Makie skin color questions answered!

How does the lab colour the Makie dolls?
After the Makie bits are printed in white nylon, we use a coloured dye to stain the plastic. When the dye is dry, then comes polishing, which smoothes the finish: the end result is very close to the colour you see on the website (we have to allow for different monitor settings, so can't totally guarantee that what’s on your screen is precisely what you'll get in real life). Polishing creates the silky and subtly shiny finish.

Can you describe the ‘unique finish’ a little bit more?
The finishing process creates some variation in the top layer of plastic and this makes the finish less uniform than normal plastic dolls, but more variable like real skin (and similarly individual). It’s not the same finish that mass-manufactured dolls have, but we think it’s beautiful.

Will the colour rub or scratch off?
We’ve found the finish to be pretty resilient, but as the Makie is played with over time, the areas around moving parts may become lighter in colour. If the surface gets deeply scratched, like with a knife or very rough play, the white plastic will show through.

If the colour does get scratched, you can touch it up using easily obtainable art supplies, and even human makeup. Riikka, our designer and chief doll experimenter, recommends dry pastel chalks, which you can get at any art store. Grind a bit of powder off a pastel that's slightly lighter than the tone you need, and apply sparingly using a dry brush. It helps to test the colour on the inside of the skull cap first, where it won't show. You could also use coloured pencils, which are great for drawing on freckles and eyebrows, too.

I posted my dying experience as a blog post so thought I'd link it here.
I took a comparison photo of the Makie skin colours too in case anyone needs a reference
x

that's a great photo sioux! shows the caramel really well! It's a difficult colour to really get a guage of in photos, the online digital colour seems so much darker and some photos the dolls seem far more tanned than others depending on lighting.
So thank you! that looks absolutely bang on.

I'm really tempted to dye one of my yet to be ordered Makies actually. I want a tone darker than cocoa by just a little bit, for variety. And i'd love one a tone between caramel and cocoa (a nice rich tan brown would be so beautiful).