6 Health Benefits Of Alpaca Wool You Might Not Know.
Alpaca wool or fleece as it is usually called to distinguish it from ordinary sheep wool is a natural fiber produced by Alpacas. Alpacas belong to the family of camelids together with Llamas, Vicunas, and Guanacos. Alpacas originate from the Andes Mountains namely in Peru, Bolivia and Chile. They are domesticated. They live in very harsh climate in altitudes up to more than 4.000 meters. This environment made it necessary to grow a very specific fiber to protect the animals from the extreme climate – warm in summer and very cold in the winter time.
This fiber is the most asked for wool on the planet only second to Vicuna. The supply doesn’t cover the demand. Alpaca wool is very soft, warm, light and not itchy compared to sheep wool. It is used to felt, knit or weave making clothing and other products.
Health benefits of alpaca wool
Alpaca wool has different features which make it a very healthy product as well.
- Alpaca wool is anti-microbial and anti-fungal.
- It is dust mite resistant making it ideal for bedding products like duvets and covers.
- It is hypoallergenic. It doesn’t contain Lanolin, which is blamed to cause allergies against sheep wool.
- Alpaca wool has extraordinary thermoregulatory properties, making it an ideal insulator. That’s so important for clothing and duvets. Thermoregulatory properties mean that alpaca wool keeps you warm in winter but also protects you from the heat in summer.
- It absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
- Alpaca wool wicks away moisture avoiding cooling when you are sweating.
Finally, we want to emphasize that alpaca wool is absolutely environmentally friendly. Raising the animals doesn’t harm the environment. To produce alpaca wool products no detrimental chemicals are used. Because alpaca wool comes in 22 natural colors from white, beige, brown, gray up to black even dyeing is not necessary.
