Maintenance questions about faceups!

I don't know where you've heard people wash their dolls monthly, but I can almost guarantee that that's not the case. You would have to completely unstring a doll to "wash" it, because the elastics getting wet could lead to mold forming and the S-hooks could rust. The biggest thing with dolls getting "dirty" most of the time is just light dust accumulation if they're displayed on shelves and don't get handled often. Or, if you take your doll outside where their clothing might get dirty or maybe leaves get caught in the fiber of their wigs.

Outfits and shoes (again, depending on if you take your doll and pose them outside on the ground or similar situations like that) tend to need actual washing in water far more often than the dolls themselves. Your biggest worry with the doll itself will be possible staining from dark or vibrant clothing or the doll taking a tumble and the faceup being damaged. Also, glued-in eyelashes are quite delicate and can come loose or fall out if you're not careful when posing the head or putting on wigs.

Sealant can yellow the same way the resin itself can, but that's something that would happen over many years and be a very gradual change, so nothing to worry about right now.

Hopefully others hop on here and can provide more info!

 

My advice is to not clean the head, but instead take every precaution to prevent the faceup from getting worn. Generally the sealants used for faceups are pretty durable, but taking extra precautions is easy. Do not handle the head with your bare hands, instead use cotton gloves, and avoid touching the face completely (even with gloves). Get a soft paint or makeup brush and use that to remove schmutz or get stray hairs out of their face. You can also use that to dust the face off if you leave your doll out for a long time. One of the most common places where sealant gets worn off is the chin, because people put a finger there when posing the head. So try to pose the head by putting your fingers somewhere else. (My habit is to grip the head on the sides/ears to pose it, but some of my dolls have delicate elf ears so that's a problem, too.)

You should only ever "clean" the doll's head if you can see that it's dirty. And if their face does get dirty, you would clean it differently depending on where the mark is and what got it dirty.

I paint my dolls myself, so I'm very lax about touching their faces. I never handle them with gloves and I brush their bangs out of their faces with my bare finger. I don't handle my dolls a lot these days, but even so, I'm not very careful when I do and none of my dolls' faceups have gotten grubby or worn off. I'm only telling you that to reiterate that generally, the sealant is pretty durable. If you touch your doll's face a few times with clean hands it's not going to get ruined. But if you touch it with your bare hands all the time, the sealant will start to look dirty or wear off. Wearing cotton gloves when handling your doll is a really easy thing you can do to preserve a faceup!

 

No clue where you got that people clean their dolls on a monthly bases. I don't think any person I ever met did that, and I certainly didn't in the last 14 years with any of my dolls. The majority of the time they just stand in their cabinets and at most get a little dusty, but nothing you can't just blow off/swipe off with one of these fluffy dusters.

Overlordu pretty much gave you the best advice though: try to keep it pristine by proper handling, instead of attempting to clean it once it got dirty.
Wash your hands before handling, avoid touching the face, keep your nails short and without nail polish. Alternatively, wear the mentioned cotton gloves when you don't want to get rid of long or painted nails. Use a doll stand when posing, don't put the doll into risky situations where it can fall or get hit in the face.
I have friends with dolls that have 10+ years old faceups that still look pristine, simply through careful handling.

If for some reason your doll ever actually gets dirty, you can do the following:
- on unpainted surfaces (like a body without body blush), use a magic eraser/melamine sponge, either wet with water or if you need something stronger rubbing alcohol
- on a painted surface, try a damp tissue first and if need be VERY gently a damp magic eraser. Be careful with the eraser, it's abrasive, it should only be used carefully and if nothing else helped.
Do not use rubbing alcohol, it's commonly used to remove faceups.

Generally it is not required to reseal afterwards.