OK, so its not an allergy. Why do I itch just thinking about wool?
A. Blame your mother; it is the broad wool fiber pants she made you wear in first grade that has poisoned your thinking. Its about micron diameter (see above). The wool fiber is a miracle of evolutionary design that has taken over 2 million years to perfect. One critical design element that helps wool perform the way it does is that the fiber itself is covered in a sheath of scales, not unlike the tiles of a roof. In larger diameter wool fibers (like the ones in your first grade broad wool pants) the scales themselves are large enough that their points can actually wiggle between the pores of your skin causing a tickling or itching sensation. As the diameter of the wool fiber decreases the size of the scale decreases as well. At a point from around a medium (19.6 -22.9 micron) wool fiber to a fine (18.6-19.5 micron) wool fiber the scales become so small that their points no longer fit into your pores and the material becomes silkier and softer against the skin. Some people are more sen
