are polyester bad for your skin?

[CharlesAlexander]

Did anyone post a picture of I.R. Baboon yet?

 

[emptym]

Originally Posted by tutee

If you like wearing polyester shirts in summer then wear them. Polyester and Cotton are both Fibers which have NOTHING to do with a finished garment’s breathability whatsoever. Cotton fiber is more breathable than blah blah nonsense is spread by pure industry bullshit and sadly a lot of people fall for that trap. It is funny how people always go straight from fibers to textiles (fabrics) while Totally forgetting the yarn, the structure or weaving of fabric and the chemical properties of the finished cloth. I have Never known a polyester fiber to be bad for skin. I wondering what made you say that or where you heard it. Hope it helps Well said. Yes of course you can treat polyester / synthetically made fibers to attract moister MUCH better. People just like to romanticize cotton as if it is something superior.
Wow, I wouldn't have expected you to have this opinion, but I'm glad you do. I like polyester fabrics for athletics and polyester blends for the summer.

Originally Posted by acidicboy

I once got into an accident and my polyester blended cheap-ass shorts caught on fire. ******* shorts burned so fast I could hardly react. By the time I got them off, the only part that wasn't burned is the crotch area (thankfully). I got 2nd degree burns all over my thighs. I don't know if cotton burns slower than polyester, but I've sworn off polyester because of this. Well, except for sport activities then I wear those Nike Dri-fits.
I've heard that polyester melts while cotton burns. I think I read about a plane accident once, in which passengers wearing polyester or nylon had their garments melt into their skin, while the cotton garments just disintegrated w/o harming their wearers.

 

[tutee]

Originally Posted by emptym

Wow, I wouldn't have expected you to have this opinion, but I'm glad you do.

I don't know which part you were referring to but most of that is A FACT not merely my opinion (esp. the fiber = breathability conventional wisdom part).

You see textile sciences are rather complex and few have the times or means to venture into the incredible depth of this matter, plus its gets technical and scientific very quickly and thereby becomes "dry" topic for most.

So, out of this sheer complexity of the subject and consumers relatively low knowledge of textiles and how everything fits.... the clothing industry takes full advantage of this situation in spreading bad information or simply playing along on conventional notions. Frustrated by the BS about this subject I try to study it in detail and am usually stunned by the fact how many assumptions were/are wrong than right.

The easiest information available that most consumers have whether in finished garments or Textile "piece goods" if you will (e.g fabrics) is the fiber content and since it is tough to fit all the pieces of puzzle together people simply try to connect the dots even when there is nothing to connect.

See, if people were to ever observe cotton “greige goods” (raw unfinished fabric / yarn) in water they would be surprised how it has almost NO water absorbance and can literally stay on top of water for hours without even feeling “wet” to touch. However, because we don’t get to see cotton in raw state we like to think that cotton (which is a cellulosic fiber from seed) mysteriously translates to the end garment being breathable or water absorbent whereas polyester as a fiber is not breathable. Garments made of all polyester (fibers) often exhibit certain external traits, some of which are undesirable by many BUT most of those have nothing to do with the fiber itself. For example breathablity of an end garment or fabric / cloth is NOT solely because of the chemical properties of the fibers present in it.

Most of these conventional statements in the clothing industry are naïve at best about the cause and effect relationships (of fibers and end garment properties) or at worst downright patently false and misleading.

Originally Posted by emptym

I've heard that polyester melts while cotton burns.

This IS indeed a property of the fiber and one of the crude ways to test the fiber content. Dry cellulosic materials (cotton etc) support combustion, are easily ignited and burn readily. Thermoplastic materials (derived from petroleum residue. e.g. polyester) when burned usually shrink into a rigorously burning molten mass that drips burning droplets (if said mass is elevated). Finally, dry protein materials (like wool or silk) can be burned but do not readily support combustion. Normally they can be ignited but tend to quickly self extinguish.


regards

P.S. I am neither favoring polyester/Synthetic nor Cotton fibers, just trying to straighten a few things

 

[emptym]

By "opinion," I just meant that you acknowledge that polyester is not the spawn of the devil.

Would you be interested in posting one of your immensely helpful, archive-quality threads on the myths, the advantages, and the disadvantages of polyester? I would be grateful.

 

[tutee]

Originally Posted by emptym

By "opinion," I just meant that you acknowledge that polyester is not the spawn of the devil.

Of course not! Its just a fiber.

Originally Posted by emptym

Would you be interested in posting one of your immensely helpful, archive-quality threads on the myths, the advantages, and the disadvantages of polyester? I would be grateful.

Actually this is indeed what I hope to do sometime. When exactly? that I cannot say but I assure you that if I did another one of the writings it will be most likely about fibers and textiles. Not very detailed because it gets complex Very quickly but rather more about the precived notions and myths of various fibers so that it is readable and relavent to what we discuss.

The hard part in this one will be finding good reliable sources as most of the stuff written on textiles (esp. these days) is pure garbage.

regards

 

[emptym]

Excellent. I wish you all the best on the project, and I look forward to reading it.

 

[PocketCircle]

All the big sports brands use polyester in their creations. Tennis players stopped wearing cotton 15 years ago.

Having said that, for a fashion item, cotton or linen is preferable. Natural fabrics are definitely better for your skin.

 

[Vecsus]

If i were to wear cotton while racing my mountain bike I would roast, chaff, and be utterly miserable. Poly has its place in certain settings.

 

[StopPolloition]

After reading this, I am tempted to switch to flame marsupialant undergarments.

Originally Posted by acidicboy

I once got into an accident and my polyester blended cheap-ass shorts caught on fire. ******* shorts burned so fast I could hardly react. By the time I got them off, the only part that wasn't burned is the crotch area (thankfully). I got 2nd degree burns all over my thighs. I don't know if cotton burns slower than polyester, but I've sworn off polyester because of this. Well, except for sport activities then I wear those Nike Dri-fits.

 

[ginlimetonic]

that being said, don't people tend to stay away from poly/cotton mixes for business shirts?

Nearly every shop i know proclaim and hail the godliness of cotton- sea island, w. indies whatever... egyptian cotton.

a shame its a bit too expensive for me at the moment, but i'm still very young.

 

[arvidg]

Originally Posted by StopPolloition

After reading this, I am tempted to switch to flame marsupialant undergarments.

In my experience, shirts catch fire more often than undergarments.

A tightly woven shirting will burn rather slowly (and not melt), and the flames can be put out by hand. (Someone else's hand, as it was the back of my shirt that caught fire.)

Anyway, I prefer cotton for both.

 

[Boss1982]

Originally Posted by tutee

If you like wearing polyester shirts in summer then wear them. Polyester and Cotton are both Fibers which have very little (if anything) to do with a finished garment's breathability whatsoever. Cotton fiber is more breathable than blah blah nonsense is spread by pure industry bullshit and sadly a lot of people fall for that trap.

It is funny how people always go straight from fibers to textiles (fabrics) while Totally forgetting the yarn, the structure or weaving of fabric and the chemical properties of the finished cloth.

I have Never known a polyester fiber to be bad for skin. I wondering what made you say that or where you heard it.

Hope it helps



Well said. Yes of course you can treat polyester / synthetically made fibers to attract moister MUCH better. People just like to romanticize cotton as if it is something superior.


I got severe acne after wearing polyester. I mean huge red inflamed pimples. I have stopped any polyester clothing.