Origins of the facial tissue
Facial tissues have been around in some form for hundreds of years, though modern mass-produced facial tissues are a relatively recent development. Ancient Egyptians and Romans are known to have used soft plant leaves and fabrics like linen to wipe or blow their nose. In the late 19th century, the first mass-produced disposable handkerchiefs started appearing on the market, made from paper rather than cloth. These early paper handkerchiefs were thick and coarse however. It wasn't until the 1920s that Kimberly-Clark began producing soft, thin facial tissues similar to what we use today.
Making facial tissues today
Modern Facial Tissues are made from pulp—a mixture of wood fibers, water, and various chemicals. Softwood trees from managed forests are the most common source of wood used to make tissue pulp. The pulp goes through a grinding and chemical treatment process to break it down into thin fibers. It is then mixed with water to form a paper-like substance called wet stock. The wet stock is fed into a machine that deposits a thin continuous web of fibers between two layers of tissue paper. The layered web passes through heated rollers to remove moisture, then cooled rollers to harden it into a thin, strong sheet. Creping and embossing adds texture and bulk before being cut and wrapped into boxes or packs of facial tissues.
Varieties and uses of facial tissues
There are different varieties of facial tissues designed for various uses:
- Regular tissues are thin, soft, and absorbent for blowings nose. They come in boxed or pocket packs for everyday use.
- Lotion tissues contain lotions or moisturizers added during production. The lotion leaves skin feeling soft and prevents chapping from repeated nose blowing.
- Anti-viral tissues may contain zinc or vitamin C added to their formulation. These ingredients are said to help kill viruses and reduce spread of colds or flu when using the tissues. However, their effectiveness is still debated.
- Cleaning tissues are thicker with a textured weave, suitable for light duty cleaning, dusting, or pet care. They can be found with or without lotion.
- Facial masks or make-up removal tissues are super soft cloths pre-moistened with cleansing lotions or oils. Used to gently remove all traces of make-up, dirt, or oils from the skin.
- Travel tissues are compact, pocket-sized packs for on-the-go use when a full box is too bulky. Often individually wrapped for hygiene.
So in summary, most regular household boxes of tissues are for nose blowing, but many other types exist tailored for skin care or light duty surface cleaning needs.
Environmental impact and sustainability
While facial tissues provide convenient disposability, their production and disposal does place some burden on the environment. Manufacturing virgin pulp from trees requires large amounts of water, energy, and chemical inputs. Most tissues today also contain a small percentage of post-consumer recycled fibers, but fully sustainable sources remain limited.
When discarded, tissues take up space in landfills where they break down very slowly over decades or longer. Some issues have also been found with plastic-lined tissue boxes, which are not readily recyclable with other waste paper streams. However, companies continue innovating more eco-friendly packaging and production methods. For example, Kimberly-Clark has developed a plastic-free tissue box made from recycled paper materials instead.
Consumer choices around tissue usage can help lessen environmental effects too. Using tissues sparingly, recycling empty boxes when possible, and choosing brands with high post-consumer content or FSC-certified fibers supports more sustainable options. Understanding the impacts drives many companies to invest in developing renewable or plant-based alternatives to pulp as well. Though not yet mainstream, those technologies hold promise for an even greener future of facial tissue manufacturing.
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