Facial tissue and paper handkerchief refers to a class of soft, absorbent,

disposable A disposable (also called disposable product) is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months (e.g. disposable air filter ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre e ...

s that are suitable for use on the

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

. They are disposable alternatives for cloth

handkerchief A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as ...

s. The terms are commonly used to refer to the type of

paper tissue Tissue paper or simply tissue is a lightweight paper or, light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made from recycled pulp (paper), paper pulp on a paper machine. Tissue paper is very versatile, and different kinds of tissue are made to best serve these ...

, usually sold in boxes, that is designed to facilitate the expulsion of

nasal mucus The nasal mucosa lines the nasal cavity. It is part of the respiratory epithelium, respiratory mucosa, the mucous membrane lining the respiratory tract. The nasal mucosa is intimately adherent to the periosteum or perichondrium of the nasal conch ...

from the

nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next pass ...

(

nose-blowing Nose-blowing is the act of expelling nasal mucus by exhaling forcefully through the nose. This is usually done into a facial tissue or handkerchief, facial tissues being more hygienic as they are disposed of after each use while handkerchiefs are ...

) although it may refer to other types of facial tissues such as napkins and wipes. Facial tissues are often referred to simply as "tissues", or (in Canada and the United States) by the

generic trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products ...

Kleenex Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, tampons, and diapers. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue in the United States and Canada, the na ...

", which popularized the invention and its use outside of Japan.

Manufacture

Facial tissue and paper handkerchiefs are made from the lowest basis weights

tissue paper Tissue paper or simply tissue is a lightweight paper or, light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made from recycled paper pulp on a paper machine. Tissue paper is very versatile, and different kinds of tissue are made to best serve these purposes, whi ...

(14–18 g/m²). The surface is often made smoother by light

calender A calender is a series of hard pressure rollers used to finish or smooth a sheet of material such as paper, textiles, rubber, or plastics. Calender rolls are also used to form some types of plastic films and to apply coatings. Some calende ...

ing. These paper types consist usually of 2–3 plies. Because of high quality requirements the base tissue is normally made entirely from pure

chemical pulp Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw mate ...

, but might contain added selected recycled fiber. The tissue paper might be treated with softeners,

lotion Lotion is a low-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to the skin. By contrast, creams and gels have higher viscosity, typically due to lower water content. Lotions are applied to external skin with bare hands, a brush, a clean ...

s or added

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. ...

to get the right properties or "feeling". The finished facial tissues or handkerchiefs are folded and put in pocket-size packages or a box dispenser. Facial tissue may contain non-biodegradable additives for strength.

History

Facial tissue has been used for centuries in Japan, in the form of

washi is traditional Japanese paper. The term is used to describe paper that uses local fiber, processed by hand and made in the traditional manner. ''Washi'' is made using fibers from the inner bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (''Ed ...

() or

Japanese tissue Japanese tissue is a thin, strong paper made from vegetable fibers. Japanese tissue may be made from one of three plants, the ''kōzo'' plant (''Broussonetia papyrifera'', paper mulberry tree), the mitsumata (''Edgeworthia chrysantha'') shru ...

, as described in this 17th-century European account of the voyage of

Hasekura Tsunenaga was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Phil ...

: :"They blow their noses in soft silky papers the size of a hand, which they never use twice, so that they throw them on the ground after usage, and they were delighted to see our people around them precipitate themselves to pick them up." In 1924, facial tissues as they are known today were first introduced by

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand n ...

. It was invented as a means to remove

cold cream Cold cream is an emulsion of water and certain fats, usually including beeswax and various scent agents, designed to smooth skin and remove makeup. Cold cream is an emulsion of water in a larger amount of oil, unlike the oil in water emulsion of ...

. Early advertisements linked Kleenex to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

makeup departments and sometimes included endorsements from movie stars (

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

and

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

) who used Kleenex to remove their theatrical makeup with cold cream. It was the customers that started to use Kleenex as a disposable handkerchief, and a reader review in 1926 by a newspaper in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Centr ...

found that 60% of the users used it for blowing their nose. The other 40% used it for various reasons, including napkins and toilet paper. Kimberly-Clark also introduced pop-up, colored, printed, pocket, and 3-ply facial tissues.

Tissue paper segmentation by application

Application wise segmentation *

At home (AH) At Home may refer to: Books * ''At Home'', a book of collected essays by Gore Vidal * ''At Home'', a recipe book by Heston Blumenthal * ''At Home'' (book), a 2022 cookbook by Gavin Kaysen and Nick Fauchald * '' At Home: A Short History of Privat ...

Away from home (AFH) The Away from Home Tour, also marketed as the Light Dreams and Nightmares Tour, was the first headlining concert tour by Canadian recording artist, Drake. The tour began on April 5, 2010 in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania and continued until Novemb ...

Parent Rolls A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male ...

Leading global players

The leading global players Facial Tissue Paper Market Global Industry Analysis 2020 to 2026 Forecast Analysis Covers Manufacturing Size and Share Status by Top Region

June 5, 2020, press release=The Expresswire in Facial Tissue Market are: *

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

* Seventh Generation *

Wonder Wonder most commonly refers to: * Wonder (emotion), an emotion comparable to surprise that people feel when perceiving something rare or unexpected Wonder may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * The Wonders, a fictional band ...

* SCA *

Asia Pulp and Paper Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is an Indonesian pulp and paper company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. One of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world, it was founded as Tjiwi Kimia by Eka Tjipta Widjaja in 1972. Asia Pulp & Paper is a subsidi ...

Hengan International Hengan International Group Company Limited is the largest producer of sanitary napkins and baby diapers in China. It produces sanitary napkin products, disposable baby diapers, adult diapers, and other personal hygiene products. The company was ...

Vinda International Vinda International Holdings Limited (, ) is a major hygiene company in Asia. Its tissue paper products with brand name "Vinda" has been recognized as a "China famous brand". Its headquarters is in the Donghou Industrial Development Zone (S: 东� ...

Georgia-Pacific Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, toilet and paper towel dispensers, packaging, building products and ...

Sofidel Group Sofidel is an Italian multinational producer of tissue paper for sanitary and domestic use. The Sofidel Group was founded in 1966. It is one of the world leaders in the tissue paper market and the second largest producer in Europe behind Essity ...

* WEPA Group * Metsa Group *

CMPC Tissue The Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus (russian: Конфедерация горских народов Кавказа) (until 1991 known as Assembly of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus) was a militarised political organisation i ...

Industrie Cartarie Tronchetti (ICT) Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

* Kruger * Cascades * CandS Paper * Sallettalen y Briand s.l (sbpapel)

Notable brands in USA

* Puffs *

Scotties Scotties is a facial tissue brand originally owned by the Scott Paper Company, created in 1955. Kimberly-Clark, owner of the rival Kleenex brand, acquired Scott Paper in 1997. For competitive reasons, Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 246 / Friday ...

Seventh Generation
* Fiora * Nice 'N Soft *

Marcal The Marcal is a right tributary of the Rába which rises near Sümeg in the Bakony region of western Hungary. The river flows north and reaches Ukk on the Little Hungarian Plain. It follows a path similar to the Rába, and in many places the two ...

Green Forest Green Forest (18 February 1979 – 2000) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. The best colt of his generation in France at two and three years of age, and the best miler in Europe in 1982, he won five of his ...

Notable brands outside USA

Renova (brand) Renova (full name: ''Renova - Fábrica de Papel do Almonda, SA'') is a Portuguese company that produces paper consumption goods (such as tissues and toilet paper). It is based in the city of Torres Novas, located in Médio Tejo, a NUTS3 subreg ...

References

External links

* {{Paper products Personal hygiene products Paper products Domestic implements de:Taschentuch fr:Mouchoir