Product Review: Reborns, Realistic Baby Dolls

The newest doll that is taking the entire world by storm is the reborn "baby" doll. They are dolls that look so realistic, you'll think it's a real baby!! Starting as a normal everyday child's play doll, they are transformed into an heirloom that will be treasured throughout many generations.

Much time and work goes into creating these masterpieces. Much love is involved from the first step of disassembling the doll to the final step of dressing the new baby. Each reborn artist has their own style, so each baby is truly a OOAK (one of a kind).

Some reborns have gluded on wigs, but I think the best ones have hand rooted hair. It is rooted into the scalp 1 or 2 strands at a time with a fine gauge needle. This makes it look as if the hair is growing right out of the baby's scalp.

The type of paint used on the baby is very important. Creme paint was originally used, but later was discarded when it was discovered that it would soak totally into the vinyl within a year. Oil paint, which is my personal favorite, soaks into the vinyl just enough to make the coloring look like natural baby blushing. Genesis paint has become quite popular, but it is a heatset paint which involves putting the painted vinyl in the oven to set the paint. This paint is permanent, but it is still too early to tell what the long term effect on the heated vinyl will be.

There are several types of eyes that can be used. The acrylic eyes are very real looking, but the glass eyes are so realistic. I'm not sure if they make silicone eyes, but I think it would be so cool if the eyes were made of squishy silicone!

I love the way the baby feels so real when you hold it. It generally has a soft jointed cloth body and is weighted to a newborn's weight.

Many reborn artist specializes in custom made reborns. They can take a picture of your child or grandchild and make a reborn that looks so much like the real baby that you will swear you are seeing your own much loved baby. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have an actual look-alike of your baby to show him/her when they are grown with babies of their own? Or give a far away grandmother a replica of her grandchild to hold when she is missing the real one?