Dehaired Cashmere Tops: The Complete B2B Buyer's Guide to Combed Cashmere from Ordos
Not all dehaired cashmere is equal. Combed top quality varies by micron uniformity, fiber alignment, and residual guard hair. A buyer's guide to selecting the right dehaired cashmere for your spinning process.
Dehaired Cashmere Tops: The Complete B2B Buyer’s Guide
Dehaired cashmere is the post-processed fiber that spinners actually work with. It comes from combing out guard hair and impurities from raw (greasy) cashmere. The quality of this step determines whether your finished yarn is luxury-grade or full of pills after three wears.
This guide covers what separates premium dehaired cashmere from commodity fiber.
What “dehaired” actually means
Raw cashmere combed from goats is called greasy cashmere — a tangled mass of fine underdown (the valuable part), thick guard hair (useless for spinning), lanolin, dirt, and vegetable matter.
Dehairing is the mechanical process of separating the fine underdown from the guard hair. The result is a clean, aligned cashmere top (also called a combed top or roving) that can be drawn into yarn.
The process is purely mechanical — modern dehaiiring lines use no chemicals, no water, no dye. Italian-made Capstan and similar equipment have been the industry standard for 30+ years.
The 4 grades of dehaired cashmere
After dehairing, fiber is sorted by micron count (fiber diameter, measured in micrometers):
| Grade | Micron | Use case | Price (USD/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superfine white | 14.5-15.5μm | Luxury knitwear, fine-gauge scarves | $120-160 |
| Standard white | 15.0-16.0μm | Mid-luxury knitwear, premium blending | $90-115 |
| Brown (qing) | 15.5-16.5μm | Heathered yarns, workwear | $80-100 |
| Purple (zi) | 16.0-17.5μm | Felted products, low-end blends | $65-85 |
For B2B buyers sourcing for luxury or mid-luxury brands, Superfine white and Standard white are 90% of the market.
5 quality indicators in dehaired cashmere
A premium dehaired cashmere top has the following characteristics. Test any sample for these before committing to a bulk order.
1. Fiber parallel alignment
A properly combed top has fibers running roughly parallel along its length. Hold a small tuft up to the light — you should see a uniform sheen without visible “tangles” or “clumps.”
A poorly dehaired top has fibers in random orientations, making it harder to spin and resulting in weaker, hairier yarn.
2. Residual guard hair content
Under 40x magnification (a $30 USB microscope works), count guard hair fibers in a 1g sample. Premium dehaired cashmere should have < 1% guard hair by count. Anything above 3% suggests incomplete dehairing.
Guard hair in finished yarn shows up as “frizzies” — thick, straight fibers that don’t take dye the same as cashmere and create a coarse, itchy hand feel.
3. Micron uniformity (CV%)
Beyond the mean micron count, look at the coefficient of variation (CV%) — the standard deviation divided by the mean. A premium dehaired top has CV < 20%. Anything above 25% means the fiber is mixed (different goats, different ages, or blended batches).
A high CV shows up in your yarn as inconsistent dyeing and uneven texture — some fibers absorb dye differently, creating a “heathered” look you didn’t intend.
4. Moisture content
Premium dehaired cashmere should have < 12% moisture content (regain). Above 15% means:
- The fiber wasn’t properly dried
- You’re paying for water weight, not fiber
- Risk of mold in storage
A simple moisture meter ($100-200) gives instant readings. Any supplier refusing to provide moisture data is hiding something.
5. Color uniformity within bale
Real “white” cashmere has subtle color variation — different goats, different body parts, different ages contribute. Perfectly uniform bright-white fiber has been bleached, which damages the cuticle and shortens fiber life.
Take 5-10 random samples from different parts of a bale. Subtle variation (ivory to light gray) is normal. Identical bright white across all samples suggests processing.
Combed top vs. open top: which to choose?
Dehaired cashmere comes in two forms:
- Combed top (roving): Fibers are parallel-aligned into a continuous rope. Used for worsted spinning (smooth, strong yarn for machine knitting and weaving).
- Open top (sliver): Fibers are randomized. Used for woolen spinning (soft, lofty yarn for hand knitting and chunky sweaters).
For machine knitting 12+ gauge, you want combed top. For hand knitting or 5-7 gauge chunky, open top is fine.
Most Ordos factories offer both, but premium mills (like ours) specialize in combed top because luxury knitwear uses fine machine gauges.
Lead time and MOQ for dehaired cashmere
- MOQ: 100kg per grade/color
- Stock lead time: 7-10 days (white cashmere usually in stock)
- Custom lead time: 20-25 days (custom micron sorting or custom dehairing)
- Annual capacity: Major Ordos mills dehair 800-1,200+ tons per year
- Pricing: Quoted FOB Tianjin/Shanghai; CIF your port available; DDP for EU/US
For new buyers, we recommend a 200-500kg trial order before committing to a full-season volume. This lets you test the fiber in your own spinning process and validate the quality.
Working with a dehaired cashmere supplier
When evaluating a new dehaired cashmere supplier, ask these 5 questions:
- “What’s your annual dehaiiring capacity?” — A real dehaiiring facility should dehair 500+ tons per year. Less than that and they’re likely a small operation with limited stock.
- “Do you have Italian dehaiiring lines?” — Capstan, Marzoli, or similar. Chinese-made dehaiiring lines exist but quality is generally lower.
- “Can I visit and see the dehaiiring in operation?” — A reputable facility hosts dozens of buyer audits per year.
- “Do you provide per-bale OFDA data?” — Non-negotiable for premium cashmere.
- “What’s your minimum micron guarantee for ‘premium white’?” — If they say 15.5μm or higher, look elsewhere. Real premium white is 14.5-15.5μm.
At DONGXIAO, all our dehaired white cashmere is 14.5-15.5μm with CV < 20%, and ships with full OFDA + length distribution data per bale.
Ready to source dehaired cashmere? Request samples and we’ll ship 100g of each grade with full OFDA data within 5 days.
