“Luminous” This is the word most often associated with French resin. The characteristic glow looks so life-like and natural! Dolls made of french resin have a transparency to the surface of their skin that gives them an especially natural appearance. The resin used in these dolls is more translucent because the resin is dyed with transparent colorants allowing light to penetrate the surface. While french resin dolls have had troubles in the past with rapid aging, new methods of manufacturing has improved the quality of the resin.

Volks introduced the first UV protected dolls, calling them ‘pure skin’. The UV stabilization process the company used began to be adopted by makers of french resin dolls to stabilize the color.  Each company who uses french resin has their own process. French resin is more difficult to work with. It requires a mix of different resin types that are compatible and it is prone to air bubbles in manufacturing. Now many companies add UV retardant to their mixture, but this makes it even more prone to casting problems. The cost of materials and the difficulty casting the dolls makes french resin a more expensive casting choice.

All resin yellows to some degree over time, but French resin has been known to age more quickly. Light that can penetrate the surface can also yellow the doll. Owners of dolls cast in this resin generally protect their dolls from light whenever they can. The UV retardant used in many of the best french resin dolls will slow the process down. While these dolls haven’t been around long enough to test the the longevity of the process, based on owner reports, it has made a significant difference in slowing the yellowing in the dolls. As companies experiment with the process, new manufacturing methods are always being sought to improve the final product.

Below are examples of dolls cast in French resin. While pictures can convey its appearance to some degree, French resin is best seen in person to truly appreciate the beauty and naturalness it brings to the doll.

Narin: Created by famous Korean doll artist Bimong

Narin's Newest Doll, Dandelion

Dandelion's hands

Zaoli: designed for Dollmore by korean doll artist Gu mi-jeong who made “Narsha”.

Zaoll Luv

Narsha: korean doll artist Gu mi-jeong’s company, now selling exclusively through Dollmore

Narsha Girl

Angell Studio:

MSD Gus

Limhwa:

Dresming Half-elf

Supia:

Open-eyed Roda

(Corection: Previously, Volks pure skin resin was mistakenly listed a a french resin in the article. The article has been corrected.  Volk began to use UV stabilizers first, but their new resin wasn’t a french resin. Correction supplied by Marilyn Sonnie.)