Do you think cotton clothes is the most eczema-friendly?

When buying clothes for children, do you choose cotton clothes?

On hot days or when your child is taking part in physical activities, did you put a cotton towel on your child's back to absorb sweat?

Published on September 14, 2022Licensed under the Unsplash+ License

The mainstream sayings take cotton as a fabric that is soft and most suitable for young skin, people with eczema or sensitive skin. Have you ever thought that these are misunderstandings? Some of the clothing that you think is good for your child's skin may be doing harm.

The low-down of cotton you must know

We have been engaged in fabric development and production for more than 50 years and have a thorough understanding of the characteristics and uses of various fabrics. Here are some facts about cotton that parents of children with eczema and sensitive skin should know:

1. Cotton absorbs water easily but is difficult to dry. Staying in sweat drenched clothes promotes the growth of bacteria on the skin's surface. There are about 2 million to 4 million sweat glands in the human body, and the sweat glands are perspiring all the time, including sweat and sweat beads that are invisible.  Sweat-soaked cotton cloth sticking on our skin can easily breed bacteria, weaken the skin's immune barrier function, and make it easy for pathogenic bacteria to invade and cause skin problems.

2. Cotton clothes is easy to attach laundry detergent and irritate the skin. The surface of the human skin is slightly acidic at pH 5.5. Generally, laundry detergent or laundry detergent contains sodium carbonate, which is a strong alkali (pH value is pH11). Hence clothes washed with detergent will also become alkaline. In addition, cotton fibers are structurally more likely to adsorb the molecules of detergent than other fabrics, allowing alkaline substances to contact the skin and interfere with the acidity of the skin. The alkaline environment is conducive to the growth of bacteria, which can induce eczema flare-ups and cause itches and discomforts. Therefore, it is best to rinse your clothes for several times with clean water to ensure that the clothes are thoroughly clean. Should you have any family members with sensitive skin, it is best to avoid washing clothes with laundry detergent so as to avoid irritating the skin.

3. Beware of the use of fabric softeners. Some parents like to add fabric softeners to their laundry to make their clothes softer and more aromatic, but softness comes at a price. So do fragrances, preservatives and colours, which are allergens for people with eczema or skin allergies. It is noteworthy that fabric softener must be attached to clothing to have a "softening" effect. In other words, the fabric softener itself is difficult to wash off. That means a higher chance of causing skin sensitivity.

4. Cotton hardens over time. After washes for many times, the fibers of cotton fabrics, especially pure cotton, will harden and fluff, and the fibres will "prick" the skin, exacerbating itching and scraping. So if your child has weak or sensitive skin, and you found that medicine or moisturizers did not help much to relieve his/her skin discomfort, you need to pay more attention to the possible effects of clothing.

Eczewear is an eczama-friendlier alternative to cotton

Eczewear is dedicated to promoting the concept of "Wear Healthy" through its garment products made of Comfiknit® Atopic Eczema, a patented fabric which is uniquely weaved by innovative health technology to support the skin to perform its inherent functions.

Taking advantage of Comfiknit’s edgy fabric intelligence, the fabric structure brings softness and comfort comparable to that of cotton, while addressing the shortcoming of cotton in terms of skin-friendliness:

• The exquisitely fine microfiber delivers extraordinary softness and smoothness to the touch.
• After absorbing sweat, the fabric can quickly evaporate the sweat, resulting in refreshing effect and maintaining the moisture of the stratum corneum of the skin
• The inner layer of the fabric is slightly acidic, which is difficult for bad bacteria to breed, and it will not harden after many washes.
• It is not easy to attach the laundry detergent particles. It remains smooth and soft without relying on laundry softener.

By choosing Eczewear children's clothing products, you can help your child reduce the discomforts of eczema flare-ups or skin allergies.   "Wear healthy" – this is a social innovation we are proud of.