Is Silk Pajamas Really Good For Skin?

First of all, what is real silk

It seems that we often see these words mixed together, silk, silk, and mulberry silk, so let's start with these words.

Real silk is actually silk. The "real" of real silk is relative to artificial silk: one is natural animal fiber, and the other is treated polyester fiber. Two materials can be distinguished by burning:

When the silk burns, there is no open flame, and it smells of charred hair. After burning, it can be kneaded into ashes;

When the simulated silk burns, you can see flames, smell of burnt plastic, and glue blocks after burning.

Mulberry silk is actually the most common type of silk. According to different foods, silkworms can be divided into mulberry silkworms, tussah silkworms, camphor silkworms and other types. The physical properties of the silks they tie are quite different, so their uses are also different. Some skin-fitting silk fabrics we are involved in today are basically derived from mulberry silk.

In other words, in clothing fabrics, there is a high probability that real silk, silk, and mulberry silk are actually the same thing. We will all use real silk in the future.

01

Silk is not a panacea for skin care

According to rumors, real silk is good for body care because:

Silk contains a lot of amino acids, and amino acids can beautify the skin;

Real silk is a pure natural fiber, does not have static electricity, and can be used for hair care;

Silk is a natural anti-allergic material and will not be allergic.

But in fact, the so-called "skin nourishing functions" listed above cannot be achieved by silk.

Let us analyze one by one, why these widely circulated claims are not valid. The amino acids in silk cannot beautify

It is believed that real silk can beautify the skin. One of the most common claims is that real silk contains a lot of amino acids, which can prevent wrinkles, anti-aging, moisturize and sunscreen.

Silk is an animal protein, which is indeed composed of a large amount of amino acids, but it is a bit difficult to change from protein to amino acid, and then play a skin care effect. It's like egg white is also protein, and it is also composed of a lot of amino acids, but you don't think that putting eggs on your face can prevent wrinkles, anti-aging, moisturize and sunscreen...

The amino acids that are often added as moisturizers in skin care products, or peptides as anti-aging ingredients, are all added as independent, free individuals. Silk is mainly composed of two kinds of proteins: silk fibroin and sericin. Such proteins will not hydrolyze into peptides and amino acids when they are attached to the skin, and they will not have the effect of moisturizing and anti-aging skin care.

As for the fact that silk can block ultraviolet rays, silk sunscreen is not because of any skin care ingredients, but hard sunscreen students, most clothes can do it. Not to mention that silk is not suitable for being exposed to the sun. Frequent exposure to the sun will cause the protein of silk to denature earlier, turn yellow and become brittle, and it is actually very difficult to care for.

In general, I hope that silk fabrics can beautify, and I can be ready for an empty joy.

Silk can also generate static electricity

Said that real silk does not generate static electricity? The first lesson of physics in middle school is an experiment in which a glass rod is rubbed against silk.

Reviewing a physics knowledge, static electricity is due to objects with relatively poor electrical conductivity, which accumulate a certain amount of electric charge, and there is a potential difference with the surroundings, thus the phenomenon of charge transfer occurs.

Lehmicke has tested the ability of different materials to gain/loss electrons. In the picture below, the farther the two objects are, the easier it is to rub static electricity:

It can be seen that compared to glass, although the hair is so close to the silk, it will still be static. It’s not a real silk pillow towel, it’s an iron plate.

Silk has low allergenicity ≠ completely non-allergenic

Although compared with chemical fiber materials, the allergenicity of silk is indeed relatively low. Like pure cotton, silk is indeed a good choice for many students who are allergic to chemical fibers. But the possibility of sensitization certainly still exists.

A natural thing does not mean that it is not allergic. After all, some people are allergic to water. You must know that your immune cells are going crazy and even hit yourself. If you don't believe it, learn about autoimmune diseases.

At the same time, real silk is not a cure for allergies, and it cannot "cure allergies." At present, the treatment of allergies mainly relies on drug treatment and isolation of allergens. Some allergies will also undergo desensitization treatment. Students who have allergic symptoms should go to the doctor as soon as possible to find out the allergens. Don't give yourself a treatment plan, use your own experiment

Therefore, please seek medical attention for skin allergies, and do not buy silk products blindly.

02

The advantages of silk

I have said so many things that silk can't do. The students may think that silk can't do anything, it is an "IQ tax." But that’s not true. Although silk does not have the exaggerated skin-care and health-care functions, it still has its own unique advantages.

Silk: My name is Shun Liu

The biggest feature of real silk is its smoothness and low friction, which is also very important for skin and hair.

For the skin, mechanical friction can cause thickening of the stratum corneum. In severe cases, friction damage may be caused. It may be accompanied by mild inflammation and stimulate pigmentation. This is why the elbows we often rub are darker. Therefore, reducing friction can indeed protect the skin.

For hair, reducing friction is even more important. Friction can damage the hair's scales, causing the hair to lose moisture and look dull and dull. At the same time, repeated mechanical friction may also cause hair breakage and cause hair loss.

So for pajamas, underwear, bedding and other things that are in direct contact with the skin and hair, silk products can indeed play a protective role.

Smooth, cool, soft and breathable, who doesn’t love it

In addition to being smooth, soft and breathable is also one of the advantages of silk.

In summer, it is easy to sweat when the weather is hot. If the clothes are attached to the skin, they will not breathe. It is simply a walking sauna barrel. Yes, it is you, those airtight chemical fibers!

Real silk is different. Keke used to have a small silk skirt. It’s comfortable to wear when going out in the summer, and it feels like running naked. The air permeability is so good that the skirt can breathe, so it firmly occupies the Keke wardrobe Central position

The main reason why most people choose real silk is probably because of its close-to-skin feel, which is smooth, cool, soft and breathable. Who doesn't love it?

A small summary

The advantages of real silk are quite obvious, at least as a clothing material.

Compared with the same smooth rayon, real silk is less susceptible to allergies and static electricity; and compared to the same low-sensitivity and less static cotton products, real silk is softer and smoother. Although expensive is a bit more expensive, it also comes with a sense of luxury to satisfy consumer psychology.

On the downside, real silk is not easy to maintain, is more delicate, is not suitable for exposure, and does not have the powerful effects in the publicity.

So before buying real silk, you have to figure out what your needs are. If you have expectations of beauty, anti-static, and anti-allergic, there are other more meaningful choices for you than silk. If you simply like the material of silk, don't worry too much, just chop your hands.