How does wool work

Heat is also lost when cold air is inhaled. Your nasal passages heat the air going into your lungs. Breathe through your nose, not your mouth. The body prioritizes where to maintain essential heat. Blood flow to arms and legs is reduced in order to maintain heat around vital organs and the head.

A head without a hat funnels body heat away. If you feel cold Dress in Layers Start with a wool base layer next to the skin. Synthetic base layers that so many wear today for protection from the cold are designed to wick moisture away from the skin.

And that's good, but it's not as good as capturing the vapor and heat of perspiration before it condenses into what we think of as sweat. Try to regulate your activity so that you do not detect any wetness of perspiration on your skin. Once you skin is wet, you lose heat much more quickly than if you skin is dry. Cool and cold-weather base layers -- and of course we recommend only wool -- will also insulate and capture the heat released from the body.

Mid-layers add extra insulation of air. In cold weather with low activity level, a thick layer is needed. Mid-layers should also act in concert with moisture sweat transpiration.

If your mid-layer creates a barrier between your wool base layer and wool outer layer, the moisture is trapped, This is why we use no liners. Wearers of WeatherWool working hard in serious cold have observed moist air escaping their garments and freezing on the outside.

Top layers help insulate, regulate heat and moisture loss, and provide overall protection from elements. Outer layers also should handle abrasion, resist flame, odors, stains, dirt and electric-arc, and be absolutely silent. The ideal outer layer will also feel luxurious, provide concealment in nature and be admired in social settings. WeatherWool can handle a huge variety of weather conditions, but we do recommend a storm shield for extreme wind and rain conditions.

Care and Cleaning. Close search. The Science of Wool. Wool hates liquid water, but loves water vapor.

The outermost layer epicuticle of a woolen fiber is made of overlapping scales that shed liquid water very much like the shingles of a roof. However, Nature's design is that the extremely small spaces between the scales welcome water vapor to slowly enter into the fiber. Wool adsorbs water. Some laws, for example, required that judges, professors, and students wear robes made of English wool.

Another law required that the dead be buried in native wool. When the American colonies began to compete with the motherland, the English passed a series of laws in an attempt to protect their "golden fleece.

Today, wool is a global industry, with Australia, Argentina, the United States, and New Zealand serving as the major suppliers of raw wool.

While the United States is the largest consumer of wool fabric, Australia is the leading supplier. Australian wool accounts for approximately one-fourth of the world's production. What for centuries was a small home-based craft has grown into a major industry. The annual global output is now estimated at 5. Though cotton is the number one plant used for fabrics and the number one fiber overall, the number one source for animal fiber is still wool.

While most people picture only sheep when they think of wool, other animals also produce fine protein fiber. Various camels, goats, and rabbits produce hair that is also classified as wool. In scientific terms, wool is considered to be a protein called keratin. Its length usually ranges from 1. Each piece is made up of three essential components: the cuticle, the cortex, and the medulla.

The cuticle is the outer layer. It is a protective layer of scales arranged like shingles or fish scales. When two fibers come in contact with each other, these scales tend to cling and stick to each other. It's this physical clinging and sticking that allows wool fibers to be spun into thread so easily.

The cortex is the inner structure made up of millions of cigar-shaped cortical cells. In natural-colored wool, these cells contain melanin. The arrangement of these cells is also responsible for the natural crimp unique to wool fiber. Rarely found in fine wools, the medulla comprises a series of cells similar to honeycombs that provide air spaces, giving wool its thermal insulation value.

Wool, like residential insulation, is effective in reducing heat transfer. Wool fiber is hydrophilic—it has a strong affinity for water—and therefore is easily dyed. While it is a good insulator, it scorches and discolors under high temperatures. Each fiber is elastic to an extent, allowing it to be stretched 25 to 30 percent before breaking.

Wool does, however, have a tendency to shrink when wet. While some of the characteristics of wool can be altered through genetic engineering of sheep, most of the modifications of design are implemented during the manufacturing of the fabric. Wool can be blended with any number of natural or synthetic fibers, and various finishes and treatments can also be applied. Different types of fleece are used in producing wool.

Because wool helps with regulating body temperature, odour is less of an issue. Thanks to its antimicrobial properties, wool clothing creates an environment in which odour producing microbes are less likely to thrive. In other research from The University of Otago in New Zealand, where 10 male athletes were tested wearing three different fabrics across a range of temperatures, the garment in single jersey wool fabric came out top for both hot and cold conditions.

Everything from mattresses, to mattress protectors, pillows and duvets can help to keep you cool through the night. This same process has a cooling effect in warm weather, as wool releases moisture it absorbs heat from the wearer and the tiny pockets of air created by the crimp in the fiber trap cool air and insulate the wearer from warmer outside temperatures. As wool pull moisture away from your skin to evaporate you feel cool and dry even in hot weather. Nothing will keep you dry and comfortable in wet conditions like wool, but how does wool wick moisture away from the wearer without relying on the chemicals used in synthetic fabrics?

Wool fibers are naturally hydrophilic, meaning water-liking, they attract and absorb water molecules. As wool absorbs water molecules it pulls moisture away from the skin to the surface of the fabric where it evaporates. Wool is able to release moisture into the air more efficiently than most fabrics. Not only can wool wick sweat from the wearer, wool can move water vapor before it even turns to sweat! Wool is able to release moisture, not just through holes in the fabric, but through the fibers of the fabric itself.

Wool is the best fabric to keep you smelling good after a long hike or a hot day out in the sun, you can even wear a wool garment day after day without developing a serious stink.