Is this discription of latex accurate?

[phoenix]

Hi ToekneeC,

Some of what you posted is fairly accurate and some isn’t. There is more information about many of your comments and questions in this article and in post #6 here.

2 Different Ways to Make Latex Mattress Foam:

In practical terms this is accurate. There are actually more ways but they aren’t usually seen and almost all of the latex you buy is uses either the Talalay process or the Dunlop process. There are variations but these are the two basic methods.

Sap from the Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is collected and processed into latex; the finished product is used in mattresses and pillows.

This would be true for latex that was made using natural rubber. Either natural Rubber (NR) or synthetic rubber (SBR) or a blend of the two can be used to make latex foam.

1. Talalay Process
   The Talalay process of making latex results in a softer feeling foam. Synthetics and air are always added to achieve this. 100% Natural Talalay does not exist and most Talalay on today’s market is heavily blended, if not 100% synthetic.

this is “partly true”. Both types of foam come in a wide range of firmness levels so firm Talalay would be firmer than soft Dunlop. If both of them have the same ILD though … then to most people Dunlop would feel firmer because it is a denser material and gets firmer faster with deeper compression than Talalay of the same ILD. It’s also true that there are other parts to the latex formulation so that latex foam isn’t 100% rubber (usually in the 90 - 95% range) and the other materials are part of what is necessary to make latex foam from the raw materials and cure it. When most people talk about 100% natural though … what they usually mean is that there is no synthetic rubber in the foam and that 100% of the rubber used is natural rubber. Both types of latex (Dunlop and Talalay) have 100% natural rubber versions although it’s much more common to see it wth Dunlop. There is also some all or mostly synthetic rubber on the market as well (Sealy “smart latex” and some of the mattresses sold at Ikea for example).

Both Dunlop and Talalay latex can be made 100% synthetic.

In theory this is true (it “could” be done) but there is no Talalay latex that is 100% synthetic (the lowest content is @ 30% NR) and most Dunlop would use at least a very small percentage of natural rubber as well.

Clarifying the Misinformation
People often say that Talalay is the superior latex. This is false and here’s why.

I agree that this is false IMO. It also doesn’t mean that the opposite is true either (That Dunlop is superior). They are just different and there are variations with each of them that would be more suitable for one person or one application and not the other.

Dunlop latex foam was put to market in the 1950’s. The goal was not to create natural foam, it was to create a longer lasting, better feeling product than other foams on the market.

This is true. The focus on “natural” is much more recent … and has led to lots of misinformation as well.

Talalay latex foam was then invented. It felt better than Dunlop foam since it was softer, more durable and had a more consistent feel. To do this, 80% of the natural ingredients were replaced with synthetics. Remember “natural” was of no concern back then, it was all about the properties of the foam.

Talalay and Dunlop are just manufacturing methods for a material so one isn’t necessarily softer or firmer because it depends on the ILD of both the Dunlop and the Talalay. It is true though that Talalay could be made softer and more consistent than Dunlop.

As technology improved, Dunlop latex evolved and caught up in terms of performance, durability and consistency. Today, Talalay is still the softer latex foam but it remains 80% synthetic.

Talalay can be anywhere from 70% synthetic to no synthetic at all so this part isn’t accurate. Dunlop has also evolved and the gap between them in many ways (in terms of consistency and the range of softness/firmness that is available) has narrowed significantly but there are still differences between them and there are even differences between different versions of the same type as well. Talalay still tends to feel softer in the same ILD because it has a lower density and compression modulus than Dunlop.

Phoenix