New to reborning - need help with rooting the hair please

New to reborning - need help with rooting the hair please

I am a beginner and am having some problems with rooting hair. I was wondering if there are any tricks. I've tried to root the hair and make it look realistic but it doesnt. I can see holes in the head and when I look on ebay some of the reborn babies look so realistic. I am using a Bountiful Baby micro-tool. Any suggestions.

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New to reborning - need help with rooting the hair please

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Hair, needle, and heat
by: Sabriam

3 main important things:

1. The type of hair. Cheap mohair will produce a frizzy mess of hair. I personally recommend the following, just because these are my favorites (though different artists have different favorites).

http://www.slumberlandnursery.com - my personal favorite. Kid mohair is the softest, adult is the coarsest, yearling is between (and the easiest to root).

http://www.shop.blackmeadowsuris.com/category.sc?categoryId=5 - alpaca fiber (llama hair) - costs even less then good mohair with the bonus of feeling and rooting just as good as Slumberland kid mohair! Very soft and extremely fine, but straight only. It takes some experimenting to figure out how to root it, but I love the result

2. The type/size of needle that you use also makes a lot of difference, plus the angle you root. A 38 gauge needle is going to root big plugs of hair and is not going to look very realistic. A 43 gauge is going to root only 1 hair, but is much harder to use. I would recommend using a 40 or 42 gauge if you want to improve your rooting. If you get too many hairs in the hole, just use a pair of tweezers to pull some out (and those short ones that stick straight up too).
As the previous artist said, it's best to angle your rooting, to look more realistic. If you have the needle straight up and down, the hair is going to want to stick straight up. Lay the needle as close to the head as possible when rooting.

3. Heat. When you are done rooting, before you glue the hair, here is a little trick I have learned from another artist. Boil some water in a big pot on the stove, then shut it off. Let the water cool just to where it's not boiling anymore, then stick the head in (only need to get the rooted part in, not the whole thing, and NOT any glue). They did it for a few minutes, but that is too long for my nerves. I worry about the doll, so I only do it for about 20 seconds. Then dip it in cold water (not ice cold, just cold enough to cool it down) for about 10 seconds. Then let it sit overnight to dry.

The heat makes the vinyl close around the hair, the cold makes it stay that way. So the next morning, your holes will be much much smaller. I've only done this on one baby so far, but it really does work.

If you would like to view pictures of my rooting (to see whether I have a clue what I'm talking about LOL), please look at my "rooting" page here http://www.edenslittleones.com/Rooting.php

Hope this helps!

Sabriam Garcia
Eden's Little Ones nursery
www.edenslittleones.com

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Rooting
by: Sherri Keller'Woo

I hold the hair spread out & kind of thinnly where I stick so not too many hairs in one hole & I buy the german forked needles & have to hold at a certain angle & keep turning till you feel it grab. If want hair thicker like on a toddler use hobbie lobbie felting needles larger grade & push more hair quicker & still root thinly around hair line, but put more hair in back & places where does'nt show so much as holes. A warm sock heated in microwave with rice in it & a cup of water beside it to keep rice moist at about 4 min & put in head while you root makes it alot easier too & prevents breaking so many needles.

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