When we buy high-grade cloth clothes or bed sheets, the sales staff will tell us about silk or Tencel. What is Tencel? What's the difference with silk? Today, I'd like to explain the differences, advantages and disadvantages between Tencel and silk.
The difference between Tencel and silk
Tencel: Tencel is a kind of man-made cellulose fiber. The raw material is wood. Tencel is a brand-new fiber produced by solvent spinning from wood pulp.
Silk: the raw material comes from the silk. It is made from the cocoon formed by the silkworm. It is a natural protein fiber. The difference between the two is very big.
Advantages and disadvantages of Tencel
Advantage
Tencel fabric has good hygroscopicity, comfort, drapability and stiffness, and good dyeing. Tencel has the characteristics of fibrillation, and its strength is far better than cotton in wet environment.
shortcoming
The cross section of Tencel fiber is uniform, but the combination of fibrils is weak and inelastic. If it is subject to mechanical friction, the outer layer of the fiber will break, forming a Tricholoma with a length of about 1-4 microns, which is more likely to be produced in a humid environment, and even entangled into cotton particles in serious cases. But in the hot and humid environment, the fabric will slightly harden, which is a big disadvantage.
When I was shopping, I found that there was Tencel fabric, so someone asked, what is Tencel? What's the difference between Tencel and silk? Let's compare these two fabrics.
Advantages and disadvantages of silk
Advantage
1. Mulberry silk is mainly protein fiber, which contains a variety of amino acids. It has good permeability and hygroscopicity. It will not be polluted in the process from mulberry planting, sericulture to silk reeling and weaving, so it is very green and environmental friendly.
2. Silk is soft and close to the body, bright in color, warm and breathable, green and healthy. It is comfortable to wear. It has the functions of protection, moistening muscles, health care and physiological conditioning for pregnant women.
3. Silk is cool and breathable, comfortable to handle, not irritating to the skin, harmless to people, good in absorption and dehumidification, sound absorption, dust absorption, heat resistance, and UV resistance.
shortcoming
1. The silk needs to be dried away from light, washed by hand and neutral detergent.
2. The price is high, and silk maintenance is troublesome.
3. It can't be washed by water, usually dry cleaning, so the price is relatively high
4. UV resistance is worse than tussah silk. Tussah silk has a good sense of fluffy and air permeability. The maintenance is quite troublesome. It can't be exposed to the sun, stressed, etc.