Quote Originally Posted by Biciclista View Post
no one said they had a true allergy, they were asking for anecdotal information.
and you said there was a difference and you didn't know why so I was just attempting an explanation..... well softer wools, merinos, smartwool etc. are finer and softer - less irritating to the skin. If you are just sensitive to this irritation then yes, there will be a difference in today's wools to the old scratchy wool sweaters that people remember. OTOH if you have a true wool allergy any wool, soft or not will make you react as it is the lanolin and not the wool fibers themselves that cause the allergy. The thing is some people really can get a bad skin reaction just from the irritation - so you may not know if its an allergy or not unless you know you can either wear soft wool and be OK or react to lanolin products that are unassociated with the wool fibers.

I get itchy from old school wool and can't wear it next to my skin. No problems with merino, smartwool, cashmere etc.