How facial tissue is made

Facial tissue is scraped off a hot steel drum with a blade, and that scrape makes the crinkle that gives it stretch.

stations: 6
things upstream: 55
raw sources: 17
steps from the ground: 10

The short version

Facial tissue is the lightest, softest paper. A machine lays a very thin web of pure chemical pulp, dries it on a steam drum and scrapes it off to make it crinkly. It is lightly smoothed, sometimes treated with softeners or lotion, layered into two or three plies, folded and packed into boxes.

Slurry the pure fibers

The sheet is made entirely from chemical pulp, sometimes with some selected recycled fiber. Using purer pulp gives a cleaner, softer and stronger sheet.

Goes in
Wood pulp Water
Float a featherweight web

The slurry forms a very thin web between a wire and a felt, then is pressed onto a large drying drum. Facial tissue is the lowest weight of all tissue grades.

14 to 18 g/m²
Scrape off the drum

A blade peels the dried web from the drum and crinkles it, which gives the sheet its stretch and its softness.
Smooth it lightly

A light pass between rollers makes the surface smoother without flattening the crinkle completely.
Treat with softeners

The base tissue may be treated with softeners or lotion, and some is perfumed, to get the feel the brand is selling. Strength additives that do not break down easily may be added too.
Ply, fold and box

Two or three plies are layered, folded in an interleaved stack and put into pocket packs or boxes.

Goes in
Cardboard box

End of the lineFacial tissue

Worth repeating

Tissue grades that absorb the most water are made by drying with hot air blown through the sheet, which uses about twice the energy of ordinary drying.
Facial tissue is usually 2 or 3 plies of paper, each only 14 to 18 grams per square meter.