Needle Files
How to Root a Berenguer Doll using a Needle File

With special thanks to Trina Godwin/Butterfly Babies
for contributing most of the photos on this page!! 

PREPARE THE SCALP. Before rooting one of the Berenguer dolls, remove the hair paint first. You can use paint stripper. I've tried a couple of different brands, the liquid kind, and they remove the hair paint quickly and easily without any damage to the vinyl at all. One friend of mine recommends Goof-Off which is available at Walmart or hardware stores, but be sure to check labels because there is one kind of Good-Off that is not recommended for vinyl.

NEEDLE FILES. Needle files are small slender files. They are available in many sizes, with heavy or coarse grain, with variation in quality and price from 50 cents to 50 dollars per file.

For most small craft purposes, the inexpensive files are very sufficient. The needle files are usually sold in sets of 5 or 10 and they have assorted shapes. (We do sell the sets in the Doll Shop.)

There is one round file in the set, and that is the one I use for rooting the soft vinyl Berenguer dolls.

HAIR FIBER SELECTION. You can use mohair, synthetic hair or real human hair for rooting with the needle files.

METHOD... Lay some of the hair fibers on the doll's head, and lay the point of the needle file across the fibers that you want to root. Then push the needle file into the vinyl head, in one motion turning the file up and pushing down, while dragging the hairs with along with the tool. The grain lines in the file will grab the hair and push/pull them into the soft vinyl.

I push straight through the vinyl, all the way through. Then pull the file back out. The hair fibers will be rooted. The vinyl will close tightly around the fibers so they hold very well.

LESS WASTE! ... I was amazed that I could select even one or two hair fibers and root them using the needle file. I had more control over quantity and results than with the felting needles. There was less waste, also. When I use the felting needles I tend to throw away a lot of tangled hair, but with the needle file there is almost no waste.

STYLE THE HAIR. When the head is fully rooted, then I wet the hair down with very warm water, comb it and pull a snug knee high stocking over the head.

Allow the head/hair to dry thoroughly and leave the stocking over the head for a few days to apply pressure. Sometimes I aim a hair dryer at the head to further encourage the hair to "flatten" on the head.

Then remove the stocking, trim the hair as necessary and style. I use thinning shears to get a wispy baby look that appears natural.

Trina Godwin rooted the dolls that are pictured on this page, using real human hair and a needle file.

FELTING NEEDLES
OR NEEDLE FILES? ...

I like both methods actually. Sometimes it's better to use felting needles and sometimes it's better to use the needle files. And there might even be some advantages in doing both at once. If I am re-rooting a vintage doll then I definitely use the felting needles for dolls with empty hair plugs.

HELPFUL HINTS...

Pushing the needle file through the vinyl can be hard on the fingers after awhile. The vinyl does need to be soft, so cold winter weather could make this job harder to do. It might help if you warm the vinyl a bit using a hair dryer. And it might help to wear cloth gloves to protect your hands.