Reborn doll glossary
Whether you’re just beginning your journey or deepening your craft, understanding the language of reborn dolls helps you connect more deeply with the artistry. This glossary offers a soft, clear introduction to common terms you’ll hear as a collector, artist, or simply someone who is interested in lifelike dolls.
A
Acrylic eyes – Durable, budget-friendly eyes used in open-eyed dolls.
Air dry paints – Paints that dry without heat; a popular alternative to Genesis paints.
Anatomically correct – A reborn doll with gender-specific features, often made of full vinyl or silicone.
Artist reborn – A hand-painted, weighted reborn made by an individual artist rather than mass-produced.
B
Baking – The process of curing Genesis paints in a convection oven.
Batch painting – Creating multiple reborns at once using the same paints and methods.
Blank kit – The unpainted head and limbs used to make a reborn.
Blue tones – A base layer or undertone used in fair-skinned dolls for realism.
Blushing – Adding warmth to cheeks, knees, hands, and feet.
Box opening – A collector’s unboxing of a reborn and all included items.
C
COA (Certificate of Authenticity) – A signed or numbered document proving the kit is legitimate and not a counterfeit.
Cable ties – Plastic ties used to attach limbs and head to the cloth body. Can be replaced if needed.
Cuddle baby – A reborn with a vinyl head but a fully soft cloth body, designed especially for therapeutic or sensory comfort.
Custom order – A doll made to the buyer’s specific requests (hair colour, eye colour, skintone, etc.).
D
Doe suede body – Soft fabric used for reborn cloth bodies.
Dummy / pacifier – A magnetic or modified dummy used for realism.
Dry skin detailing – Varnish technique that mimics peeling newborn skin.
Dewy finish – A slight sheen added to areas like lips or eyelids.
E
Ethnic skin tone – Reborns come in a range of skintones, achieved through layering and undertones to reflect global diversity.
Eyelashes – Can be rooted or glued. Sleeping dolls often have lashes sealed inside the head.
F
Fake formula – A sealed, non-edible liquid resembling baby milk, used in bottles for display and play.
Fake reborn – Mass-produced copies of copyrighted kits, often poor quality and considered art theft. Always check for a COA.
Filling materials – The inside of a reborn is often filled with a mix of glass beads (for weight), polyfil (for softness), and sometimes silicone pellets.
Fine glass beads – Tiny glass beads and particles used to give realistic weight.
G
GHSP (Genesis heat set paints)) – A heat-cured paint line widely used before its discontinuation.
Glass eyes – Premium eyes with added shine and depth.
Glossing – Added shine to lips, nails, or eyes.
H
Hair rooting – Inserting mohair into a doll’s head with a rooting needle for realistic hair.
Heat set paint – Paint cured through baking the painted doll parts in an oven
K
Kit – The parts needed to create a reborn: typically head, arms, and legs, sometimes with a cloth body included.
Knockoff kit – A reborn kit that has been copied without the original sculptor’s permission. These kits are often sold more cheaply through mass-production sites and don’t include a Certificate of Authenticity (COA). While some collectors and artists see these as affordable alternatives, many in the community choose to avoid them out of respect for the sculptor’s work.
L
Lanugo – Painted or rooted fine hair on cheeks, shoulders, or back (newborn realism).
Limb Type – Refers to how far down the limb vinyl goes:
- Full limbs – Shoulder to wrist / hip to ankle
- 3/4 limbs – Partial limbs allowing more flexibility
- 1/4 limbs – Shorter vinyl parts, more cuddly, used in older sculpts
Lifelike – The central quality of reborns: to look and feel like a real baby.
M
Magnet – A strong magnet inside the head for a dummy or hair bow. Use caution near pacemakers and electronics.
Matte varnish – A sealant used to finish and protect paintwork.
Matting powder – Used for a velvet skin finish; popular in silicone reborns.
Memory baby – A reborn created to represent a real baby, living or lost.
Milk spots – Tiny white dots on the nose or cheeks, mimicking newborn milia.
Mohair – Natural goat hair used for rooting. Soft, fine, and realistic.
Mottling – A technique using translucent layers of colour to create natural skin tone variation.
N
Neck flange – The inner rim at the base of the vinyl head, used for attaching to the body with cable ties.
Neck ring – A plastic ring that allows the head to turn more freely.
Neutralizing layer – A base layer to cancel out vinyl undertones.
O
OOAK – (one of a kind) A reborn that is completely unique — not from a kit, or finished with highly personalised features.
P
Plugs – Sometimes used to seal inside the limbs after weighting to keep materials in place.
Premature / Preemie – Dolls under 18 inches, designed to resemble early birth babies.
Prismacolor hair – Realistic hair painted using Prismacolor pencils, often with fine linework and direction.
Prototype reborn – A doll made by an experienced reborn artist before a kit’s public release to showcase the sculpt.
R
Realborn® – A copyrighted kit made from 3D scans of real babies, produced by Bountiful Baby.
Reborn – A doll that has been hand-transformed to look like a real baby, through painting, weighting, and detailing.
Resin eyes – High-end handmade eyes with depth and clarity.
Reweighing – The process of adjusting the weight balance of a reborn for comfort or realism.
Roleplay – Some collectors enjoy dressing, feeding, or photographing their dolls in lifelike scenarios.
Rooting tool – A fine needle used to insert hair into the scalp one strand at a time.
S
Sculptor – The original artist who designed the doll kit. Well-known sculptors include Bonnie Brown, Laura Lee Eagles, and Ping Lau.
Sealing – A topcoat applied to protect the paint and give a matte or textured finish.
Silicone – A more flexible, realistic material than vinyl, but delicate and higher cost.
Skin texture – Reborns can have a varied surface texture for added realism: matte, textured, or smooth depending on artist style.
SOLE – (Sold Out Limited Edition) A kit that was produced in limited numbers and is no longer available from retailers.
Studio – A reborn artist’s dedicated workspace.
T
Tummy plate – A flat vinyl piece that mimics the baby’s torso.
V
Varnish – A sealing layer that may be matte, satin, or textured. Helps protect against shine or wear.
Vinyl – The most common material used for reborns.
W
Wafer – A scented disc (baby powder, lavender, etc.) sealed inside the body.
Weighted – Refers to how a doll is filled to feel like a real baby. Often with glass beads and polyfil for softness and realism.
WIP (work in progress) – A behind-the-scenes look at an unfinished reborn.
Final Thoughts
Reborn dolls mean different things to different people — but understanding the language behind them can make the experience feel easier. We’re glad you found your way here, and we hope this reborn doll glossary offered a gentle place to begin.
