Let’s talk about rooting silicone.
Now, I am not an expert rooter. I try and work on it constantly but I am so lacking most of the time that I never wanna say I am a good rooter. I’ve used a number of different rooting needles, gauges, and techniques but I still find it very very difficult. I am always looking for better tools, better hair, better tutorials.
Rooting silicone is very different than rooting vinyl. One, it’s like poking a needle into a cold stick of butter. Surprisingly soft. With vinyl, most like to heat the head so that the needle pokes in softly and smoothly and to avoid needle breakage. You don’t need to do that with silicone. The needle goes in very nicely.
However, you must root much much deeper into the silicone than a vinyl as you cannot glue inside the head. Meaning you can put the hair out with a good pull or too aggressive hair brushing. So rooting deeply buries the hair strand deeper and allows more of the silicone to suck around it and give it some hold.
I have tried many different needles on silicone but I was able to try out a revolutionary set (to me anyways, lol) at the IDTS doll show in 2018 and I swear they were made specifically for silicone. Heavenly Illusions 46g (g stands for gauge) rooting needle.
Every needle poke I made, I caught a hair. However, because this needle is one of the finer and thinner of most rooting needles it is more fragile. I have broken a few inside a silicone head and well, it’s REALLY hard to get the end out.
Here is a photo of it and a link to it.
Questions For You:
Do you have a favorite type of rooting needle for silicone?
Have you tried these Heavenly Illusions 46g needles before and do you like them?
Any special tips for rooting silicone that has been a game-changer for you?
Would anyone like to explain the different types of rooting needles?
Your comments will appear below
Sherri who commented below reminded me of something.. when you use rooting needles on silicone they start to get a build-up on the barbs and grabbing hairs becomes more difficult. Just clean them with some isopropyl alcohol and they will be as good as new.
Melanie wrote ~ ‘ I also use Heavenly illusions pink needle for rooting. The most important thing I’ve learned about rooting silicone is the angle…lay the needle flat. I root all my brows now for a more natural look.’
I will do more posts on rooting with information on where to get great hair and how to map a silicone head for easy hair patterns so please if anyone has any suggestions or information we would LOVE to hear from you.
We hope this post has been helpful!
KrisC
No comments:
Post a Comment