Surface Barrier Effects in Wool Dyeing Part I ‐ The Location of the Surface Barrier

The properties of the surface layer on wool fibres which limits the rate of dye uptake have been examined. The removal of the barrier layer by mechanical means and its degradation by surface reduction using tri–butyl phosphine have been studied using the rate of dyeing as a parameter. The chemical properties of the barrier layer suggest that it is a cystine–rich component of the cuticle layer system, either the exocuticle or its ‘a’ layer sub‐system.