modern dolls.
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