How to care for your silicone reborn doll
Handling Your Silicone Baby
Your silicone baby is a work of art, an heirloom quality collectible that needs to be handled gently. Since our babies are made from the highest quality, platinum silicone, they will last for decades! If cared for properly, your new baby will bring you many years of joy. A good rule of thumb is to handle your silicone baby as you would a real live infant. Silicone babies are not meant to be handled by young children, except under close supervision. Be sure to support your baby's head and do not pick your baby up by the arms, legs, or head. Doing so could cause damage to the silicone pieces. Be careful not to force or pull any parts of the silicone. While silicone is very durable to normal handling, extreme force can cause tearing. Especially around the joints and wrinkle creases.
Bathing Silicone Baby Dolls
From time to time your silicone baby may need a bath to remove bits of lint or dust. Wash baby with warm water and mild liquid soap, taking care not to get water in the eye cavity of an awake baby. For cloth body babies, wash one limb at a time, taking care to keep the cloth body dry. Gently use your fingers to wipe away anything that is stuck to the silicone and then rinse. Once clean, lay your baby on a low-lint towel to air dry, or gently pat dry with a paper towel. Spots where the doll's powder has rubbed away can become very attractive to lint, dust, and hair, so care should be taken to clean the area and then more powder can be applied.
Powdering the Silicone
If over time your baby becomes shiny in some places, or if you just want to give him or her an extra smooth and silky feel, you can powder your baby with a silica based matting powder. I highly recommend “Just Matte” by D3 Creation (what I use) or "Silicone Velvet" is also an excellent choice. An easy way to apply the powder is to use a clean make-up brush and dust the brush lightly into the powder and then onto baby. It does not require very much powder - a little goes a long way. Lightly dab the areas you want to powder with the brush until your baby is evenly covered.
Caring for Baby's Hair
Your baby’s hair needs to be treated gently to keep it in good condition. Although I root the hairs deeply to keep the hair as secure as possible, silicone babies have solid silicone heads, and it is not possible to glue the hair from within as on a vinyl doll. For this reason, you should never pull or be harsh with the hair. Your baby’s hair can be lightly moistened with water using a spray bottle and gently brushed with a soft bristle baby hair brush when styling. If the hair requires washing, do so softly and without harsh scrubbing. Always be gentle with the hair to prevent hairs from being pulled out.
Using Bottles and Pacifiers
Many silicone babies can take a bottle or a pacifier, but be careful in using these. Excessive or forceful insertion and removal of pacifiers or bottles can cause damage to the mouth area. Never shove or force an item into your baby’s mouth; always be slow and gentle. The product Silicone Velvet Care Liquid can assist in reducing friction from pacifier usage. Do not use pacifiers that are larger than the size recommended for your specific baby. Take care not to pry mouths too far because extreme or repeated force can cause tearing. If your baby has a drink and wet system, only feed clear liquid and allow the baby to fully drain when finished feeding.
Baby's Eyes
If dust happens to build up on the eyes of an awake baby, the eyes can be gently dusted with a soft brush such as a small clean make-up brush or with a small cotton swab such as a Q-tip. It is not recommended to wipe dust with a wet cloth because you could accidentally trap moisture around the eyes or damage the eyelashes.