so i noticed for some backgrounds i have to put them behind the base doll layer for the face to not be hidden behind it and some i don't when i played this before the only background i had was one where i just had to move it to be behind the clothes and i would use the whiteout item to hide layers of clothes that stick out but that doesn't work for the newer backgrounds i got. are there any other items i could use that would work for this?

I remember the technique you're talking about, and unfortunately there's no way to do that anymore with new backgrounds. When the older backgrounds were made, the avatar base and the facial features were unmovable from the bottom of the list, forcing background placement above the base and requiring a cutout in the background in order to see the avatar. Since then the wardrobe has gotten updates that allow the base features to be moved anywhere, and as a result, newer backgrounds are drawn without the cutout, allowing people to make scenery avatars without the human, and even older backgrounds are being revamped to remove the cutout. Flattening clothes with the avatar cutout is becoming a lost technique.

man that's unfortunate i hope there will be a workaround eventually