Rooting






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Rooting our reborns can be a lot of fun or a work of drudgery. The difference is the tools, setting up our work area and how easy we make it for ourselves. Here are some pictures of my work area and comments on how I root. I hope it’s helpful to those who are trying to learn how to root their reborns.

Here is my work station set up. I use a slide out workspace from my desk as it is lower than the regular table height and saves on shoulder pain. What you will need is the head you are working on (I am working on a Lee Middleton kit in a wonderful soft vinyl. It just arrived days ago and I could barely wait to get to it.)

Next you will need to place tissue paper over the face so it won’t get shiny from rubbing as you work and the oil from your hands doesn’t ruin the lovely reborning you have already done. I tape the tissue paper on itself behind the neck so it is stable but the tape does not touch the vinyl.

I use an exacto knife handle for my rooting needle - a very fine needle that is either barbless or has just one or two barbs and either 38 or 42 gauge. Cut off the curve with a pair of wire cutters to make it fit. I put a silicone pencil holder on the exacto knife handle that is also rubberized so the grip is good.

Notice that the mohair has a rubber band around one end. This is the cut end and I root by pulling only one strand at a time over to where I want to root, rooting it and gently pulling away so the strand is released from the rest of the mohair. The yellow disk is from a revolving paint corner brush that has been taken off the handle (thanks to Embry Claire, LOL). You can also use a large roll of duct or packing tape but be sure to cover it with a dish towel or something first so no marks are left.

Mark your head with a pencil so you know the guidelines of where to root. I hope you can see in the picture where my guidelines are. I do them lightly so they will not show after rooting. I draw a circle where I want the swirl on the crown to be and radiate lines out to the hairline all around the head. Yoy may draw your lines where ever you want, but it made more sense to do it this way for me. I root from the hairline in to the circle and then work on the swirl last. You can also see the veining on the head.

By putting a rubber band around the cut end of the mohair, and letting the mohair curl around the band, you accomplish two things. 1. Rooting from the cut end all the time allows your mohair to be sleek, shiny and lie down better with no frizz. Mohair has a follicle, just like our hair and the follicle needs to lay down the same way or it frizzes, just like nap on velvet. Ever rooted a head perfectly and gotten frustrated because it was frizzy? Try rooting from the cut end only and you will see a huge difference. Forgotten which end is the cut end? Run your fingers down the mohair and if it lays down nicely, that’s the right direction, if it frizzes up you need to reverse ends. Using the rubber band allows putting the mohair exactly where it needs to be to root only one strand at a time for ultra micro rooting.

Using the rubber band allows putting the mohair exactly where it needs to be to root only one strand at a time for ultra micro rooting. I needed my other hand to take the picture, but it would be on the rubber band like the picture above.

On this head I am rooting the straighter hair around the hairline and the curlier hair on the rest of the head. I have not painted the hair on this head but am going to try that next time.

I can’t say enough good things about the new Middleton kits. They are truly amazing and take the color perfectly. The color of the vinyl is wonderful to work with, it’s perfect so I didn’t have to do a color wash to counteract too much orange before I started. The vinyl is buttery soft and a dream to root.

The mohair is very special. I imported it right from the farm in Australia and washed and tea dyed it myself. I am quite picky about what mohair I use. It’s frustrating to do all the work and realize the mohair may be over-processed or the dye runs - now I just do my own or buy from someone I know is good.

What is not shown in the picture is the OTT light I use to make sure I am getting the mohair exactly where it needs to be. I tried to use a chest magnifying glass but it gave me a headache and didn’t do much for improving my rooting. Now I use the OTT light and I see much better.

Questions or need help with rooting? Email me at order@GrandmothersAttic.net

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