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In 2025, buying your first love doll — or even your next ones — can be a tricky journey when you're just starting out. What should you avoid? Which features should you prioritize based on how you plan to use it? How can you quickly identify the dolls that truly match your needs?
That's what we'll be looking at in this article, by breaking down the main points below in order.
- Love at First Sight
- A Love Doll — What’s Your Primary Use?
- Silicone or TPE Doll?
- Weight and How to Handle It
- Size and Your Princess’s Outfits
- The All-Important Placement of Intimate Parts (LHP – Love Hole Placement)
The first step is to clearly define your intended use. Are you looking for a doll mainly for photography, companionship, or a sex doll? Depending on your goals, you’ll want to prioritize certain features over others.
For example, if you’re looking for a doll primarily for sexual use, the placement of the intimate parts and the softness of the body will be key factors. On the other hand, if your main goal is photography, realism and weight will be more important considerations.
1. Feel the Spark
It’s an inexplicable feeling that only you might understand — the perfect mix in your eyes. It’s like visiting a home or meeting someone special; that “love at first sight” moment is crucial to feeling comfortable and enjoying great experiences.
It can also lead to poor choices—the kind driven by impulse or blind infatuation. Believe it or not, many who consider themselves experienced are still caught in this trap after years and countless dolls (sad but true…).
Remember, there are as many love doll crushes as there are women in the world. Thousands of new configurations are released every year, and hundreds of thousands are already available. If, after exploring your options, she still haunts your thoughts, there will always be time to come back to her. So take your time!
2. A Love Doll — What’s Your Intended Use?
This is the first question every beginner — and even experts — should ask themselves. Of course, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the sex doll aspect. Almost everyone starts there. However, once the honeymoon phase and its euphoria fade, you might find yourself wanting something else — experiences only doll owners truly understand.
This discovery, that special something, could be summed up in two words: attachment and wonderful companionship.
Of course, this doesn’t diminish the erotic appeal, and even if you enjoy knowing she’s around, you might plan to regularly share intimate moments together.
For some, it’s clear—the doll will be a photography model. For others, it will be a pure sex doll, a toy to be taken out or put away as desired. Others will seek a mix of both, balancing between craving and admiration.
There’s no magic formula to nail this important first step — it’s all about your feeling and approach. Taking the time to gather information can only help you.
3. Silicone or TPE Doll?
If you’ve done your homework and passed the second step, choosing a silicone doll or TPE doll will be much easier. A silicone doll is above all a miracle of detail and realism, generally better suited for display or photography. Its firmer, less elastic material allows for very fine and realistic makeup — something you might not want to ruin with vigorous movement and friction on a bed.
Silicone dolls at a glance
A silicone doll behaves differently in terms of movement and softness due to its unique construction compared to TPE dolls. A firm foam core coated with a layer of silicone surrounds its skeleton, significantly reducing overall weight. However, the softness effect is less pronounced than with TPE, unless gel parts such as the buttocks, thighs, or abdomen are added. This article on how to find the right softness for your silicone doll might be helpful.
Note that, for now, Starpery leads the field by combining significant weight reduction with an extraordinary softness for silicone dolls. You can find all the details in this article about Starpery’s 4.0 Weight Reduction, which represents the brand’s fourth major breakthrough.
3.1 TPE or Silicone Sex Doll?
The TPE "sex doll" is also a superb, photogenic figure that’s particularly suited for sexual use. Its body behavior, the natural bounce of its curves, and the comfort it provides undoubtedly come closest to reality. Additionally, when it comes to the placement of intimate parts (LHP), the TPE sex doll usually takes the crown. We’ll explain further below why this aspect is truly crucial depending on what you’re looking for.
Finally, if you’re looking for a compromise, hybrid models might be your cup of tea — a supremely soft TPE body combined with an ultra-realistic silicone head, blending the best of both worlds.
The TPE doll in brief
It’s one of life’s little pleasures you love to slip into again and again with delight. It’s a bit like a powerful engine — when you rev it up, it purrs, even sings. However, you have to be willing to keep it fueled (even at idle), and it does require a bit more time.
Its chassis is more basic — a skeleton wrapped in TPE, without foam. The advantage is that you can "open the hood" and let your creativity run wild when it comes to cosmetics. It’s fully repairable for the handy ones, allowing you to mod it extensively. Tattooing, makeup, reshaping certain areas — all possible with TPE, but more limited with silicone.
As for its price, it’s unbeatable, and the comfort it provides is among the best available today. Be sure to check hydration levels carefully, especially before your summer vacations, and don’t skimp on the quality of the oil.
To conclude this third step — if not the most important one — be sure to read this article covering the differences between a silicone doll and a TPE doll. If you haven’t made up your mind yet, the next step will definitely help.
4. Love Doll: Managing the Weight!
Choosing your love doll without considering weight management is a mistake that could cost you a kidney a few vertebrae. If you plan to regularly handle her for photos or move her from room to room to always keep her close, you need to be able to manage her weight. For dolls over 30 kg, having supports, experience, or excellent control of your environment is highly recommended.
Of course, if the doll is regularly positioned on all fours, you’ll need to factor her final weight into the equation. Generally, the weight listed on each product page does not include the head—about 2.5 kg for a silicone head and slightly less for a TPE head. Additionally, various options such as electrical systems or gel inserts will increase the overall weight.
To fully understand this crucial factor, be sure to read this article.
If you can’t always keep your muscles and tendons active, consider some smart tactics to enjoy the size, curves, and happiness with this simple phrase: the lightest doll is the one that doesn’t move. If you appreciate curves like I do and enjoy “getting into it,” consider cleaning your sex doll in place as much as possible.
It’s easy with a bit of imagination and some Ava Love Doll essentials — check out this guide and this one.
5. How to Choose the Right Size for Your Love Doll?
As an infamous enthusiast once said, size starts at a minimum of 150 cm and the sky’s the limit. Craving sexy lingerie, delicate sets, tight leggings, and enticing low-rise jeans? Avoid dolls that dress like they’re 10 years old.
This poetic phrase sums up your next dilemma well: women generally measure 160 cm or more and wear size 40. Yet, a 135 cm doll, though lightweight, will only fit clothes for an eight-year-old, and anything smaller than XXS is basically just sewing. Depending on your clothing preferences, you’ll need to adjust the doll’s size or become an expert at hunting on Vinted (or a pro with your new Singer sewing machine).
Unsurprisingly, the bigger the doll, the heavier it’s likely to be. If she has curves, especially prominent hips, the weight will increase accordingly. Be sure to factor this into your equation and stay realistic. A 160 cm love doll, perfect for dressing up, won’t weigh just 25 kg unless it’s a particularly slim silicone doll.
If you love curves around 160 cm and above, you’ll easily reach 35–40 kg — that’s just how it goes...
6. Sex Doll: Placement of Intimate Parts (LHP)
It will completely change your experience when using a sex doll, and here’s why. Dolls aren’t always anatomically accurate in terms of the placement of their intimate parts. The “love hole placement” (LHP) on many models is too far forward. The anus is positioned between the legs, but the vaginal opening is too close to the stomach. Why? It’s a matter of durability. When placement is anatomically correct, the thickness between the vaginal and anal canals is thinner, which can cause structural issues.
Also, positioning the anal canal too far back can thin the material between it and the back, which may cause durability issues depending on the doll’s body shape.
To increase thickness, many brands play it safe, resulting in unrealistic placement. It’s not obvious in photos, but in bed, you’ll definitely notice the difference.
The Limitations of Poor LHP (Very Important!)
If the vaginal opening is positioned too far forward, you’ll have difficulty reaching it from behind your doll. This makes positions like standing against a wall, doggy style, or spooning challenging. You’ll be mostly limited to missionary position or using the anal opening.
The anal opening is usually more delicate and less refined, so you lose the pleasure of switching between orifices. For a sex doll, let’s be honest, this should be a no-go. One of the main reasons to have a doll for sex is to freely explore your fantasies—ideally without hurting your back.
Make sure to pay special attention to this point if using the doll primarily for sexual purposes is important to you.
How to Spot a Good LHP?
Simply by looking closely at photos. Not all brands and photographers have yet realized that showing the LHP on a sex doll is crucial. You’ll often see shoots where it’s impossible to get a clear idea. If you find yourself thinking that X or Y “might want to hide a poorly positioned LHP,” welcome—you’re a beginner, and that’s perfectly normal. Don’t worry; for some, it takes a lifetime to figure out.
A concrete example: you fell for the Funwest Alice, 159 cm, cup A, but the photos don’t give you a clear idea. Just take a look at Sophiemina from the same brand, also 159 cm cup A, and you’ll get a clear view of the LHP.
The SCOOP: a body from the same brand, height, and cup size is exactly the same across models. Measurements, shape, and LHP are identical because they all come from the same molds. In other words, if you can’t clearly see the LHP on one doll, you can check another model with the same body to get a good idea.
Second SCOOP: Unless otherwise specified, all heads from the same brand fit on any body from that brand. This means you can put the Funwest Alice head on any Funwest body.
Why does the LHP appear different in two photoshoots featuring the same body?
In one word: evolution. Brands improve over time, and photos from two years ago don’t always reflect today’s reality. Manufacturers may have developed a new mold in the meantime, better shaped with improved LHP positioning, slightly different labia, and sometimes larger orifices.
All of this is done with the goal of improvement, based on customer feedback. Admittedly, a slightly more open anus may be less visually appealing, but it’s much more durable. After all, you wouldn’t want your favorite doll’s to be damaged in no time.
Assume that the most recent photos reflect the latest version of a given body model. So, if you purchase a love doll based on older photos, you’ll still benefit from the latest improvements made to that body.
You’re now much more informed than you were 10 minutes ago. As is rarely the case, I hope this article helps you see more clearly through the modern jungle of dolls 🙂
