Mitts sold as plant, bamboo or vegan silk are usually viscose. Here is how to check whether you have a real silk kese: the fibre label, look and feel, price logic, a safe one-thread burn test and what to ask the seller.
A real silk kese is usually made of raw cocoon silk, a protein fibre spun by silkworms. Mitts sold as "plant silk", "bamboo silk" or "vegan silk" are usually viscose (rayon in the US), a soft fibre regenerated from plant cellulose. To tell them apart, read the fibre composition, compare look and feel, sanity-check the price, and if doubt remains, burn one loose thread: silk smells like burnt hair and tends to go out on its own, while viscose burns fast, like paper.
No single check is perfect, and viscose is not a fake. As a manufacturer and exporter in İzmir since 2006, we make kese mitts in both fibres; the only real problem is viscose passed off as real silk. Below are five checks, what each can and cannot prove, and how to do the burn test safely.
What a real silk kese is made of
Silk is a protein fibre. A silkworm spins its cocoon from a filament made of two proteins: fibroin, the fibre itself, and sericin, a natural gum that binds it. The smooth silk of pillowcases and scarves, often sold as "mulberry silk", has been degummed: the sericin is washed out, leaving the slippery, lustrous fabric most people picture.
Raw silk keeps much of its sericin. A raw silk mitt is therefore matte rather than shiny and slightly crisp, and its yarn is irregular, with small slubs. Undyed, it is a natural cream to ivory colour, and it softens gradually with use.
That is why the usual "how to tell if silk is real" tests, written for silk fabric, don't fit a kese: shine, a slippery feel and the rustle of silk cloth don't apply, and a genuine raw silk mitt can fail all of them. For reference, our raw cocoon silk mitt is 100% raw Turkish cocoon silk, about 15 × 25 cm and about 15 g: thin and light, not plush.
Plant silk vs real silk: what the names mean
Viscose (rayon) is regenerated cellulose. Cellulose from plant sources such as wood pulp is dissolved in a chemical process and spun back into fibre. It was first developed as an alternative to silk, which is why it was long called "artificial silk", but chemically it is much closer to cotton than to silk.
These names on a kese listing usually point to viscose or rayon:
- "Plant silk", "plant-based silk" or "vegetable silk"
- "Vegan silk"
- "Bamboo silk", which is viscose made from bamboo
- "Art silk" or "artificial silk"
- "Silky" or "silk feel", which describe a feel, not a fibre, and may also mean polyester or a blend
None of this makes viscose the wrong choice. It is plant-derived, contains no animal fibre and gives a soft, even scrub; its main quirk is lower strength when wet. Our own plant-based silk exfoliating gloves are viscose, and their product page names the fibre. If you are still weighing a kese against other tools, see our comparison of kese, kessa, Italy towel and loofah.
How to tell if silk is real: the five checks at a glance
Most of them cost nothing. Save the burn test, which costs a thread, for when the label and your hands disagree.
| Check | Suggests real silk | Suggests viscose or doubt | How much it proves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Label and composition | "Silk", with "100%" or a percentage | "Viscose", "rayon", a "plant silk" name, or no composition | Strong, if labelled honestly |
| 2. Look and feel | Matte, crisp, uneven yarn, cream colour | Smoother, more uniform, often a sheen; softer and more pliable when wet | A clue only |
| 3. Price and weight | Thin, light mitt at a price that fits silk | "Pure silk" at a viscose price, or a heavy, spongy "silk" mitt | A warning sign; a high price proves nothing |
| 4. Burn test on one thread | Slow burn, goes out by itself, burnt-hair smell, crushable ash | Fast burn, keeps going, paper smell, soft grey ash | Strong for a single fibre, unclear for blends |
| 5. Ask and sample | Clear, specific answers | Answers that avoid naming the fibre | Strong with checks 1 and 4 |
Check 1: Read the label and the fibre composition
A label is a legal statement, so start here. In the EU, and in Turkey, whose textile labelling regulation is aligned with EU Regulation 1007/2011, a textile product must state its fibre composition using legally defined fibre names:
- In the composition, "silk" can only mean fibre from silkworms.
- "100%", "pure" or "all" may only appear on products made entirely of one fibre.
- Blends list each fibre with its percentage by weight, in descending order.
- When you buy online, the composition must be visible before you buy.
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission oversees fibre labelling. It has warned sellers that rayon made from bamboo must be labelled as rayon or viscose made from bamboo, not simply as "bamboo".
In practice, read the composition line, not the product title: "Silk Kese" above a composition reading "viscose" is a viscose mitt. Treat a missing composition, or vague wording such as "premium silk quality", as a question to ask. A label is only as good as the seller's honesty, which is why the other checks exist.
Check 2: Look and feel, dry and wet
Touch can raise a suspicion but cannot prove anything. Compare in daylight, ideally beside a mitt whose fibre you know.
Dry
Raw cocoon silk looks matte, with irregular, slubby yarn, and feels crisp rather than slippery. Viscose yarn is usually more even and smooth, often with a soft sheen, and bright colours are common because it dyes so well. Silk can be dyed too, so colour settles nothing, and on a kese, gloss is no sign of silk.
Wet
Wet the mitt thoroughly in warm water. Regular viscose absorbs water readily and loses much of its strength when wet, so a viscose mitt usually turns heavier, softer and more pliable, and its yarn gives more under a gentle tug. Raw silk tends to change less. Weave and wear shape the feel as much as fibre does: a well-used silk mitt is softer than a new one, and a dense weave such as our triple-layer cross-stitch viscose glove feels firm by design.
Check 3: Do the price and weight make sense?
Raw silk comes from cocoons in limited quantities and needs careful handling, while viscose is made industrially at scale, so a raw silk mitt normally costs more than a comparable viscose one. The logic works in one direction only. A "100% pure silk" mitt at the price of an ordinary viscose glove, or in bargain multipacks, deserves questions; a high price proves nothing, because packaging and branding can make any mitt expensive. Weight is a weak signal too: raw silk mitts tend to be thin and light, so a heavy, spongy glove sold as pure raw silk is worth a second look.
Check 4: The silk vs viscose burn test, on one thread
The burn test is the most telling home check because it relies on chemistry, not appearance. Silk is protein, like hair; viscose is cellulose, like paper and cotton; polyester is a plastic. Burn one thread, never the mitt itself.
Safety first
- Adults only; keep children and pets away.
- Ventilate the room well or work outdoors on a still day, and don't breathe in the smoke.
- Work over a sink or a heat-proof glass, ceramic or metal dish, away from anything flammable.
- Keep water within reach and tie back long hair.
- Hold the thread with long tweezers, and keep the tweezers themselves out of the flame.
How to do it
- If the mitt is new, rinse and dry it first, because finishes can change the result.
- Find a loose yarn end of the scrubbing fabric, for example where it meets a seam, and cut off a few centimetres. Avoid the sewing thread and the cuff, which may be a different fibre.
- Hold one end in the tweezers and touch the other briefly to the edge of a candle or lighter flame.
- Watch how it burns, then move it away from the flame: does it keep burning or go out?
- To check the smell, waft a little air towards you with your hand instead of leaning over the smoke.
- Let the remains fall into the dish, wait until they are cool, then crush them between your fingers.
Reading the result
| Fibre | How it burns | Smell | What is left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silk (raw or degummed) | Slowly; tends to go out on its own once out of the flame | Burnt hair | A dark, brittle bead or ash that crushes to powder |
| Viscose or rayon, including "plant" or "bamboo silk" | Catches fast and keeps burning, like paper; an ember may glow | Burning paper or leaves | A little soft, fine grey ash |
| Polyester | Melts and shrinks away from the flame | Chemical, plastic-like | A hard bead that will not crush |
| Blends | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed ash and hard bits |
What the burn test cannot tell you
The test identifies fibre types, not percentages. Blends give mixed results, the test cannot separate viscose from cotton or linen, dyes and finishes can change the smell and ash, and one thread may not represent a mitt that combines fibres.
Skip any advice to dissolve fibres in household bleach. Bleach is corrosive, it can give off toxic gas when mixed with acids or other cleaners, and chemical tests belong in a textile lab.
Check 5: Ask the seller, and start with one sample
An honest seller can answer these in a sentence or two:
- What is the exact fibre composition, with percentages, and is the cuff the same fibre?
- Is the silk silkworm (cocoon) silk, or viscose sold as plant, bamboo or vegan silk?
- Can you share a spec sheet with material, size, weight and care instructions?
- Can I buy a single piece first?
Answers that avoid naming the fibre, such as "a premium silk-feel yarn", are an answer in themselves. Buy one mitt, not ten, and run the checks above before you commit. Trade buyers should get the answers in writing and match them against delivered labels; our page on how we control quality before shipping shows what we check on our side.
Why the fibre matters: silk vs viscose care and feel
The fibre decides how you look after the mitt and how it feels on your skin.
Caring for a raw silk mitt
Silk is protein, so treat it more like hair than like a cotton towel: no chlorine bleach, no boiling, no machine wash and no tumble dryer. Rinse it thoroughly after each use, squeeze out the water gently instead of wringing, and hang it to air-dry away from direct sunlight and humidity. When it needs a proper wash, hand wash it with mild soap.
Caring for a viscose mitt
Viscose is weaker while wet, so squeeze rather than twist, let it dry completely between uses and follow the care label. With either fibre, a kese mitt is a personal item; replace it when the weave loosens or it no longer smells fresh after drying.
Which one should you choose?
Neither fibre is better; they suit different needs. Raw silk gives the gentlest, lowest-abrasion feel and is a common choice for the face and for people who find a classic kese too strong; on the face, a small raw silk face mitt is easiest to control. Plant-based silk is a soft viscose option with no animal fibre, while classic viscose and viscose–polyester gloves grip more firmly for the traditional full-body scrub. If you have a skin condition, ask a dermatologist before using any exfoliating mitt.
Whichever fibre you choose, technique matters just as much; our step-by-step guide shows how to use a kese mitt. For a range overview, see our kese glove buyer's guide to silk, plant silk and viscose; every style is in our exfoliating gloves collection.
The easiest way to learn what real raw silk feels like is to hold it. In our online sample shop for kese mitts you can order a single raw silk mitt and a single plant silk or viscose glove side by side, with no account needed and payment by card; orders ship within 1–3 business days after payment. Then put both through the checks above.
Buying for a shop, spa or hotel? Send the styles and quantities you need through our wholesale quote form.