If you’re thinking about buying your first reborn doll, the choices can feel overwhelming — sizes, body types, eye colours, sleeping or awake, full vinyl or cloth, accessories. Here’s a no-nonsense guide to working out what kind of reborn is going to be right for you, written by people who answer these exact questions every week.

First — why are you buying her?

This single question shapes everything else. The “right” reborn for a serious adult collector is very different from one bought as a comfort companion or as a child’s gift. Be honest with yourself about which group you’re in:

• Collectors and art lovers — you’ll want artistic detail above all. Open-eye sculpts, intricate hair work, and limited-edition pieces are the focus.
• Therapeutic and comfort use — for grief, dementia care, or anxiety, you’ll want a doll that feels like a baby above all. Weighted cloth bodies, sleeping faces, and softer detail work are best.
• A gift for a child — durability matters more than fine detail. A full vinyl, bath-safe doll with shorter hair handles real play.
• Photography or roleplay — you want versatility. A poseable doll with neutral expression and changeable outfits is ideal.

Choosing a size

Reborn dolls come in standard sizes that loosely match real-baby ages:

• 40–45 cm — preemie or newborn size. Lightweight, easy to dress, fits real preemie clothing. Great for first-time owners.
• 48–50 cm — full-term newborn. Our most popular size at Eva Reborn. Most realistic for the average buyer and fits 0–3 month real baby clothes.
• 55–60 cm — 3–6 month old, sometimes called “toddler reborn”. Heavier (around 2.5 kg), feels substantial when held, and fits 3–6 month clothing easily found in any baby shop.

If in doubt, go with 48–50 cm. It’s the sweet spot for realism, weight, and accessory availability.

Full vinyl vs cloth body — what’s the difference?

Full vinyl body

The whole doll is made of soft vinyl, including the torso. Pros:

• Bath-safe (gentle, lukewarm water only)
• Easier to clean and sanitise
• More poseable for photography
• Better for kids who play actively

The trade-off: full vinyl bodies feel less like a “real baby” because they’re firmer and lighter than a weighted cloth body.

Cloth body with vinyl head and limbs

The traditional reborn build. The cloth torso is filled with polyfill plus glass beads for weight. Pros:

• Feels uncannily like a real newborn when cradled — the weight settles into your arm
• Softer to cuddle
• More common in serious collector pieces

Trade-off: not bath-safe and harder to clean. Keep her dry.

Open eyes vs closed eyes

Both are beautiful, but they create very different feelings.

Closed-eye (sleeping) reborns

Peaceful, serene, and arguably more emotionally moving. They photograph beautifully wrapped in a blanket. Therapy clients and grief recipients usually respond best to sleeping reborns. They also tend to be slightly cheaper because they’re a touch quicker to finish (no eye-setting work).

Open-eye reborns

Engaging, lifelike, and great for collectors who want a doll that “looks back”. Each open-eye doll has a personality. The eye-setting and lash work are some of the most skilled parts of the craft, so these tend to cost a little more.

Many serious collectors own at least one of each.

What about skin tone, hair, and gender?

These are personal preferences. A few tips:

• Hair colour tends to look slightly darker in real life than in photos — lighting in product shots is often warmer than home lighting
• Painted hair (instead of rooted) is more durable for child play and a touch cheaper, but feels less real to the touch
• Skin tone — we offer a range of tones across all our collections. Choose the one you connect with most; there’s no “right” answer
• Boy or girl — this is mostly about the outfit and styling. Most reborn sculpts are unisex underneath

Price — what should you expect?

Reborn doll pricing reflects how much hand-work went into the doll. A few rough markers:

• Under R1500 — usually mass-produced, factory-painted, machine-rooted hair. Fine for casual play; not investment-grade.
• R1700–R2500 — the Eva Reborn range. Hand-painted, hand-rooted, weighted properly. Real artistry without paying boutique prices.
• R3500+ — limited edition pieces, named artist signed, sometimes with COA (certificate of authenticity). For serious collectors only.

If you’re buying online and the price seems suspiciously low, it almost certainly is. Real handmade reborns simply cannot be made for under R1500 once the kit, paint, and hair material costs are accounted for.

What to ask before you buy

• Are the dolls hand-painted or factory-painted?
• Is the hair rooted or painted on?
• Does the body include glass-bead weighting?
• Does it come with accessories (bottle, pacifier, blanket)?
• What’s the return policy if there’s a defect?
• Where is the shipping coming from? (Local SA shipping is much faster.)

Our honest take for first-timers

If this is your first reborn, we’d suggest starting with:

• A 50 cm closed-eye doll
• With a cloth body for that first-cuddle “wow” moment
• In the R1700–R2200 price range
• From a maker that lets you message them with questions before and after

That combination gives you the most authentic experience for a fair price. From there, your second doll — and yes, there’s almost always a second one — can be more adventurous.