What is a barbie color reveal doll?

Barbie color reveal dolls are a fun new way for kids to unbox and discover a surprise hair color on their Barbie doll. These dolls come wrapped in several layers of packaging, allowing kids to peel away wraps one by one until they finally reveal the doll’s hair color underneath. The anticipation of what color hair the Barbie will have adds an exciting element of mystery and surprise to the unboxing experience.

History of Barbie Color Reveal

Barbie color reveal dolls were first introduced by Mattel in 2020 as a way to bring more interactivity and excitement to the iconic Barbie brand. According to Mattel, the color reveal concept was inspired by viral unboxing videos popular on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, where the thrill is in not knowing what’s inside the box.

The initial launch included four different Barbie color reveal dolls, each wrapped in 7 layers that kids would peel off to ultimately reveal the doll’s hair color – either blonde, brunette, red, or black. The dolls became an instant hit among kids who loved the mystery and enjoyed watching unboxing reveals online.

Due to the success of the original color reveal dolls, Mattel continued adding new dolls, themes, and hair color options over the next couple years. Some popular releases have included mermaid color reveal, unicorn color reveal, princess color reveal, and career reveal editions like Teacher Barbie or Doctor Barbie.

How Barbie Color Reveal Dolls Work

The color reveal concept uses simple materials like paper, plastic wraps, and stickers to build suspense and hide the Barbie’s hair color. Here is an overview of how color reveal dolls and packaging work:

The Barbie doll itself is wrapped in an inner plastic cover that obscures the hair.
Around the inner cover are multiple layers of paper wrappers, ribbons, stickers, and tissue paper.
Each layer is a different color and conceals what’s underneath.

Kids peel off the wrappers one at a time until they get to the inner plastic cover.
Removing the inner cover finally reveals the Barbie’s secret hair color.

In addition to the surprise hair color, the packaging layers also contain fun stickers, accessories, and information about the Barbie. The whole unboxing experience builds excitement and suspense as kids peel off each layer, never knowing what color hair they’ll uncover until the very end.

Popular Barbie Color Reveal Themes and Editions

While the original color reveal Barbies were generic fashion dolls, later editions expanded into popular themes and styles. Some of the most popular color reveal editions include:

Mermaid Barbies

These underwater-themed dolls have a mermaid tail instead of legs. Under the wraps, kids discover if their mermaid Barbie has blue, pink or rainbow-colored hair.

Unicorn Barbies

The unicorn Barbies feature a sparkly horn on their forehead and a matching unicorn-decorated package. Hair colors include standard rainbow unicorn colors.

Fairy Barbies

With glittery fairy wings and a magic wand, these fantasy-inspired fairies have surprise hair colors like purple, pink, orange and green.

Princess Barbies

Dressed in royal ball gowns, princess dolls have hair colors like majestic purple, pretty pink or golden blonde.

Career Barbies

Career reveals feature Barbies in professions like teaching, healthcare, music and more. Hair can be traditional natural colors or funky hair dye colors.

Unboxing Experience

One of the most exciting parts of Barbie color reveal dolls is the unboxing experience. Unwrapping all the layers creates suspense and anticipation as kids peel off each wrapper wondering what color they’ll find underneath. Here’s a play-by-play of the unboxing process:

Start by removing the lightweight outer box, which usually shows a shadowed silhouette of the doll inside.
Underneath find multiple colorful tissue paper layers, plastic wraps and ribbons to untie.

Peel off each layer slowly, building the suspense.
Many layers will include fun stickers to decorate the final inner plastic cover.
Eventually you’ll peel down to an opaque plastic wrap covering the entire doll.

Carefully remove the inner plastic cover to finally reveal the Barbie’s secret hair color!

In addition to the excitement of the hair color surprise, kids also discover small accessories and stickers inside the wrappers. The unwrapping process stretches out the fun over 10-15 minutes as kids uncover all the surprises hidden within.

Special Editions

In addition to the standard color reveal Barbie dolls available at major retailers, Mattel also releases special limited edition and exclusive reveals periodically. These are often available only through certain stores or directly from Mattel. Some recent special edition reveals include:

Edition	Details
Target Exclusive Unicorn	This unicorn Barbie came in blue, pink or purple hair. Only at Target.
Walmart Exclusive Mermaid	A mermaid Barbie with blonde, light pink or rainbow hair. Walmart exclusive.
Mattel Creations Gallery Doll	Limited to only 1,000 dolls. Upscale collectible packaging and doll.

These special versions create even more excitement and make the dolls feel limited. Kids and collectors rush to acquire exclusive reveals before they disappear.

Accessories

In addition to the surprise hair colors, Barbie color reveal dolls also come with small accessory surprises hidden inside the packaging. These add to the fun as kids unwrap each layer. Some of the common accessories found with color reveal Barbies include:

Stickers – Interactive themed stickers to decorate the inner plastic doll cover.
Bracelets – Plastic bracelets or jewelry matched to the doll theme.

Hair Clips – Mini clips, barrettes, headbands.
Shoes – Extra pairs of shoes or sandals for the doll.
Brushes – Mini plastic hair brushes.

Stands – Clear doll stands for displaying the Barbie.

The accessories are simple but add to the overall package. Kids have fun uncovering them on the path to ultimately revealing the doll’s hair color underneath.

Packaging

The unique packaging of Barbie color reveal dolls is a key part of the experience. Each set has multiple layers that build suspense and hide the hair color reveal underneath. Here’s an overview of the packaging elements:

Outer box – Bright, decorative box often with a shadow of the doll inside.
Tissue paper – Multiple tissue paper layers in various colors to peel off.
Plastic wraps – Clear and opaque plastic sheets wrapped around the inner doll cover.

Stickers – Interactive themed stickers for decorating the inner cover before the reveal.
Ribbons & strings – Ribbons to untie and strings to unwrap.
Inner cover – Opaque rigid plastic that seals over the entire doll and hair.

Mattel’s designers carefully arrange these packaging elements so that each layer builds anticipation and hides the underlying hair color.

Fun Hair Colors

Of course, the most exciting part of any Barbie color reveal doll is finding out the Barbie’s secret hair color underneath! The available colors include:

Blonde

Platinum blonde

Golden blonde
Ash blonde

Brunette

Rich chocolate brown

Mocha brown
Dark espresso brown

Black

Jet black

Raven black

Redhead

Fire engine red
Deep auburn

In addition to those natural hair colors, some special edition color reveal Barbies also come with funky hair dye colors like blue, green, purple, pink and more!

Pros of Color Reveal Dolls

There are many pros that make Barbie color reveal dolls a popular toy choice:

Interactive – Kids engage actively in unwrapping rather than passive watching.

Suspenseful – The surprise element creates thrill and anticipation.
Replay value – Fun to unwrap multiple times even when hair color is known.
Affordable – Typically cost under $15 making them accessible.

Customization – Hair can be restyled and dressed up after unboxing.
Sharing – Fun to unwrap together and share reactions.

The interactive unboxing and hair color surprise help make Barbie color reveal a more engaging play experience for kids.

Cons of Color Reveal Dolls

There are a few potential downsides to be aware of with Barbie color reveal dolls:

Extra packaging waste – Multiple wrappers and plastic covers create more trash.
Dye rub-off – Hair dye can sometimes transfer to hands, clothes etc.

Only one hairstyle – The molded hair can’t be restyled as easily.
Extra cost – More expensive than regular Barbies without the reveals.
Only one outfit – Most don’t come with extra clothes or accessories.

The biggest con is probably the excess packaging involved. But overall the play benefits seem to outweigh the negatives for most kids and parents.

Ideal Age Range

Barbie color reveal dolls are designed for ages 5 and up. This allows kids old enough to carefully unwrap the packaging themselves. Here are some guidelines for ideal age:

Ages 3-4 – May need parental help for unraveling and likely to make a big mess!

Ages 5-8 – Perfect age to unwrap independently and enjoy the surprise.
Ages 9+ – Still fun for older kids though may prefer more sophisticated dolls.

Kids around 5-8 years old seem to be the sweet spot for getting the full experience. But dolls can be fun for a wide age range with adult supervision.

Collections to Complete

With new Barbie color reveal dolls constantly being introduced in different lines and themes, many kids enjoy collecting the sets and trying to complete full collections. Some of the most popular sets to collect include:

Original / Core Dolls – The original 4 dolls that started it all.
Mermaid Dolls – Trying to collect all the mermaid tail colors.

Unicorn Dolls – Get the full set of rainbow unicorn Barbies.
Princess Dolls – Collect majestic princess gown colors.
Career Dolls – Gather different profession reveals like Teacher Barbie.

Collecting can become almost addictive as kids hunt down hard-to-find limited editions or rare reveals. Trading with friends to swap doll colors also becomes part of the fun.

Displaying the Dolls

There are lots of fun ways to display Barbie color reveal dolls after unwrapping them:

On a shelf – Stand dolls upright on a bedroom shelf surrounded by accessories.

Curio case – Display in a glass cabinet to show off a collection.
Play sets – Use Barbie toy sets like houses, cars, schools.
Doll stands – Use clear acrylic doll stands to prop dolls up.

Photos – Take pictures with the dolls for social media like TikTok.

Setting up an Instagram or TikTok account dedicated to posing and photographing dolls has also become popular. Kids enjoy styling and showing off the dolls.

Crafting with Packaging

Once the doll is unwrapped, the packaging doesn’t have to go to waste! The colorful wrappers, tissue papers and stickers can be upcycled into fun craft projects, such as:

Collages – Cut up wrappers and stickers to create a Barbie collage.
Jewelry – Turn ribbons, strings and beads into Barbie-themed jewelry.
Mini figures – Fold and tape wrappers into dress-up dolls.

Decor – Use packaging to make mini dollhouse furniture, wall art, party decorations.

Let kids get creative repurposing all the different packaging elements. It helps add even more play value after unboxing.

Videos and TV

In addition to the online unboxing videos, Barbie color reveal dolls have been featured in commercials and TV shows building buzz and awareness. Some examples include:

Commercials – Mattel has run 30-second tv commercials showcasing the dolls.
YouTube ads – Video ads on YouTube highlight the unboxing experience.
Talk show segments – Kelly Clarkson and Good Morning America unveiled dolls on-air.

Docu-series – The YouTube Originals 5-part docu-series “Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams.”

Seeing the dolls advertised on kids’ shows or popular YouTube videos helps drive demand and interest in the toys.