What to use for eco-friendly wool washing

What do you use for wool washing?



 I have been puzzled lately by the question if I can wash my wool garments with the same soap I wash my hair. I started washing my hair with soap about 4 months ago and it is going well so far, so I have no desire to buy a shampoo in a plastic bottle anymore. But I still bought some bottles for my wool, because I love wool and wanted to take a good care of it. When I compared the stuff I use for washing myself and for washing wool, I realized that something is wrong.

From upper left corner, clockwise: menstrual cup, perfume, hand-cream, face-cream, sunscreen,
(stone) deodorant, soap (for body and hair washing with lavender, razor, (scissors and  nail file, in the middle)
scrubbing gloves and soap for face under it.


It is not the best variant so far, but I don't throw things away until I use them completely, so I still use my razor and will use it until it will be completely worn out. The same with creams, I use a little so they last.

Another situation with wool washing. I have a lot of bottles.


Is it really necessary for a good care of wool to buy these plastic bottles of wool liquids?
My hair feels better without shampoo and all these chemicals in them. Is the wool worse than my hair?
I decided to check everything written so far about ingredients for washing wool.
Clara Parkes in her book The Knitter's book of Wool writes:
Let's check what we have in these special wool soap liquids. I checked 4 bottles I have and some others online. The majority of them have anionic surfactants and non-ionic surfactants, some of them contain soap and some have extracts for more natural content. 

The ecotoxicological properties of the anionic and non-ionic surfactants typically used in cleaning products are in a comparable range. It means that some are more toxic and some are less. But really check and understand it we must go to the chemical laboratory. You can find more information about these surfactants. I have read and it is difficult to choose what to write here to not sound boring. My own conclusion it that, first, it is not so harmful itself, but the chemicals used for conservation and preservation are not so healthy for you. Surfactants are less gentle and harmless than neutral pH natural soap in bars, for sure. They may be toxic for lungs. Second, it is more expensive and it is produced only in liquid form, which requires plastic bottles, which makes them more expensive and ecologically unfriendly.  Why do we still buy these expensive wool washing liquids with these surfactants when we can use soap to wash our wool garments? Because it is a money-making industry, I guess, and because the producers want us to buy their products and it is a secret to tell us that soap is also okay. Even better, may be! at least, for our health. Otherwise to say, they will loose money! 
I have decided to find the appropriate soap for washing wool. Who joins me, continue reading.

In the book In Sheep's Clothing by Nola Fournier and Jane Fournier is written that "wool is an animal protein (keratin) fiber. The outer sheath, the cuticle, makes up about 10 percent of the fiber, and the inner portion , the cortex, about 90 percent. 

What is the best for washing protein fiber? The same as for washing hair. Why? The same chemical composition. 
The overall chemical composition of hair is 45 % carbon28 % oxygen15 % nitrogen7 % hydrogen and 5 % sulphur. The hair shaft is essentially composed of keratin.  
The overall chemical composition of wool is  50.5% carbon, 22% oxygen16.5% nitrogen6.8% hydrogen3.7% sulphur and 0.5% ash. So, wool is essentially a keratin, too.
As you can see the chemical components are almost the same, except ash. So, what we need for a good care of these components of wool is not very different for a good care of human hair. But, wool contains lanolin from sheep skin before treatments, and it helps it to stay lustrous and water-resistant. so it would be more logical to find soap soap with lanolin.
I have found baby soap with necessary ingredients: animal fats, oils, colouring, lanolin, glycerin, aroma. There are 10 bars and the price is $6 (in Russia). I think it is very simple soap, which everyone can find in their own town. I am going to test this soap for my wool washing. 



  




Popular Posts