If you’re going to spend hours gently painting layer after layer of paint, hours on the details, and days on micro-rooting your hair, it’s worth opening your rebornnarici to complete the newborn look. This is easy enough to do, although with most rebornings, the techniques vary depending on what suits the artist best. There are two other popular ways to open the nostrils, first, after cooking for the first time, while the head is still hot, gently push a toothpick through the nose, working it in a circular motion to open the nostrils to size desired. This process can be repeated after any heat setting and it is advisable to do this at least a couple of times during the reborn process to make sure they don’t close again. Another option is to pierce the nose with a file, which can be attached to a power drill or simply held in the hand and pushed.
Once you’ve smashed the vinyl into your nostril, keep filing back and forth until you’re happy you have a smooth finish with no sharp edges or rough areas. This method is more effective as it opens a larger hole and actually removes a certain amount of the vinyl instead of pushing it to the side. If you decide to use the toothpick method, it is important when you are heating the final layer to take two bamboo skewers, or similar, the intended width of your nostril and cut them into 4 cm long pieces. While the head is still warm, insert them into the nose and leave them in place as it cools. Once your doll is set, these can be removed and will leave a more desirable and permanent nostril in your reborn, consistent with that of a real newborn. After you have micro-rooted your hair in place, it is recommended that you cut a small piece of felt, using a darker neutral color, and glue it to the inside of the head behind the nose when gluing the hair in place. This does two things, it will prevent the filling from leaking out, or if the stocking breaks containing the glass beads, it will keep it contained within the head. It will also give the nostrils a look of depth, which only adds to the realism. The way you open your reborn nose will be something you decide for yourself for what best suits your technique and will evolve over time until you find what works best for you as an artist.
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