What does micron mean in wool?

Micron is a unit for measuring fiber thickness. The smaller the value, the finer and softer the fiber (1 micron = 1 millionth of a meter). In short, not all wool is the same. The softness of wool fibers depends crucially on the fiber thickness.

While normal virgin wool is usually over 30 microns and is perceived as scratchy by most people, ultra-fine merino wool is available from around 14-16 microns.

For comparison: a human hair has about 50 microns

You can always find the information on microns in the material description for the item (if provided by the manufacturer). The finer the wool, the more expensive the raw material is. Here you can find an overview:

• 14-17 microns = ultra-fine luxury wool quality (the prime piece of the world's best merino wool qualities). This wool quality is exceptionally soft and can be worn without any problems even by the most sensitive skin types. Due to the limited worldwide availability of this wool quality and the high price, there are only a few products with this degree of wool fineness:

(Icebreaker 300 Fine…)

• 18-20 microns = very high-quality and fine merino (most of the items listed here are in this fiber thickness range). Scientific studies assume that scratching is no longer noticeable below 20 microns. If skin irritation does occur, an allergic reaction to animal hair may be the cause. Alternatively, very sensitive skin types can also switch to merino blends .

• 21-22 microns = standard merino quality ➽ this wool fineness corresponds to the average of the worldwide merino wool quality and experience has shown that it is pleasant and non-scratchy for more than 90% of all skin types.

What do the numbers on Merino underwear mean?

For most items in our shop, you will find a number between 120 and 800 in the item description. But what does Merino 150, Merino 200 or Merino 260 actually mean?

Very simple ➽ This refers to the weight of the fabric in grams per m² . In simple terms, the lower the number, the thinner the fabric and the higher the number, the thicker the fabric.

But be careful, there are exceptions, e.g. with a terry cloth inside or with a different density of fabric structure. For example, a Woolpower 200 long sleeve is almost twice as warm and thick as a normal Merino 200 long sleeve, because the loop-like terry cloth inside creates many more warming air cushions despite the low fabric weight and is also much more voluminous.

Apart from these special knitting techniques, most Merino fabrics can be divided into the following temperature ranges:

• 120-170 g/m² ➽ these thin fabrics are mainly used for merino shirts and are best suited for summer or the transition period. This fabric thickness can also be used for long underwear for performance-oriented winter sports
• 180-240 g/m² ➽ these medium-thick merino fabrics are valued as all-rounders and represent the largest group of merino underwear. Spring, autumn and moderate winter temperatures can be universally covered with them.
• 250-400 g/m² ➽ these fabric thicknesses are suitable for temperatures below zero and even extreme conditions. If you are very sensitive to the cold or want to spend longer periods of time outdoors in sub-zero temperatures, this is the right choice. We also have special products for expedition needs (e.g. the Norwegian specialist “ Aclima ”)
• Fabrics over 400 g/m² thick are too thick for underwear and are therefore only found in the Merino fleece category, which is used as an extremely warm middle layer. In addition, the Swedish manufacturer Woolpower offers Thermo Merino socks up to 800 thickness.

What does mulesing mean?

Mulesing is a cruel practice in sheep farming in which the tails of the animals or the folds of skin in this area are removed, sometimes without anesthesia, in order to prevent parasitic infestation. Of course, we only sell certified mulesing-free products in the Merino Store.

You can find a detailed explanation of this topic in our lexicon article “ Mulesing, no thanks! ”.

What is the difference between merino wool and virgin wool?

New wool is an umbrella term for all types of wool that come from sheep. Merino wool is the wool of a special breed of sheep, namely the Merino sheep. It is considered the finest and, above all, softest sheep's wool in the world and, because it is skin-friendly, is therefore ideal for use in functional underwear.

Even though merino wool is strictly speaking also a subspecies of virgin wool, virgin wool is generally used to refer to the classic wool from common sheep breeds. Many people find normal virgin wool to be rather scratchy, whereas merino wool is perceived by most people as very pleasant on the skin. This is due to the much thinner fiber thickness of merino wool. You can find more information on the fiber thickness of wool and how it is measured in the encyclopedia article "What does micron mean in merino wool?" Insert link above

At this point, we would like to point out that according to the European Textile Labelling Regulation, only the generic term wool or virgin wool is permitted on the textile label, even if it is the more noble type of wool, merino wool.

Merino items that were manufactured in the EU will therefore only show the permitted generic terms on the label. However, the addition (Merino) is usually found in brackets. If this additional information is missing on the label, we refer you to the material information on the manufacturer's website.

Of course, such articles also contain real merino wool if this is stated in the material description in our shop.

What does the capillary effect do?

There are various methods in fabric construction to increase the surface area inside, e.g.:

• loop knitting technique (terry cloth)
• waffle structure
• groove structure
• roughened inside

The larger the surface inside, the stronger the suction effect to the outside.

This is primarily intended to facilitate faster sweat dissipation to the outside.

At the same time, such interior structures form additional air heat cushions, creating a balanced relationship between evaporative cooling and heat storage (textile temperature regulation).

These fabric techniques therefore make particular sense for functional clothing for cold weather, as it is particularly important in winter sports that sweat is wicked away from the body while still preventing cooling.

With synthetic fibers, on the other hand, the hollow fibers create an even stronger capillary effect, like a straw. The problem is that this accelerates evaporation even further, but during rest periods after exercise or in windy conditions, strong evaporative cooling occurs and the body can cool down significantly in a very short time (for example, after swimming in an outdoor pool). Synthetic fibers can only move in one direction, while wool can still keep you warm even when wet.

What is lanolin?

Lanolin is the wool fat of sheep. It is contained in large quantities in freshly shorn raw wool and is therefore largely filtered out during the washing process of the raw wool and processed into cosmetic products or as a moisturizing additive for wool detergents.

The raw wool is only washed so much that a certain amount of lanolin remains in the fibers. Lanolin prevents the wool from drying out and becoming cracked. That is why it is particularly important to use a high-quality wool detergent when washing Merino clothing .

In addition, lanolin is also functionally important because it increases the ability of wool fibers to absorb large amounts of moisture.

Lanolin is also known for its positive effect on the skin and is therefore often included in baby creams and wound ointments.

➽ Fiber Science

Do you want to learn more about the fibers that are processed together with merino wool? Then take a look at our encyclopedia article “Merino in the mix.”

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