Effect of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Finishes of Fabrics on the Stratum Corneum Water Content and Comfort Properties

직물의 친수 및 소수화 처리가 피부잔류수분량 및 쾌적감에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hydrophilic finish for polyester (PET) fabric and hydrophobic finish for cotton fabric on the water transport and comfort properties. Polyester fabric was treated with 10% sodium hydroxide solution to impart hydrophilicity. Cotton fabric was sprayed with Scotch-gard$^{(R)}$ water and oil repellent finish to impart hydrophobicity. Porosity, air permeability, contact angle, wickability and water vapor transport rate (WVTR) were measured to determine the water transport properties of fabrics. To compare the comfort properties of treated and untreated fabrics, wear test was performed by putting fabric patches on the upper back: stratum corneum water content (SCWC), subjective wettedness and comfort rating were determined. The results were as follows: (1) The contact angle of water on treated polyester fabric was decreased and that of treated cotton fabric was increased. Also, the wickability of treated polyester fabric was increased and the wickability of cotton fabric was decreased. (2) Although each finish did not change porosity, the water vapor transport rate of treated polyester fabric was increased and that of treated cotton fabric was decreased slightly. (3) The results of stratum corneum water content measurements showed good agreement with the results of the contact angle and the wickability, i.e., the better the liquid water transport properties are, the less the stratum corneum water contents were resulted. (4) The realtionship of subjective wettedness or comfort and stratum corneum water content was independent. Therefore, it was concluded that human perception on the subjective wettedness or the comfort is affected by the skin contact of wet fabric rather than by the stratum corneum water content.