What is a Medical Sheepskin ?

SouthernCrossSheepskinsUSA Admin
Medical shearling sheepskin may, at first glance, appear to be a very similar product to a sheared sheepskin decor rug. The primary difference between these two products are the wool density and the tanning methods that the medical sheepskins must adhere to.
Wool Density: Medical sheepskins are specially selected for their high wool density and offer substantially more fibres per square inch than decorative sheepskin pelts. The best quality Medical Sheepskins are always made from Australian origin skins. While New Zealand sheepskins and hides from around the globe may appear very similar in length, softness, and feel; Australian sheep have denser wool and heavier leather and are always preferred for the highest quality medical sheepskin rugs and products. We only import Australian medical sheepskins for this reason. Wool is trimmed to 30mm to reduce matting and promote airflow through the wool fibres. Clipped wool also makes for easy cleaning and care of a medical sheepskin.
The leather side of a medical sheepskin is also different to a standard decor rug. The Australian leather is thicker and heavier than sheep from other parts of the world. The leather is able to withstand commercial washing at high temperatures. Standard medical sheepskins are washed at 40 degrees Celsius. High Temperature medical sheepskins can be washed at 70 degrees Celsius for 8 minutes. This high temperature is important for disinfection of the wool and leather.

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Sheepskin Seat Covers in the Summer?

SouthernCrossSheepskinsUSA Admin
Many customers find that our Australian sheepskin car seat covers are more beneficial on a hot sunny day than on cold winter mornings. As surprising as this sounds, it holds very true. Sheepskin has an old slogan of "Warm in winter, cool in summer" which is absolutely accurate. The secret is that wool has hollow fibres which promote air flow and wick away moisture. This helps to insulate against heat and cold and regulates body temperatures. Even Black sheepskin seat covers are pleasantly cool on a summer day.

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How do the regular sheepskins compare to the baby lambskins?

SouthernCrossSheepskinsUSA Admin
We just received this common question in an email. We thought that it would be a good idea to share our reply here:
Hello Jennifer, that's a good and rather common question. There are 3 main differences between a decor sheepskin rug and our baby lambskin rugs.
The most notable difference is that a baby lambskin is slightly smaller in size. Our's are approximately 3 ft in length, vs the 3.5ft length of our decor rugs.
A more subtle difference is that being from lamb skins (a by-product of the New Zealand lamb-chop industry), they have virgin wool which has never been shorn. Even the 'clipped' wool on the short wool lambskins has been trimmed to 1.25", but it has never been shorn. This means that the merino wool is that little bit softer with more natural lanolin for a silky smooth finish.
The third and most important difference is in the tanning process. The lambskin hides are intended for a baby to sleep on and are tanned without the use of any chemicals. This tanning process takes extra time and cost, but we wouldn't have it any other way. The reason that our baby lambskins are not white (another common question) is that there is no way to make a sheepskin rug white without the use of some form of mild bleach detergent in the tanning process. This is why many rugs are offered as "off-white", "cream", or "champagne", as this is as bright as a rug can be made without the use of any bleaches. Although the levels used in white rugs all over the world is quite safe (and some companies do sell white baby lambskins), we like to ensure that no bleach has been used in the process. As I mentioned, the white rugs are very safe and this is more so for the parent's security and product knowledge as it is a safety concern. The "pale lemon" or champagne colour also helps to hide stains that are much more common on a baby lambskin than a decor rug.

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Universal Fit Short Wool Sheepskin Car Seat Covers

SouthernCrossSheepskinsUSA Admin
Our newly designed universal fit sheepskin car seat covers are now available in a Short Wool option! We are so excited and pleased that this design has been well received by drivers of all types of vehicles who are looking to add some comfort and wool to their interior. This seat cover is designed to fit on trucks with extra large seats, as well as vehicles with side impact air bags, large bolsters, electric seat controls, built in arm-rests, non removable head rests, etc. There's really no vehicle out there that they won't fit.
We make these covers with Australian shearling skins which have been clipped to approx 1" of wool length. This dense and trimmed wool reduces matting over time and helps to keep you warm in the winter while remaining cool through the summer.

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