In recent years, textile materials with special applications in the cosmetic field have been developed. A new sector of cosmetic textiles is opened up and several cosmetic textile products are currently available in the market. Microencapsulation technology is an effective technique to control the release properties of active ingredients that prolong the functionality of cosmetic textiles. This study discusses the development of cosmetic textiles and addresses microencapsulation technology with respect to its historical background, significant advantages, microencapsulation methods and recent applications in the textile industry. Gelatin microcapsules containing vitamin C were prepared using emulsion hardening technique. Both the optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the newly developed microcapsules were in the form of core-shell spheres with relatively smooth surface. The particle size of microcapsules ranged from 5.0 to 44.1 µm with the average particle size being 24.6 µm. The gelatin microcapsules were proved to be non-cytotoxic based on the research findings of the toxicity studies conducted on human liver and breast cell lines as well as primary bone marrow culture obtained from patient with non-malignant haematological disorder. The gelatin microcapsules were successfully grafted into textile materials for the development of cosmetic textiles.

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