Looking to clean up in make-up pad market?

Pads can be used for a variety of cosmetic purposes, including the removal of both facial and eye make-up, as well as nail varnish. The pads offer an ideal blend of absorbency, softness and structure, which prevents them from fuzzing like the only other alternative, cotton balls. It is also an important fact that the pads do not have sharp edges, which would constitute a danger in the eye area.

The majority of pad products are made of bleached cotton. Where thermal bonding is used, a low percentage of thermoplastic fibres can be employed. In general, pre-bleached cotton is utilised, although some manufacturers work with normal cotton combings and bleach the webs in their own facilities.

As a rule, make up pads have an area weight of between 180 and 250 g/mē and are manufactured in four main phases. Initially , the cotton bales are opened and the virgin fibres are blended and prepared. Web forming follows with subsequent thermal bonding, hydro-entanglement or other bonding methods of the surface, the centre of the webs remaining loose. Finally, the pads are punched out of the mats and then packed. Considerable quantities of cutting waste result and must be recycled.

Web forming represents the production phase subject to the strictest demands. For example, 30 - 50 % of the cutting waste has to be reused and the webs must be largely nep-free. In addition, production speeds of 20-30 m/min are essential together with a uniform web profile, in order to prevent differing pad heights, which could lead to variations in package size.

Ideally, pads should consist of a single layer to prevent delamination and to keep the production plant as simple as possible. Last, but not least, fibre distribution must be as random as possible to ensure isotropy in the end product.

The FEHRER V21/R-K 12 "HIGH LOFT" production line meets all these requirements. Indeed, following recent modifications to the V21/R pre-web former, tests have demonstrated that bleached cotton with a 50% waste content and a web weight of 260 g/mē can be successfully produced at speeds of 30 m/min. This corresponds with a production performance of 468 kg/h for every working width metre.

In view of these capabilities and success of FEHRER V21/R-K 12 "HIGH LOFT" lines in Germany and Italy, it would seem certain that these lines will soon be extremely popular among make-up pad producers around the world.