mypoeticspirit Sat Feb 23, 2013 3:25 pm
I've had two of my reborns for 5 years now, and baby powdering them with a soft makeup brush has never hurt them at all. The baby powder can come right off easily, so I don't believe it's an issue. It can take that little bit of shine off that the vinyl may develop over time (like from me cuddling and holding those cute little hands...it's caused them to get a bit shiny from time to time.) And although just occasional dusting with a soft brush is recommended, I have also occasionally given mine a gentle "sponge bath" with a damp washcloth or paper towel whenever necessary and it's done them no harm whatsoever. The paints are heat set, so your baby should be just fine as long are you are gentle with whatever you do and aren't harshly scrubbing the daylights out of them!
They're not overly delicate by any means as long as you take reasonable care, like you would with a real baby. About the baby powder/cornstarch thing, I always just use baby powder because it smells nice and essentially does the same thing...and it's much more fun to use. As you can see from the very recent photo in my avatar, although actually 5 years old, my girl's painting is still entirely fresh and exactly as it was the day I received her.