eBay Guides - Reborn Dolls Buying Guide
Skip to main content


 Reviews & Guides


Reborn Dolls Buying Guide


Reborn dolls bring new life to ordinary, cloth-and-vinyl factory models. These treasures, which are transformed into realistic creations through a careful, painstaking process, are among the most beloved handicrafts found on eBay Canada.

Discover How Dolls Are Reborn


Discover How Dolls Are Reborn

People most commonly use Berenguer, Berjusa, Emily, and Ashton-Drake dolls as a starting point for creating reborn dolls. Dolls from Berenguer (and its La Baby specialty brand) are especially coveted for their malleable vinyl texture, hyper-realistic faces, and inexpensive price. Creators of reborn dolls and OOAK (one of a kind) dolls use the same "rebirthing" process. (Note that vintage dolls are unsuitable for creating reborn dolls. The vinyl construction and facial molding of vintage dolls don’t lend themselves to the level of realism characteristic of reborn dolls. Plus, the rebirthing process will destroy a vintage doll’s unique (and valuable) qualities.)

  1. Disassemble the original doll: Disassemble the original doll and remove its hair and paint.

  2. Clean the doll: Thoroughly bath and clean the doll of chemicals and residue with a long-handled paintbrush.

  3. Root and dye hair: Hand-root the doll hair, usually with mohair. Then dye it by hand to a vivid, lifelike shade. (Artists often use wigs on reborn dolls as well.)

  4. Apply paint and detail: Carefully colour the doll with dye or paint to a natural skin tone and enhance the doll with eyebrows, lips, wrinkles, and other lifelike touches. Artists usually use fine brushes, oils, and pastels for this step.

  5. Reassemble the doll: Fill individual pieces of the doll with any of a variety of materials (sand, plastic pellets, and polyester fill among them) to add a realistic measure of weight. Then reassemble the pieces.

  6. Dress the reborn doll: As a final touch, an artist dresses the doll in appropriate doll clothing, doll hats, and doll shoes.


Back to topBack to top

Make Your Own Reborn Dolls


Make Your Own Reborn Dolls

When creating your own reborn doll, employ doll eyes and doll eyelashes, hair and wigs, glue, paints and dyes, brushes and sponges, joints, and weights to achieve the desired high level of realism.

  • Reborn doll eyes and eyelashes: You can select doll eyes and eyelashes in several colours. Most artists choose acrylic, but you can also find more expensive glass eyes that provide an especially true-to-life appearance. Look for clear, realistically shaped corneas. Make sure the lashes aren’t too long.    

  • Reborn doll hair and wigs: Straight or curly mohair, available in a variety of lengths and colours, is favoured for the rooting process. Viscose, a natural plant fiber, is popular as well. Use styling gel to flatten the hair against the reborn’s head. Some artists prefer to use simple wigs, available in several shades and styles.    

  • Doll glue: When selecting glue for reborn doll eye sockets and wigs, select clear, waterproof, and flexible glue that will hold and that you can paint. It should offer strong bonding power on vinyl materials.     

  • Doll paints and dyes: To colour and blush your reborn dolls, use acrylic dye or oil- or acrylic-based paint. Surface sealers can also protect your doll from age and sun damage and add realistic detail to fingernails, toenails, and lips.      

  • Brushes and sponges: Common makeup sponges are ideal for applying paint to your reborn smoothly and easily, especially in wrinkles and creases. Use fine-detail brushes for lips and eyebrows.     

  • Reborn doll joints: Made up of spoke, washer, and locking pieces, joints are a secure and simple way to connect your reborn doll's limbs to its body. Joints are available in 35 mm, 45 mm, 55 mm, and 65 mm sizes.      

  • Doll weights: Give your reborn dolls realistic heft with a variety of fillings. You can use pellets in baggies or bean bags in the trunk and “glass sand” in the limbs. Polyester fill is best for plumping up cloth dolls. Other popular weights include beans, rice, and even kitty litter.


Back to topBack to top

Find Reborn Dolls on eBay


Find Reborn Dolls on eBay

Once you know what type of reborn doll you want, go to the Dolls & Bears portal, click Dolls, then click Artist Offerings, OOK, Reborn , and start searching for items on eBay.

  • Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for OOAK, Reborn, and Other.    

  • Keyword search: Search eBay listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find a Berenguer reborn, type “Berenguer reborn” (without the quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.


Back to topBack to top

Buy Reborn Dolls With Confidence


Buy Reborn Dolls With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

  • Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

  • If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

  • Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

  • Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

  • What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

  • What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

  • Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

  • Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to C$1,250.

  • eBay Security & Resolution Centre: Visit the Security & Resolution Centre to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.


Back to topBack to top


 Content Provided By

eBay