What is the base material of exfoliating wipes?

The base material of exfoliating wipes (i.e., non-woven fabric material) usually needs to balance softness (to avoid damaging the skin) and friction (to effectively remove dead skin).

Currently, the common substrate materials for exfoliating wipes on the market mainly include the following types:

1. Pearl Pattern Spunlace Nonwoven

This is currently the most mainstream and common base material.

Feature: The surface has concave-convex dot patterns like pearls.

Function: The raised dots increase the friction during wiping, enabling more effective capture and removal of old and dead (keratin), while the concave areas can store more essence.

Material combination: Usually composed of viscose fiber (Viscose) and polyester fiber (Polyester) blended in a certain proportion (such as 70:30 or 60:40). Viscose provides softness, while polyester provides tensile strength and toughness.

2. Plain/Mesh Spunlace Nonwoven

Plain weave: The surface is smooth with relatively low friction, and it is usually used in mild exfoliating products or products specially designed for sensitive skin.

Mesh pattern: The surface has regular grid-like patterns, which are lighter and thinner than pearl patterns, with good air permeability. The friction force is between that of plain patterns and pearl patterns.

3. Microfiber Nonwoven

Features: The fiber diameter is extremely fine (usually less than 1 micron), with an orange-petal-like or sea-island-like structure.

Function: It has extremely strong adsorption capacity and cleaning power, can penetrate deep into pores to remove dirt and cutin, and feels very soft, not easy to shed lint.

4. Plant Fiber Nonwoven

Ingredients: Such as pure cotton (Cotton), bamboo fiber (Bamboo), wood pulp fiber (Wood Pulp), etc.

Features: Natural and environmentally friendly, excellent skin-friendliness, and almost no irritation.

Limitation: The friction of pure plant fibers is usually weak. To enhance the exfoliating effect, such wipes often need to be formulated with a relatively high concentration of alpha-hydroxy acids, salicylic acid, or exfoliating particles , or undergo a special fluffing process in manufacturing.

5. Composite/Interlayer Structure

Features: For example, the "sandwich" structure, where the middle layer may be a layer of mesh cloth or polyester mesh with strong friction, and the upper and lower layers are soft spunlace nonwoven fabrics.

How to choose the base material for exfoliating wet wipes?

The core principles for selecting exfoliating wet wipe substrates are matching the exfoliating strength requirements + adapting to the target skin type + balancing user experience and cost. Selection should be made from the following 5 core dimensions, which is especially suitable for precise selection by wet wipe manufacturers or purchasers:

1> Select the base material type according to the exfoliating strength requirements

There are significant differences in the friction coefficient and cleaning ability of different substrates, which need to be selected based on product positioning:

Strong exfoliating power (focusing on deep cleansing)

Priority is given to pearl-patterned spunlace non-woven fabric (recommended ratio: viscose fiber 70% + polyester fiber 30%).

The concave-convex pearl pattern can enhance the physical friction during wiping, efficiently capturing old and dead cuticles; the addition of polyester fibers improves the toughness of the base material, making it less likely to deform or tear during wiping.

Application: Wet wipe products for oily skin and skin with relatively thick cuticles.

Gentle exfoliating power (focusing on being sensitive skin-friendly)

Priority is given to plain weave spunlace non-woven fabric or microfiber non-woven fabric.

Plain spunlace fabric has a smooth surface and a low friction coefficient, avoiding excessive pulling of the skin; superfine fiber non-woven fabric (fiber diameter < 1μm), with its special orange-petal-like / sea-island-like structure, can remove cutin and dirt through adsorption, without the risk of physical friction damage.

Application: Wet wipe products specially designed for sensitive skin, dry skin, and acne-prone skin.

Medium exfoliating power (focusing on universal models)

Optional: Reticulated spunlace non-woven fabric. The friction force of the grid-like pattern is between that of pearl pattern and plain pattern. It balances cleaning power and mildness, and has better air permeability, making it suitable for the daily exfoliation needs of most skin types.

2.Precisely match substrate characteristics according to target skin types.

Different skin types have different requirements for the skin feel and irritation of the base material, so targeted selection is needed:

3.Check the physical properties of the base material to ensure the user experience

This is the key to distinguishing high-quality base materials from low-quality ones, which can be verified through sample testing during procurement:

Toughness test: Pull the base material. High-quality base materials are not easy to tear or deform; inferior base materials are easy to break and wrinkle, and are prone to damage during use.

Lint-falling test: Wipe dry skin with the base material. High-quality base materials leave no fiber residues; inferior base materials will shed tiny fibers, which affect the user experience and may clog pores.

Water absorption test: High-quality substrates can quickly absorb and lock in a sufficient amount of essence, and will not become dry and hard when taken out; inferior substrates have poor water absorption, which can easily cause skin tightness when wiping.

4.Consider cost and mass production adaptability

Different base materials have different costs and technological thresholds, and selection needs to be made in combination with product pricing:

Selection of high cost-performance options:

Pearl pattern / plain spunlace non-woven fabric (viscose + polyester blend) features mature craftsmanship and stable mass production, making it suitable for mid-to-low-end mass-market wet wipes.

Mid-to-high-end selection: Microfiber non-woven fabric has a slightly higher cost, but it has significant advantages in skin feel and cleaning power, making it suitable for high-end products that focus on "gentle deep cleaning".

Natural positioning selection: Non-woven fabrics made of plant fibers such as bamboo fiber and pure cotton. It should be noted that pure plant fibers have poor toughness. It is recommended to blend them with polyester fibers for improvement. They are suitable for products that focus on "natural and environmental protection".