COMFORT
Dewy Sleep Kelp! It's the secret ingredient in Emirates’ first-class pajamas, which hydrate your skin while you sleep.
Although moisturizing pajamas seem like a no-brainer in the low-humidity environment of an airplane cabin, passengers flying first class with Emirates on overnight long-haul flights are the first to receive a sleepsuit of this kind. Matrix, the company behind the product, spent a year developing a cosmetotextile – wearable skin care – with billions of patented Hydra Active microcapsules that gradually release liquefied sea kelp through normal wear.
Humidity levels in the aircraft cabin drop to less than 20%. The average level in a home is between 30% and 60%.
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The microcapsule technology is applied to the textile by being padded onto the fabric after the garment is complete. Dave English, a chemist and the head of Research and Innovation at Matrix, describes the microcapsules as hardwalled spheres containing a sea kelp solution. They are relatively robust yet break under compression or friction, releasing some of the moisture. The sleepsuit, made of a cotton-polyester-spandex blend, isn’t greasy to the touch, and continues to moisturize for at least 10 washes, making this a product Emirates hopes passengers will take home. Emirates chose sea kelp for its skin-benefiting vitamins A, B1, C and E, plus zinc, calcium and copper. Not only does sea kelp deliver these nutrients, it also acts as a conditioner, providing a layer that protects and rejuvenates the skin.
English points out that there’s a link between drinking water and moisturizing the skin. “To keep the water inside, you need to have a good lipid layer, and the sea kelp can help reinforce the maintenance of the water levels within the body,” he says. And when hydrated, the skin can better perform its tasks of detoxing and renewing. “The body and skin repairs itself when it sleeps,” English says. “A good rest period on a plane when you’re relatively tranquil can be seen as luxury time for the skin if you feed it well, giving it good hydration and nutrients.”
A single sleepsuit contains billions of microcapsules containing sea kelp, a natural source of vitamins A, B1, B2, C, D and E, as well as minerals, antioxidants and essential amino acids.
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; EMIRATES
BY VANESSA BONNEAU