ASMR toy spa 🎀 Restoring a Vintage Little Pretty Toy 

There's something so comforting about those soft-shaped, gently pastel toys of the late 80s / early 90s. Takes me straight back to puffy unicorn stickers, Care Bear t-shirt nighties, Polly Pockets, and the ever-multiplying amount of little plastic hairbrushes that seemed to materialise from nowhere. 🌸💙

Am I the only one who feels strangely emotional watching old, neglected, roughed up toys get all cleaned up and restored again? And ALB does it so gently and lovingly, I'm happy Mimi's been adopted by such a nice person, she's appreciated and cared for again 🥰

hey! i’m a doll customized/restorer and i have a great hair styling tip for you! pouring hot- not boiling- water over the hair while in curlers helps keep them in shape! because it’s plastic, the heat shapes it into better curls. if you don’t do it too hot- so the plastic doesn’t melt- you can get a really cool hairstyle! hope this helps :D

this is like that toy restoration scene from toy story but an hour long 😭 i am grateful

What the hell did Mimi go through before she got here

Ok so this is officially one of my fav videos ever. All of the little details, I love it! So relaxing 💕✨

I'm no expert, but I think the "grime" in her hair might be glue. Some dolls with rooted hair use glue to secure it, and it can melt/seep out over time, causing a sticky/grimey feeling, and even yellow discoloration around the "scalp". Idk how she was made, so I could be totally wrong. Also I haven't finished the video yet so if the glue theory is mentioned I'm gonna feel silly lol

This is easily one of my favorite videos you've ever done!! The soapy toothbrush!!!! 💜💜💜

Ugh. So good. I feel like a lot of ASMR-ists now "whisper" but completely forget that it's all about the slow speaking, slow cadence. I can literally feel it bringing my anxiety down and slowing my mind. You are, truly, the goat.

Holy cow, watching this gave me a really vague flashback, so I texted my mom. Confirmed: I had this toy as a child, and the big purple one. Their names were Sugar and Spice, respectively, and I looooved them. Thanks for dredging up some deep, good memories 🥰

“Perfection cannot be rushed.” - ALB “YOU CAN’T RUSH ART!” - grumpy old man from Toy Story 2

Me: Puts off watching movies because they’re “too long” Me and an 80 minute video from ALB: *watches immediately* ❤️

I'm a 98 baby but strawberry shortcake and my little pony give me those nostalgic pink girly toy vibes. that synthetic strawberry smell of the strawberry shortcake toys is forever stuck in my mind 🥰🍓 i really adore the aesthetic of the advertisements and toys from the 80s and 90s, they felt so special

This is super relaxing. And! I appreciate the little jars with the Pink Lids. I noticed!

i’ve been waiting to see those lil jars with pink lids that you made, so perfect! the extra little details that you put into your videos are so appreciated and wonderful 💖

"This is mimi, she's a little worse for wear" this cat looks like the person who recorded the 10 hours of relaxing Vietnam war sounds for sleep and relaxation

Imagine if Mimi is sentient and is having her Toy Story 2 moment getting handled with love and care.

I loved how you included a mini explanation about the toy's history 🥺 Also, I think for scented toys, apple is super nostalgic for me

The first asmr experience I ever had was with the toy cleaning scene in toy story so this was a joy to find☺️

liquid Fabric softener works wonders on synthetic doll hair like that to detangle it and make it softer. Better than hair conditioner FYI ❤️❤️

Vintage toy restoration is an asmr genre I never knew I needed 💗💗

[crying because she’s been so loved]

Mimi's face and hair reminds me a tiny bit of these toys that were sold in the very early 80s called "Sea Wees" They were usually sold in sets of a mermaid mom with her mermaid baby and a mer-pet, like a walrus, or a half parrot with a fish tail and a sailor's hat. The mermaids had brushable hair, and they came with a teeny comb and a floating shape (sometimes like a lilypad) that they could rest on. They were darling!

Ive spent the past ten days caring for my husband and kids who contracted covid. (They're ok! Husband got sicker but appears to have pulled through ok) I just looked in a mirror, and honestly, I need a similar spa rehab at this point.

I just recently watched toy story 4 and to see that story line of abandoned and sad toys just waiting and wanting to be loved and i just imagine this toy being so happy, excited and loved

the pixelated version in your hand in the thumbnail reminds me of llama badges that they used to have on deviantart back in the early days of the internet!

Never tought I'd be excited for a toy spa, but I'm sooo ready for it! 🥰❤

Oh she is sooooo cute! More videos like this please! A polly pocket restoration would be amazing. So many small details, so tingly and satisfying! The amount of conditioner used reminds me of when my curly hair was really long and it was detangle day...

I’m convinced you live in a pink version of the 1950’s where everything was soft, simple, and perfect. I love your look and videos! Thank you for sharing this part of yourself with us!

You’re voice is unbelievably relaxing, currently watching this at work on my break, loving it! ❤️

A one hour video by ALB? This is just what I need, the Lords know it's my sleep time

90s toys are vintage now? [*immediately ages thirty more years*] (But seriously, thank you for this, it's perfect!)

I would just like to recognize that I see your jars that you DIYd on your instagram story. They are so cute and just seeing the time, care, and effort you put into them, I can only imagine how much goes into your videos. Love and appreciate you and all your work ALB!

I’m so excited for this! Thank you for bringing quiet moments of happiness to my life 🥰 To anyone reading this, I’m sending extra love and good luck your way! You can get through anything, I’m rooting for you 💕✨

You should make this a series 😭

This reminds me of when I was visiting a neighbor of ours as a kid and the neighbor’s kids found a little orange kitten under one of their cars on their driveway. He was skinny but not starved, and very very dirty and flea-bitten. They took him inside and bathed him in the bathroom sink. We could see the dead fleas and blood come off of him. My neighbor dried the kitty with a towel, then a low hair dryer. At first he was afraid of the hair dryer, but as he dried off, he realized he felt better and he began purring loudly. They ended up keeping him. They named him Henry.

I vaguely remember having one of these toys when i was little. Had i known how rare they were, i would've probably taken better care of mine. Also a good tip on getting the fuzzies out of toy hair is to use fabric softener and warm water. Soaking the hair in that solution will help soften it and make it easier to detangle and style

Omg imagine a collab with ALB and Trixie Mattel restoring old barbies 😍 idk if Trixie would ever try ASMR though lol not sure that’s really her style BUT in theory I think it’s an awesome idea!! ALB should be getting paid by Mattel for this video 100%, this is amazing content. Thank you SO MUCH!!!! 💕

I normally don't like water/wet sounds (like bottle shaking etc) in asmr but this one is perfect!! the soft brushing with water movements are so good, I'm headed right to dreamland...

That thumbnail looks so shady 😂😂😂😂

The words 'pretty kitties' are now a tingle spell for me, it's amazing

Wow I had this exact toy as a 90s child! Pretty sure it’s still in my parent’s garage as I never wanted to part with it! Thank you for the tingles and sweet relaxing nostalgia.💖

The transformation was incredible!! She looks amazing and sooo pretty! I’ve never heard of this type of toy before but I’m completely in love, they look so classy and fancy! Absolutely adorable, and the different pink tones suits you perfectly! Loved seeing her look new in the end!! 💖 And her being called Mimi is so cute and perfect, meant to be!

1:01:26 If these were anything like the My Little Pony that had hair that "grew", you cranked the head back and forth to make the hair shorter again. I still have one of my MLP with that kind of hair-- and she's still looking cute!

A little tip for the hair. Fabric softner works like a charm.

I dont care that I'm a 2000s baby so calling thease toys vintage makes my parents cringe, I find vintage toys super interesting! I recently restored 4 trolls dolls from the late 80s early 90s :) I even did an eye transplant for one of them!

Can confirm, my mom passed me down a doll when I was little that was from her era, it had the same “magically growing hair” that you would pull out of the top of their head, it basically worked like any retractable chord where you’d pull it all the way out and it would hit the end and you let go and it pulled all the way back in

I wasn't able to write this last night. But this video was the best thing for helping to take down the intensity of my panic attack. I love things like this, especially when I my anxiety makes me hypersensitive to stimuli in the worst way

This is somewhat random but you have the prettiest hands in the asmr community 💜

strawberry shortcake vhs case never lost its smell my entire childhood

I think we can all agree that we'd like to see another video like this if you ever do another toy restoration in the future because this was lovely

I had almost the same pink cat toy. It used to smell roses. I found a mini version of it in a a charity sell years ago. Thank you for your video for the asmr and for the souvenir.

Hi ! I'm 14 and I have been giving my toys makeovers since I was 6, I usually help my plushies by removing their stuffing with newer fluffier stuffing and fixing them rips and adding accessories 🧸 sometimes I change them a LOT by like changing their pose or face, adding tattoos or patters, perchings, yknow :> I also scrub my dolls and my friends dolls. I fixed my friends toy up a lot once and I did it's hair and made it from dirty old sticky dreads to long beautiful bouncy shiny hair! I enjoy doing it and wanna start a business one day.

I love that so much, seeing toys cared for and restored

this video is just up my alley i love restoring toys from my childhood and i find it to be really relaxing and rewarding

I loved the aesthetic in this video. I recently started thrifting for baby clothes and I find myself drawn to this early 90s aesthetic a lot. I myself was born in 1997, but I spent the majority of my childhood wearing and playing with hand-me-downs from friends' kids who were born in the late 80s and early 90s. All the ruffle/doily collars, mint, lilac and pink pastels, nici fabrics, and crazy patterns just feel so nostalgically cozy and home-y to me.

Haven’t finished the video yet but I’m super pumped! I would have loved that toy as a kid. I think in the past couple of years toys have gone downhill so fast, my childhood really is where we peaked.

I love that you even prepared some pictures of the toys and the packaging, so cute 💜💜

I so appreciate people like you who thoughtfully restore vintage items so they may, as you beautifully put it, relive their glory days. 😍🥰

Istg alb is the vintage, cottagecore, lesbian that i didn't know I needed.

I absolutely adore this! Toy cleaning is one of the most soothing things in the world! I like using fabric softener when cleaning the hair to make it super smooth!😊

I had that toy when I was little! She was one of my favorites ❤️ I can’t believe I’m seeing her again after so long 🥰

You are absolutely SO relaxing, and SO talented in your beautiful, inspiring way. I'm grateful that you made a space for yourself on RU-vid, ALB!

This is the first toy I remember buying as a child!! But my kitty was blue. I still have her actually and she even has a tiny bit of her scent left. They smelled so lovely and sweet!!

I would love more videos like this! It was so lovely to see an older toy get a new life 💕

This is an amazing idea! I love how your attention to detail produces an amazing transformation! Thank you for putting in the time and effort to produce unique content!

i absolutely adore your videos where you talk about vintage toys. it’s such an interesting topic, i could listen for hours.

I truly feel like this is the ultimate soft spoken asmr video. So soothing, so relaxing, every visual and audio element works. A year later and it's still my go-to when I need to calm down and feel comforted 😌

I loved every second of this video!! The subject, sounds, nails, hand movements were so completely perfect. Please make more toy restoration videos!

You did such an amazing job! You definitly inspired me to keep a look out for vintage toys at my local thrift stores. And it was SO brilliant and fun to add that section of going through the little pretty packaging and catalogue spreads, that was so smart

Absolutely loved this video. Also, glad to see some other people remembered the pink lids from Instagram...such a nice touch. Always love the cohesive, calming aesthetic in ALB’s videos. 💕

You know it's going to be good when you can feel the tingles before clicking on the video

I really hope you make more videos like this, it's the only one I can find where the person restoring it tells us the history, let alone talks at all! The love and care you put into it makes the video amazing, and I love to think about what her original owner would think to see their little friend back to good condition.

I LOVE this! I have been buying used dolls recently and I love the process of cleaning them up, its very satisfying!

I really love this. So relaxing and so satisfying! If you decide to do more restorations, I've found liquid fabric softener works a lot better as a conditioner for synthetic hair. You'd be amazed at how quickly tangles loosen up with fabric softener. It also gives it a pretty nice shine. Love your videos!

I have a lot of 80s and 90s toys and one of them is that pink snail I think they're called Secret Keepers. Where her shell opens and you could like hide notes or whatever inside. I have been wanting to clean her and fix her hair it's pretty matted. So this video has given me the motivation. Yay! PS love your nails 😍

So excited for this video, hope there will be more of them in the future. Both satisfying and sleep inducing

So relaxing! More of these videos, please! I’ve used cut straws as curlers for Barbies for many years. Works great!

You mentioned Lady Lovely Locks and I just wanted to say that I’ve always thought your hair reminded me of her! I loved that cartoon, it was so magical!

why are toys so relaxing and nostalgic and just..this is the perfect theme for an asmr video-

I truly appreciate how long this video is. Love the soft spoken style ♥️

This is so kind! I miss this gentle nature in the real world. Thanks for loving this lil toy

Absolutely love the letter tracing of the logo, it really relaxes me 💕

This is definitely going to be a go-to for me, such an amazing work Alb! And btw the pink lids were a nice detail 🥰

Honestly, thank you for having this channel, it really helps me. I am having a pretty tough time and this video really helped perk me up.

ALB back with the beautiful setting, beautiful vibe and beautiful hair 😭💕your videos are always so perfect

I've restyled quite a few synthetic wigs for costumes and my favorite method for removing or adding curl is to use a handheld clothing steamer to set the style. I would assume it would work on doll hair as well

This was the most relaxing asmr for me that I have seen in awhile ! Thank you! Hope you do more restoration videos !!

Aw the curls turned out so cute

I would love a toy collection tour from you

You should make this a series!! It was so much fun to watch!! :)

i love watching your videos while i draw, your voice is just so soothing to listen to,, but this video had me oddly distracted,, and i felt very invested in Mimi's transformation lol,, i'd love to see another toy restoration video from you in the future,, there's something very comforting about how gentle and loving you are with them

Wow, this is amazing! Love how she turned out.

I love this video so much! I don’t know if this will help for the kind of toy restoration that you do, but when I detangle doll hair (especially American girl doll hair), the best detangler that I’ve found is fabric softener diluted with water :)

I was just done rewatching your Morticia roleplay and this came out! Totally love this! Love your voice really❤️

With every stroke of the toothbrush I witnessed Mimi coming alive!!!!! 🙌

Always appreciate your effort in the whole aesthetics in your ASMR videos

I absolutely love this! I had to watch it in 2 sessions because I fell asleep during it but it was so relaxing and enjoyable! I would love to see you restore more toys ☺️💕

I wanna do this so bad now and restore a toy! The satisfaction of cleaning up a grimy toy and making it look like new is so great. Cleaning and brushing the hair is my favorite part since I always loved doing that as a kid. Something about it is just so satisfying.

Reminds me of my childhood