Reborn doll

A reborn doll is a hand made art doll created from a blank kit or a manufactured doll that has been transformed by an artist to resemble a human infant with as much realism as possible. The process of creating a reborn doll is referred to as reborning and the doll artists are referred to as reborners.^[1][2] Reborn dolls are also known as lifelike dolls or reborn baby dolls.^[3][4]

The hobby of creating reborn baby dolls began in the early 1990s when doll enthusiasts wanted more realistic dolls.^[5] Since then, an industry and community surrounding reborn dolls has emerged.^[5] Reborn dolls are primarily purchased online but can be available at fairs.^[1] Depending on craftsmanship, they range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars.^[6][7]

Reborning involves numerous time-consuming steps. The most basic form of the process involves taking a vinyl doll, adding multiple hand painted layers of paint, and adding other physical features to the doll.^[3] Artists can pick different brands to best suit the doll they wish to create.^[8] Consumers can also buy reborn doll kits that include the doll parts and supplies for creating their own reborn.^[1][9] Making a doll from a kit is called newborning and allows artists to omit some steps in the fabrication process.^[9] Many supplies are needed for both external and internal modifications of reborns to make the doll seem more realistic.^[7]

Some consumers of reborn dolls use them to cope with their grief over a lost child (a memory reborn), or as a portrait doll of a grown child.^[10] Others collect reborns as they would regular dolls. These dolls are sometimes played with as if they are an infant.^[10] Critics debate whether reborn dolls are harmful, or whether these dolls can help in the grieving process.^[5][11] Because of their realistic appearance, reborn dolls have occasionally been mistaken for real babies and "rescued" from parked cars after being reported to the police by passers-by.^[4][12]