Interesting Goat Hair Facts And Uses You May Not Know

The goat is one of the most common ungulates, and their hair has been one of the reasons goats are so widely domesticated.

Goats have usually been seen as useful for the meat they provide, or for their dairy products. However, goat hair products are a large industry not only in today's time but all through history.

Common goats have been used as milk goats. These milk goats have been domesticated and provide milk all over the world!

Goat hair fibers are some of the oldest fabrics in human history. It has been a significant part of the textile industry of the world.

In fact, Turkey almost exclusively produced mohair for thousands of years. Turkey remains one of the leading producers of goat hair fabrics, alongside the United States of America and South America. Some of the countries that rank at the top for using and shopping for goat hair products are the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Types Of Goat Hair

Goat hair exists in several different types. Different goat hair fibers are used for different purposes according to customer needs.

Goat hair fiber is known as specialty hair fiber. This is a fiber that is obtained from a goat or a camel.

The price of a specialty hair fiber depends on the properties of the hair. Prices are higher based on things like a high amount of natural lustre, the thickness, and how the fibers feel to touch. Additionally, the price that you will get for the coat of these animals would also depend on their age, condition, and body size.

Goats have been domesticated for more than their meat and dairy value. They have become fine sources of fiber that have a massive customer base.

Goat hair is extracted by either hunting the animal, or by domesticating the animal. These hair fibers are grown from the epidermis of the goat. The primary building block found in the fiber is keratin.

This hair grows in two different layers. The outer layer exists in order to close off an internal layer and save it from damage from the elements. These shiny hairs are stiff and are called guard hairs.

The shorter inner layer, known as the undercoat, consists of a softer fiber that provides special insulation to a goat. A process separates this hair by combing them or blowing them away, which results in the heavier fiber falling away.

While goats may not have a coat such as a sheep, specific goat fibers are popular among a niche customer base.

What is the texture of goat hair?

Goat hair, as previously mentioned, has three layers. While goat hair is not as fine as other animals such as the sheep, it has interesting textures that allow for different uses. Interestingly, the quality of the coat is understood when you make physical contact with it.

Maintenance of the coat of fur is a very important aspect. It is used to keep the hair in top condition.

With a few simple things, you can care for the texture of your goat's hair. One thing you can do for your goat is to brush its hair.

Using a firm bristled brush will enable you to remove dead hair from the hair of your goat. If left without being brushed, the coat will get to look and feel rougher than usual.

Regular brushing is advised to help maintain your goat's coat and ending with a soft brush will help to distribute the oils throughout the coat. Brushing the hair, belly, and chest can see the animal produce great goat-hair fabric.

You must also regularly bathe your goat in order to maintain its fur. Using a special shampoo suitable for goats prevents lice from polluting the goat hair. You may also use a coat conditioner to provide a greater level of softness and brush it to keep the coats from getting coarse.

Another important thing to note is the diet your goat is on. The nutrition that the goat consumes has a big impact on the quality of their coat.

A goat's diet should be rich in minerals and vitamins. If vitamins and minerals such as copper, zinc, and vitamin A are missing from their diet, the goat hair might lose its spark or even fall out!

How is goat hair made?

The Angora goats as well as the cashmere goats are crucial producers of fibers.

It is no secret that Angora goats, as well as cashmere goats, have been used to produce wool for millennia. The textile industry uses the soft coats of these animals in order to produce cashmere and mohair products. The different breeds of these animals have different processes.

Mohair producers begin the process with the Angora goats. These Angora goats are subjected to what is known as shearing. Shearing is done using scissors, and the Angora goats must be held down so that the goats don't get hurt during the process. The producers then clean the wool from these Angora goats of natural grease and other dirt.

The mohair from Angora goats does not need to be carded, so producers move on to spinning the strands into pieces of yarn. After this process, the mohair yarn is washed another time in order to fully clean it and then sent to textile manufacturers.

They produce the mohair products we love such as sweaters, coats, scarves, and home furnishing!

The process by which Angora goats are sheared has come under scrutiny, as ways of cutting costs see these Angora goats getting hurt. In order to produce quality products and assure people that the goats were not harmed, brands have taken up a greater level of transparency.

Goat Hair Products And Uses

The uses of goat hair are extremely vast. Goat hair uses differ according to the type of fiber that is used.

Cashmere fiber comes from one of the breeds of goats. It comes from the cashmere goats, native to Central Asia and the Gobi Desert.

Cashmere fiber has been a high rating for its softness and how it feels. It is exquisite to touch and has been deemed a star of shopping lists as it is a luxurious fiber.

This puts the price of cashmere fiber on the higher end of the spectrum, perhaps the most luxurious form of wool. Cashmere is used largely for scarves, sweaters, and clothing for the colder weather.

Cashmere does not provide the level of insulation like a traditional wool sweater will, but it keeps the body insulated enough as well as feeling comfortable given how soft it is. Because of this reason, it has been made a popular choice for clothing items such as undershirts.

The thin fabric is also seen being used for shawls, which is a Kashmiri clothing apparel draped loosely over the body in order to provide insulation.

Lately, these cashmere goats have been reported to be mistreated. Hence, it is important that when you go shopping, only buy cashmere items from brands that are ethical. This results in the better treatment of the cashmere goats.

Cashmere has been historically significant. Cashmere has been the star of European markets, especially in France. European nobility at the time would use cashmere to make delicate dresses and made use of the softer fabric as a show of comfort and luxury.

A large number of cashmere products are used for clothing garments to be made. Cashmere is used to produce many different products of clothing, that are not heavy in weight but are not used for clothes that give a high amount of insulation such as trench coats.

The price of these cashmere products depends on the grade of cashmere being used.

One of the other fibers that are used is the mohair. This comes from the Angora goats, called Ankara Keçisi in Turkish.

You would think that the fiber would be called Angora, but that comes from rabbits. The Angora goats have become one of the most common forms of livestock.

Mohair is one of the oldest fibers that is known to humans and is not a new or recent discovery. The goats in the United States were upgraded to Angora sires upon the new and growing demand for the products. It has several uses due to the fiber's physical abilities.

The hair is long, resilient, and lustrous. Mohair is used to make many products like clothing items, coats, socks, home furnishings, and even carpets.

Products made from mohair are used by combining the fiber with other fibers. It is often used by being blended into yarn, or as the warp in woven fabric. Mohair is more expensive than sheep's wool and is classed as a more luxurious fiber similar to cashmere or Angora.