Chemistry - What makes Kleenex Cool Touch tissues cool to the touch, and is it safe?

My first guess as to the nature of this behaviour is similar to water. Hypothermia is a realistic risk if you are drenched in water. This is because water can absorb large amounts of energy (it has a large specific heat capacity) to only rise in temperature slightly. Water itself evaporates into steam spontaneously, if some water is spilled then it will evaporate readily, regardless of the temperature. Likewise, the solids in the tissue are probably coming closer to melting temperature, which I believe is higher than your body temperature, but quickly absorbing a lot of energy from your body in the process.

Something similar to properties of water are probably characteristic to the tissue. Leave the tissue in the open in a cool room, along with a glass of water. After awhile, touching the glass of water and the tissue should invoke the same sense of coolness. This is because your body is at a higher temperature than the items in the room.

There is likely another property of matter besides specific heat capacity that is a measurement of how quickly heat is transferred, this is likely to play a role as well. I do not know what this property is called and it was never covered in my classes so far, but take metal for example. Metal has a very small specific heat capacity, it can not hold much energy. However, touching a metal object invokes a sense of coolness. I believe this is because heat is transferred very quickly through metal, although it warms very quickly due to its limited heat capacity. If you put a metal cup and a porcelain cup on the stove, the metal will burn you much quicker if you grab it than grabbing the porcelain/ceramic cup.

If you were very interested and inquistive you could test the specific heat of the tissue through experimentation. Also, try holding the napkin for a few seconds to try and find out how quickly the tissue warms to the touch. Chances are, it warms relatively fast and can absorb a lot of energy, giving you the impression that it is 'cooler' than most objects, to which marketers will be overwrought with the joy of hearing.

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Safety