Hair rooting emergency

Yes, my first time. It’s not hard at all, it’s just very time consuming. Also, you have to be patient because you WILL make mistakes on your first one,but it’s necessary in order to “get” the rooting concept if that makes sense.

I used Ruby Red (I think that’s the name) mohair and a 42g crown needle. I’m not that fond of the Ruby Red but it’s good to start with because I wasted a lot of hair.

My suggestion would be to try on a practice doll or a keeper doll first. And root in an area that’s easy to clean up all the hair that gets everywhere. Lol.

Give it a try. It’s not that bad.

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This is the back.

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It looks good! Just one note is that with good mohair you won’t waste nearly as much as with ruby red. I used lower quality hair on a lot of my early dolls and it really does make a big difference once you switch. I used to use a whole bundle of 1/4 oz or more on a tiny head. Now I can root 3 sparse newborn heads or 2 thick ones with 1/4 oz.

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Thank you! And yes, I wasted a lot. It took a pack and a half of Ruby Red for one doll. May have been 1/4 oz packs? I’m not sure, but I will definitely be making a switch after a few kits.

Yeah ruby red is sold in 1/4 oz packs. I recommend @Rainbowbabies hair. It’s usually long enough to cut into thirds which makes it go much further and also it requires less cutting on the baby’s head.
You can get a decent enough result with ruby red, I certainly did for awhile. I fine rooting much more fun and a lot easier with nice quality hair.
I can try to dig up some old pics of my old babies with the ruby red to show you as an example. All hair can look bad if it’s rooted wrong, and I think most hair can look nice if it’s rooted well.

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Thanks, @MilosMeadows!

I’m actually a little curious about Ruby Red- especially their production process. I wonder if it’s made by individuals like me, or somehow machine made? I spent a long time researching and sampling different mohair when I first started processing. Just like rooting, it’s so much work that using sub-par hair just wouldn’t be worth it.

RR is more expensive per ounce than what most of us charge for better quality. I charge $35 per half ounce with free US shipping over $30, and the same amount with shipping from RR would be $38 (they sell by the .25oz bundle, $15ea) Often I’ll have smaller batches with lower price tags :wink:

Others who make great hair are @sugargliderus here on the forum, Angela’s Premium Mohair on Etsy, Slumberland, and several others that I haven’t tried personally but have heard great things about :blush: I’d definitely recommend upgrading to a nice quality mohair. Your rooting is super awesome!!!

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I think it looks great. I think I am going to try it on Brittany, the baby I am working on now because I am not too fond of her. Thank you for all of your advice. I have some ruby red that I got with my BB starter kit that i can use.

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Thank you so much! I actually checked out your hair today and will definitely be trying it soon.
RR reminds me of singed hair, or hair with a lot of split ends. The quality is just not there. And when it comes down to the cost of making a doll, the last thing you want is bad hair that almost ruins your doll. I put a leave in hair conditioner on the doll in this post to make it look softer and more polished. I was trying all the stuffs to try to make it prettier. Lol.

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Yay! I’m excited to hear your feedback and see your results!