History of Reborn Dolls

Reborn doll (Living doll or Unliving doll) is a vinyl doll so realistically made that it resembles a human baby.

First reborn dolls were manufactured in the United States in the first half of 1990s. They appeared as an answer to doll enthusiasts who wanted more realistic dolls. They can be bought over the internet or on the fairs. Internet also enabled doll enthusiasts to create an online society focused on Reborn dolls. Creators of reborn dolls are called reborners and creating of the doll is called reborning.

The first reborn doll appeared on the eBay in 2002. That expanded the market of reborn dolls and online stores started appearing. Market generally started with doll collectors who admired craftsmanship and realism with which the dolls were made but soon appeared those who wanted dolls for an emotional response, either for mothers or as tools for therapeutic purposes. Media helped also for word about reborning to be spread. Today people who do reborning are from all sides of the world. Supplies, tools, and accessories can be bought from doll manufacturers who make and sell them. In time techniques advanced and more realistic reborn dolls are created.

Reborn dolls are made from manufactured play vinyl doll or vinyl doll kit. Special tools are also needed. How the doll will look in the end depends of reborner or on the person who ordered a doll. For reborning are used vynil dols that are already finished. That can be type of vinyl doll. Some companies , such are Berenguer Babies, Zapf, Lee Middleton, Ashton-Drake Galleries, Apple Valley, and Secrist Dolls, make doll that are very suitable for reborning. Some are already look very much like human babies while other have vinyl “skin” very similar to human. Because the source doll can be very different from each other, reborned dolls can have from 4 to 22 inches in size. If a kit us used for making a doll then a doll is newborned. Kits consist of doll parts (limbs, faces, heads) and select supplies (paint brushes, eyelashes, weighting pellets, genesis 'heat set' paints, cloth bodies and cosmetics).

When the doll is reborning, first step is to remove original factory paint. After that a realistic baby skin undertones are achieved by applying a blue color wash to the inners side of the doll. To the outer side of the skin is applied flesh colored paint in multiple layers, 15 and even more. After that are added nails and nostrils are made with special drill bits. Hair is added with wigging or microrooting. When a second method is used, each strand of hair is added separately by hand, which can last some 30 hours of work until one head is finished. Doll is then weighted with pellets. Some dolls have mounted magnets so a pacifier or hair bow can be attached to the doll. Some dolls are equipped with electronic devices that make them even more life-like. Such devices simulate heartbeat, make chest rise and fall to simulate breathing or are heaters that make dolls warm to touch.