While dolls have been around for a long time and doll collectors have always dominated the high end of the market, the early 1990s saw a drastic change. Reborn baby dolls were introduced to the world and have skyrocketed in popularity ever since around the world.

These dolls are not the ones you played with as a child. They are super realistic, they can be very rare and very expensive. The creators of these dolls have been elevated to the level of craftsmen as the amount of skill and the wide variety of techniques that must be mastered to make one is quite high.

While some reborn baby dolls can be produced on a larger scale, the best and most realistic ones are made by hand, one by one. Many small studios have become industry leaders in providing their customers with the dolls they crave.

These artisans use a variety of painting techniques that require a high degree of skill. The paint must be applied in layers, baked with ovens or hot air guns, and repeated over and over again. Detailed details like veins, dimples, and even the tiny creases in the fingernails are painted onto the dolls to make them look as realistic as possible.

After the painting is finished, more exclusive work is done to make the reborn baby dolls even more realistic. Refined human hair or Angora mohair is individually rooted into the scalp, one strand at a time. Unlike wigs, this allows the artist to create hair on the doll’s head that looks more real.

Hand-blown glass or silicone eyes are added to give the dolls a realistic shine. The dolls’ bodies are modified with a variety of materials to make them feel softer than their original vinyl shell. Sand can be added to weigh down the bodies, but it is not the best option. The bags containing the sand can break creating a balanced weight and ruining the illusion of a real baby. Instead, silicone granules are used in the body, and sometimes steel ball bearings in the head.

Reborn baby dolls are so realistic that there have been cases around the world of bystanders mistaking them for real children. Police broke car windows to “rescue” babies from the sweltering heat only to discover they were reborn. Some babies are so convincing that you can stand next to them and still not be able to tell they were dolls.

Technology is also implemented in these dolls to make them more realistic. Some high-end dolls have mechanisms that raise and lower the chest of the dolls to simulate breathing. Others have small devices that imitate a heartbeat.

Reborn baby dolls range from basic to elaborate and their process varies as well. Some are as cheap as $25, while the most option-packed can be well over $4,000! It all depends on how real you want the doll to be and how much you are willing to spend.