Doll lovers and collectors alike have recently been looking for a doll that appears to more closely resemble an actual young human. In fact, a new market that calls for the making of "reborn" dolls has become quite popular for those who like to acquire different types of dolls. Most seasoned doll collectors have become bored with the dolls that are usually sold in stores. It's these people that are now embracing the artistic endeavor of producing dolls that could be mistaken for humans (or almost!)

The market for reborn dolls has absolutely exploded in the past five years, thanks to a widespread implementation of art techniques that allow for more realistic-looking dolls. The berenguer and preemie dolls that have sold for years can be credited partially for the craze brought on by reborn dolls, as they began the trend of lifelike qualities and expressions that make them reminiscent of a real human baby.

Often, reborn dolls are created using a specific process that works to strip the doll of its artificial appearance and trappings to create a more realistic looking and feeling model. The process usually starts with the disassembly of the doll and the removal of the paint that was applied at the production facility. This stripping of the paint off leaves a plastic shell that can then be altered as needed.

When you are working to create a reborn doll, you will need to add a purple color to the inside of the head, arms, and legs, so that you can start to achieve a realistic baby skin color. You will then paint the outside of these pieces with several different skin tone paints and colors, adding real skin color, and then to bring the doll a lifelike look, you will use other tones and techniques, creating skin lines, blemishes, and other effects.

Reborn dolls will then have real human hair or soft human-like faux hair added for the hair and eyelashes, often by hand and strand by strand, to help create the human look. This can take dozens of hours. Once the hair is completed, the doll is put back together again. At this point softer fillings and other items, like sound boxes to create the illusion of breathing, or a heartbeat, may be added to make the completed doll seem even more life-like.

For the people who would like to create one of reborn dolls by themselves, there are kits designed to let the buyer make one without too much effort. Those who truly desire one, however, will buy one no matter the cost, even if it is several hundred dollars. The new trend is to give these dolls to brand new mothers as a memento of their child's birth.