What is a medicinal sheepskin?

For many centuries, sheepskins have been used to provide comfort and atmosphere in the home: the decorative properties speak for themselves, and the aspect of warmth and opulence needs no explanation either.

Medicinal tanning

Of more recent date is the discovery, or invention, of special tanning processes called medicinal. This involves a process that preserves the wool grease (lanolin), and lanolin has been shown quite conclusively to have a healing and protective effect on the skin.

A second characteristic is that it is a chlorine-free tanning process, with the natural smell remaining slightly present. Due to the absence of the bleaching effect of chlorine, medicinally tanned coats are light yellow rather than white in colour. Instead, the coat has an antibacterial effect and does not cause irritation, even when in contact with bare skin.

It helps with chaps and bedsores, for example!

A common phenomenon in people with sensitive, dry skin is the development of cracks in the skin of the feet.

To provide relief, many have a medicinally tanned lambskin on the foot of their bed to put their feet on at night. Or even better, an underblanket made entirely of medicinal fur. The nice thing is that this offers more than just relief: in several cases, a doctor was able to establish that the fissures had completely healed. It is for this reason, among others, that we also speak of health coats. Also our heel guards help with these complaints and can be worn both in and out of bed.

View all our products made from medicinal sheepskin here.

And then the sheepskins from Texel....

Although sheep are herd animals, one sheep is not like another. The sheep that live on Texel  walk freely in the meadow and are often exposed to the Texel wind (except sometimes, when they take shelter in strong winds behind one of the sképeboetjes, the pyramid-like sheds with their straight gables on the east side). The wind makes the wool hairs of these sheep more resilient and somewhat curlier than those of their kind that live, under more sheltered conditions, on land.

You can feel that the fleece of a real Texel sheep is firmer, and this pays off when this fleece is tanned medicinally. For people with pain, joint or bedsores, it is an ideal combination: a softness that is safe for the skin with a resilient firmness.

Medicinal sheepskins are clipped short

A good medicated coat is, after the tanning process, shaved short to about three centimetres. This makes the support that the coat provides even greater than a "normal" one. Texel sheepskin . People with severe pressure sores can confirm this: they experience the pressure-reducing effect of the wool as a benefit for their wounds.

Is a medicinal sheepskin washable?

A genuine Texel medicinal sheepskin is also, albeit moderately, machine washable. Both washing and drying should be done at a relatively low temperature, preferably with a wool detergent, to maintain the lanolin content. There is also a medicinal sheepskin that is washable even at high temperatures is for extra hygiene.