Whether you go shopping for those super cute dresses, sleek gym wear, or a fluffy throw blanket, how often do you notice the material they are manufactured from? The material you wear significantly affects the health of your skin. If the material you wear is toxic, it could lead to skin allergies, rashes, redness, itching, and even potential health problems. Besides damaging your health, it can also pose an environmental hazard.
What is Synthetic Material?
Synthetic material or synthetic fiber are fibers that are made by men in laboratories through chemical synthesis. While the organic material is derived from animals, vegetables, or mineral fibers, such as cotton, linen, wool, and silk. Unlike synthetic material, organic material is eco-friendly and skin-friendly. Following are the types of synthetic material that you need to look out for:
Polyester
You may be a fan of polyester due to its wrinkle, wear and tear, and fade-resistant properties, but it comes with a lot of health hazards that you may not be aware of.
Polyester is constructed by condensation polymerization of monomers. Since the monomers are toxic, they should not be ignored as they are trapped inside the fibers during the manufacturing process. And they may enter your body through your skin. As you may already know that polyester is less breathable and may heat up your body quickly, it can also cause acute skin rashes, itching, and even redness. In the long run, it can lead to acute and chronic respiratory infections.
Spandex
Spandex is known for its elasticity properties and smooth-finish to clothing which is more commonly used in tights, undergarments, leggings, shorts, shirts, etc. Irrespective of its valuable properties, it contains plenty of strong chemicals, and wearing spandex for a long time can lead to skin allergies. As the fibers in spandex don’t have the ability to absorb sweat, it may cause the chemicals to release into your skin through dyes and formaldehyde used in the fibers. This could ultimately cause different bacterial infections. One of the most common side effects caused by wearing spandex for a long time is contact dermatitis, which bears symptoms like burning skin, oozing blisters, flaky skin, sun sensitivity, and even extreme itching.
Nylon
Nylon is constructed by condensation polymerization too and contains by-products of petroleum which makes them extremely hard to recycle, decompose, and ultimately leading to elevated landfills. Regardless of the damage it causes to our environment, it can harm your skin as well. It is highly non-breathable and allows the chemicals to enter your skin through your sweat which can lead to skin allergies and eye-watering. It can also cause hyperpigmentation, dermatitis, dizziness, and headache.
Acrylic
Acrylic is also a by-product of petroleum and thanks (but no thanks) to the chemicals used during the manufacturing process, it gives anti-static and water-resistant properties. You may have seen them used in many knitting fabrics. It may cause serious health problems like liver damage and other symptoms like breathing issues, headaches, itching, skin rashes, fatigues, skin burning, and even nausea. And if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, you need to watch out for the clothing material you’re wearing.