The Surprising History of Facial Tissue: From Handkerchiefs to Everyday Essential
Facial Tissue |
Origins of the facial tissue
Facial tissues have been around in some form for hundreds of years, though
modern mass-produced facial tissues are a relatively recent development.
Ancient Egyptians and Romans are known to have used soft plant leaves and
fabrics like linen to wipe or blow their nose. In the late 19th century, the
first mass-produced disposable handkerchiefs started appearing on the market,
made from paper rather than cloth. These early paper handkerchiefs were thick
and coarse however. It wasn't until the 1920s that Kimberly-Clark began
producing soft, thin facial tissues similar to what we use today.
Making facial tissues today
Modern Facial
Tissues are made from pulp—a mixture of wood fibers, water, and various
chemicals. Softwood trees from managed forests are the most common source of
wood used to make tissue pulp. The pulp goes through a grinding and chemical
treatment process to break it down into thin fibers. It is then mixed with
water to form a paper-like substance called wet stock. The wet stock is fed
into a machine that deposits a thin continuous web of fibers between two layers
of tissue paper. The layered web passes through heated rollers to remove
moisture, then cooled rollers to harden it into a thin, strong sheet. Creping
and embossing adds texture and bulk before being cut and wrapped into boxes or
packs of facial tissues.
Varieties and uses of facial tissues
There are different varieties of facial tissues designed for various uses:
- Regular tissues are thin, soft, and absorbent for blowings nose. They come in
boxed or pocket packs for everyday use.
- Lotion tissues contain lotions or moisturizers added during production. The
lotion leaves skin feeling soft and prevents chapping from repeated nose
blowing.
- Anti-viral tissues may contain zinc or vitamin C added to their formulation.
These ingredients are said to help kill viruses and reduce spread of colds or
flu when using the tissues. However, their effectiveness is still debated.
- Cleaning tissues are thicker with a textured weave, suitable for light duty
cleaning, dusting, or pet care. They can be found with or without lotion.
- Facial masks or make-up removal tissues are super soft cloths pre-moistened
with cleansing lotions or oils. Used to gently remove all traces of make-up,
dirt, or oils from the skin.
- Travel tissues are compact, pocket-sized packs for on-the-go use when a full
box is too bulky. Often individually wrapped for hygiene.
So in summary, most regular household boxes of tissues are for nose blowing,
but many other types exist tailored for skin care or light duty surface
cleaning needs.
Environmental impact and sustainability
While facial tissues provide convenient disposability, their production and
disposal does place some burden on the environment. Manufacturing virgin pulp
from trees requires large amounts of water, energy, and chemical inputs. Most
tissues today also contain a small percentage of post-consumer recycled fibers,
but fully sustainable sources remain limited.
When discarded, tissues take up space in landfills where they break down very
slowly over decades or longer. Some issues have also been found with
plastic-lined tissue boxes, which are not readily recyclable with other waste
paper streams. However, companies continue innovating more eco-friendly
packaging and production methods. For example, Kimberly-Clark has developed a
plastic-free tissue box made from recycled paper materials instead.
Consumer choices around tissue usage can help lessen environmental effects too.
Using tissues sparingly, recycling empty boxes when possible, and choosing
brands with high post-consumer content or FSC-certified fibers supports more
sustainable options. Understanding the impacts drives many companies to invest
in developing renewable or plant-based alternatives to pulp as well. Though not
yet mainstream, those technologies hold promise for an even greener future of
facial tissue manufacturing.
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