Luxury upholstery secret ingredient.
- juliaozsarac
- Dec 25, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 26, 2021
Horsehair in beds and mattresses – Why choose it?
Horsehair has been a staple ingredient of beds and mattresses for many hundreds of years, but with the introduction of synthetic materials it can now only be found in the most luxurious of beds due to the unique properties that the material has when compared to other less natural fillings.
Firstly, let distinguish between horsehair and horsetail. Horsetail is a much rarer commodity and as such the price is higher with its longer strands predominantly, although not exclusively, used in the creation of fabrics. Horsehair on the other hand is more affordable with the shorter strands being ideal for either blending with other materials such as wool or mohair or using as a layer of filling in a mattress.
With any bed, comfort, and support and the two primary objectives and mattresses that contain horsehair deliver both in abundance. If you have ever stroked or patted a horse, you will know how smooth and soft their hair is and those properties are transferred to the mattress when horsehair is incorporated into it. However, it is also extremely sturdy which means it offers great support to the body. We hand-tease the horsehair – more on that later – which allows each of the hairs to act as a miniature spring, adjusting to the contours of your body. Materials that are manufactured in bulk and processed by machines tend to have uniform and bland properties where the individual components of the ingredients are suppressed. With hand-teased horsehair that does not happen.
It is a common fact that everyone releases moisture from their body during the night and it is the reason you get those unsightly stains on pillows and mattresses. The inclusion of horsehair in a mattress helps to get moisture out of the mattress. Unlike other materials which soak up water like a sponge, horsehair has the opposite effect. Part of this is thanks to the hollow strands of the hair which help with the ventilation of the mattress. If stale air is trapped within the mattress, then it can cause it to start to smell which then makes going to bed a thoroughly unenjoyable experience. The natural properties of horsehair increase air circulation allowing for it to dry out much quicker than synthetic materials.
Being able to regulate your temperature during the night is a key factor in helping you get agreat night's sleep, and unsurprisingly horsehair can help with this. Nature did not intend for horsehair to trap all the heat within the animal, so it has 'breathable' properties that make sleeping on it a pleasurable experience. It helps create a surface that can maintain a constant temperature throughout the night.
To some this may seem like we are using 'marketing spin' to describe the benefits of horsehair but you only must consider the environment within which a horse lives to appreciate how their hair can add to the quality of a mattress. When it rains, water runs off the horses back, so we know it has great water resistance properties. It is soft to touch so we know it adds comfort to the mattress and horses live in all types of climates so we know it can regulate temperature.
But that is not all as horsehair has great hypoallergenic properties also. The hair we use is sterilised before it goes into our beds removing any harmful bacteria, but thanks to the structure of horsehair it can repel bed mites making the sleeping environment healthier. In some cases, it has been known for people to be allergic to horsehair but the sterilisation process the hair goes through does reduce this risk, and horsehair allergies are far less common than allergies to fur or domestic pets.
The final reason why we use horsehair is because of its durability. While any material will 'settle' within a mattress, horsehair will not flatten out. It is an incredibly resilient material that will maintain its structure for many years. Where cheaper materials will need replacing ever few years, mattresses that contain horsehair have been known to last considerably longer. In this respect, while a mattress that contains horsehair may be call fora more expensive outlay at the beginning, the long-term cost effectiveness of it will prove extremely beneficial.
One final point to cover off is that some people do get concerned that the horsehair may have been obtained through inhumane treatment of the animal. Unlike wool where there is a general acceptance that shearing is good for the animal, within the general population less is known about caring for a horse. The suppliers are often selected based not just on the quality of whether the produce the horsehair in a sustainable way.
The horsehair typically come as by-product because of grooming the horse, something which needs to be done to keep the horse healthy. The hair is then taken for cleaning and delivered to us as a jumbled mass of hair. The product is then carefully hand-teased the to create an even layer of upholstery for the mattress. This is an extremely labour-intensive process and our skilled craftsmen and women have undergone many years of training to perfect this art, delivering only the highest quality of finished product. Amongst the most popular use of the horsehair is for mattresses. The most prominent makers are Vi-Spring, Hastens and Savoir Beds.
Horsehair fabrics are widely recognized for their unequalled lustre, durability, easy care and longevity. They were originally used by famous furniture designers such as Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Lutyens, Rennie Mackintosh, and are ideally suited to most forms of upholstered furniture.
John Boyd Textiles is now one of the last companies in the world still weaving hair cloth. First established in Castle Cary in 1837, John Boyd Textiles is proud to maintain the tradition of horsehair weaving, using the finest quality tail hair and cotton or silk warps, using the original looms and techniques from 1870. Since it is rather difficult to source the hair from live horses so the individual strands are valuable, paired with an expensive way to manufacture — horse hair textiles and products are thought to be a pinnacle of luxury for the interior design.
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