How To Care For Your Reborn Doll

Reborn dolls are meant for enjoyment, a fun and unique experience! Care for it to keep it flawless over time.

Above all, a reborn doll's purpose is for you to enjoy. This means you can play with it, dress it up, or just collect and show it off to your friends. You don't have to keep your reborn locked away in a glass case where no one can reach it, but you should do your part to keep it protected and well taken care of. Treating your reborn carelessly or being too "rough" with it will increase the chance of it becoming damaged or otherwise broken. Minor damage can usually be repaired with the right materials and know-how, but more severe damage could essentially destroy your reborn beyond repair.

Reborns are more than your average doll and as such, they should be treated differently. Remember, a reborn doll is essentially a piece of art that someone spent countless hours perfecting; therefore, it should be treated as such. Unfortunately, this is a mistake that many newcomers to the hobby are forced to learn the hard way. Depending on the type of reborn you have, such a mistake can cost you hundreds of even thousands of dollars.

Always handle your reborn with care, treating it like a collectible rather than a toy. Collectibles are durable and require cautious handling. Avoid tossing, pulling, or being rough with your reborn to prevent costly damage. Remember to store it safely after dressing up or playing with it.

If you have pets, you'll want to keep your reborn doll out of their reach at all times. If a dog gets hold of it and mistakes it as a toy, you can say bye-bye to your precious reborn. A family dog can easily mistake a reborn doll sitting on the couch for one of their toys. Once they get it in their mouth and start chewing on it, even the most well-made reborn doll will slowly begin to come apart. Most pets won't mess with dolls, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.
Small children can be another concern for a reborn doll. If you want your reborn to remain in the same pristine condition as the day your first got it, you'll want to store it in a place that's out of your child's sight and reach. It's no secret that small children are drawn to dolls like magnets, but unfortunately they're likely to be rough with them. This doesn't mean you can't ever let them see it, but you have to teach them the boundaries of what's acceptable and what's not. If you have a child, teach them that your reborn isn't a toy, and once they have developed an appreciation for it, you can let them hold or even play with your reborn as long as you're around to supervise.

Even if you walk on pins and needles trying to keep your reborn as pristine as it was the day you got it, it's inevitable that some dirt and dust will accumulate on it. Small amounts of dust probably isn't going to cause any serious concern, but thick layers can slowly damage the paint and integrity of your doll. Thankfully, however, the occasional cleaning will help prevent buildups of dirt, keeping your reborn looking its best; here's how you do it:

If your reborn is just dusty, take a feather duster or lint-free dusting cloth and give it light but thorough wiping down. I don't recommend using any cleaning product, as some of them contain harmful chemicals that may stain or even strip the paint off of your reborn. For basic cleaning, you should be able to brush it down with a basic feather duster to remove the majority of dust and dirt on its surface.

If your reborn is dirty to the point where a duster isn't doing the job, you may need to be a little bit more creative in your cleaning. Start by removing all of your reborn's clothes so they are in their birthday suit (yep, a buck-naked reborn!. Once the clothes are removed, take a small hand towel, run it under luke-warm water, and gently wipe down your reborn from head to toe. You may need to add a drop of non-toxic soap to your towel if it's still not getting your reborn clean. Once your reborn is clean, wipe it down with a dry towel and put their clothes back on.

Part of caring for your reborn is maintaining their hair, keeping it clean and tangle-free. Whether your reborn doll has mohair from the Angora goat or any other type of doll hair, you'll need to occasionally brush it. In order to do so, you'll need to get a baby brush or comb, both of which can be found at most infant stores.

Start by gently brushing through the hair back and fourth. If it gets stuck at a knot or tangle, don't force it, as it's easy to pull out the individually rooted hairs. Just remove the brush and try again. For some of the more stubborn knots, you may need to hold the hair with your free hands while slowly working it out using the brush in your other hand. Keep doing this until their hair is tangle-free and there are no visible clumps.