All about reborn dolls.

Alessandro painted by Jacqueline Hall of Paint Pot Babies

What are reborn dolls?

Reborn dolls are highly realistic baby dolls that are handcrafted to look and feel like real human babies. The goal of a reborn artist is to make the doll as lifelike as possible—right down to skin tone, veins, hair, eyelashes, and even features like a heartbeat or breathing motion in some cases.

These dolls are often created from vinyl or silicone “kits,” which come with unpainted parts (head, arms, legs) that artists then transform into a finished, realistic baby doll using meticulous techniques.

How Are Reborn Dolls Made?

Creating a reborn doll is a detailed, time-consuming art process. Here's a step-by-step breakdown:

1. Starting with a Reborn Kit: Artists use blank vinyl or silicone kits that include a head, limbs, and sometimes a torso. These are sculpted by artists and sold under names like “Bountiful Baby” or the sculptors name.

2. Painting: Artists apply multiple translucent layers of paint often using Heat Set Paints or air-dry alternatives to build realistic skin tones, mottling, blushing, veins, and undertones. This process can take dozens of layers and many hours of work, each artist has their own unique style and members of the reborn community can often tell who has painted a doll simply by looking at it.

3. Hair Rooting or Painting: High-quality mohair or alpaca hair is individually rooted into the scalp using a fine needle (micro-rooting), the hair has been purposely processed for reborning making sure it is not too fine or too course and is soft enough to resemble the hair of a real baby, some artists choose to paint hair on the doll and this in itself is a skill that takes years of practise to get a realistic look.

4. Assembly and Weighting: The doll is assembled with a soft cloth body and filled with materials like polyfill and glass beads to mimic the weight and movement of a real baby.

5. Details Added: Lashes, magnetised pacifiers, baby scents, and even breathing mechanisms or voice boxes can be added for realism.

Why Do People Buy Reborn Dolls?

People are drawn to reborn dolls for various reasons:

1. Collectible Art ~ Each reborn is a unique, handcrafted piece of art. Collectors value the artistry and uniqueness of each doll, especially OOAK (One of a Kind) creations.

2. Therapy & Comfort ~ Reborns are often used in grief therapy for those who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss. Others find comfort from them during anxiety, depression, dementia, or Alzheimer’s care.

3. Realism for Roleplay ~ Some buyers enjoy dressing, caring for, and posing reborn dolls as a form of hobby or lifestyle roleplay. They may take them out in public in strollers or share them on social media.

4. Gift-Giving ~ They make special, memorable gifts for children typically aged 8 and up, especially those who love nurturing play.

Types of Reborn Dolls

Vinyl Reborn Dolls are the most common type, offering good realism and easier maintenance.

Silicone Reborn Dolls are more flexible and soft, these are highly realistic but more delicate and expensive.

Partial vs. Full-Body Reborns, Some have cloth bodies with vinyl limbs, while others are fully silicone/vinyl. Anatomically Correct Reborns, These have full body parts for added realism, often chosen for realism or roleplay.

Popular Reborn Terms

Reborning: The process of creating a reborn doll.

Reborn Artist: The person who paints and assembles the doll.

Reborn Kit: The blank sculpt used as a base.

Rooting: Inserting individual strands of hair into the scalp.

Realborn: A reborn kit created using 3D scans of real babies and copyrighted to Bountiful Baby

Box Opening: Extra accessories an artists sends to the buyer with the reborn doll, such as clothes toys and small baby items.