Chemical Composition and Internal Structure
Raw wool contains 10 to 25 per cent grease, which is recovered during scouring and sold as lanolin for use in cosmetics and medicines.
Wool fiber is a protein called keratin. It is the same protein that is found in human hair, fingernails, horns, and hooves. Keratin is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. The individual wool molecule consists of flexible molecular chains held together by natural cross links-cystic ( or sulfur) linkages and salt bridges. The cystine linkage is the most important part of the molecule