The Mohair that Secrist sales....What is the quality of it? Is it standard, premium, or what?
I look at some of the reborns on ebay and the hair looks so real I haven't figured out how they root. I rooted my dolls hair in a circle until I made a little swirl at the crown. There are some who can root to where it almost looks like the hair is laying in a line and you cover the holes where you poke. (if that makes sense to you)
Anyway....I dyed some of the secrist Mohair and after I rooted it it was fuzzy. Even after glueing and combing through it. I actually had cut my daughters hair and I saved it and I rooted my dauthers hair into the doll to try and cover up the fuzzy.
Some people pay over $50 USD for mohair. What we have is 2 kinds... standard which is good for beginners. It's a little more coarse but for a first practice doll it works. That only comes in blonde and black. Then there is our premium mohair. I believe it comes in several colors. That is a lot better. I think we are planning on getting a really nice top premium hair if it passes the tests of a few choice rooters but that won't be available for several months.
I have a doll I rooted with the blonde standard mohair. It was ok but I also added 2 other kinds/qualities of mohair. Turned out nice.
If you want your dolls hair to be soft and behave, we have some conditioner that is supposed to be really great! Here is the link: http://www.secristdolls.com/inc/sdetail/6591 It's called Silken Child. If you go to this link it also gives you a link you can click on of the "do's and don'ts of mohair" and this may be of use to you.
Mohair quality and prices come in quite a wide range. I've seen mohair for as little as $4 an ounce but I wouldn't recommend using it. I have also seen mohair that sells for around $80 an ounce and it was incredible. You have quite a range to choose from. On the Secrist website mohair pricing ranges from $9.95 an oz for economy up to $12.95 an ounce for standard. These are both very affordable but as you can imagine, the more you pay the better quality you get. Economy is great for starting out and standard is good for most non-professional reborners. Once you enter the professional market you will want to go for the very best you can buy because that will enhance your baby's life like look. It may also have an impact on how much people will pay for your reborn baby. Quality definitely counts when you want to get a good price for your work.
Secrist will be coming out with an incredible quality mohair that looks just like real newborn baby hair. It's at the very top of the quality range and you can really see the difference. You can expect to see the announcement within the next 30 days. This new mohair is sooo smooth and has a luster that will give your baby the look of a healthy newborn.
Thanks for the info. I have always been an artictic person and have painted many years ago...way before having kids. Doing the dolls was very easy for me and I had goods results my first time doing it. I liked the end results except for the hiar. I used the standard mohair. I think it would look alot better if I used a premium mohair to root.
This is good news about the new hair. This gives me plenty of time to finish my current doll I just started today, by the time I get to roothing I may be able to purchase the new hair. Can't wait! Thanks.
I used the straight hair to root a doll I wanted to have straight hair. As straight hair goes, I was pleased with it. The problem is that the lowest quality of hair that a goat grows is straight! The hair is often referred to as "roving." I personally buy my mohair from a woman who dyes it by hand, to order. I think that is the best way to get the best quality possible! My latest batch she dyed a beautiful black. I pay about $30 an ounce for it but there is very little waste and after I spend 20 + hours rooting I want it to be the best! When it comes to mohair you pretty much get what you pay for. Just be wary of purchasing it from someone on ebay simply because they may charge more for it to make it seem like it is better quality. But from someone you can see a lot of feedback about the quality!