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{{wiktionary}}
A '''singe''' is a slight scorching, burn or treatment with flame. This may be due to an accident, such as scorching one's hair when lighting a [[gas fire]], or a deliberate method of treatment or removal of hair or other fibres.

==Hairdressing==

A singe is a treatment available at a [[barber]]'s.<ref>{{cite book|title= Trade Training and Vocational Guidance|page=241|publisher=Preston School of Industry|year=1943|url=http://books.google.com/?id=MaZAAAAAIAAJ&q=hair+singe+barber&dq=hair+singe+barber|author1= Industry, Preston School of}}</ref> A lit [[candle|taper]] (candle) or other device is used to lightly burn and shrivel the hair.  This is supposed to have beneficial effects - sealing cut ends, closing up the [[Hair follicle|follicle]]s, preventing the hair from bleeding and encouraging it to grow.<ref>{{cite book|title=Zone Reflex Plus Translation Diet: Hydro-Therapy and Swedish Massage|page=74|author=Joe S. Riley, W. E. Daglish|year=1996|url=http://books.google.com/?id=8ST9Zc8TB54C|isbn=0787311243}}</ref>  This practice was popular approximately a century ago; it was believed that hair had "fluid" in it and singeing would trap the fluid in.  This belief has since been debunked.<ref>http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v7lXAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA171&dq=%22hair+singeing%22&lr=</ref>  Singeing is still sometimes used to bond natural hair to [[hair extensions]].<ref>http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jpdqmtO2IycC&pg=PA122&dq=singeing+hair+history&lr=&sig=ACfU3U2xe-Jf-PD9-j4Z11PpreU4RIVqaQ</ref>

Primitive cultures have also used singeing as a means to trim scalp or body hair, as a part of normal grooming or during ritual activity.<ref>http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EPYAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA419&dq=singeing+hair+aborigine&lr=</ref><ref>http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RT8TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA188&dq=singeing+hair+aborigine&lr=</ref>

[[Francis Drake|Sir Francis Drake]] was famously said to have ''[[singed the King of Spain's beard]]'' when he [[Francis Drake#Cadiz raid|raided Cadiz]] and burnt the Spanish fleet.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Management of the Hirsute Woman|author=Jocelyn R. Rentoul|
year=1983|journal=International Journal of Dermatology|volume=22 (5)|pages=265–272|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref>

==Agriculture==

In the [[agricultural industry]], [[poultry]] and [[pork]] is singed to remove stub [[feather]]s and [[bristle]]s.

== Textiles ==
{{seealso|heatsetting}}

In the [[textile industry]], loose fibres protruding on the surface of [[textile]] goods are singed to remove them.  When done to [[textile|fabric]]s containing [[cotton]], this results in increased wettability, better [[dyeing]] characteristics, improved reflection, no "frosty" appearance, a smoother surface, better clarity in printing, improved visibility of the fabric structure, less [[Pill (textile)|pilling]] and decreased contamination through removal of fluff and lint.

The process is usually to pass one or both sides of a fabric over a gas flame to burn off the protruding fibres. Other methods include [[infra-red]] or heat for [[thermoplastic]] fibers. Singeing of [[yarn]]s is called "''gassing''".  It is usually the first step after [[weaving]] or [[knitting]], though the fabric may be brushed first to raise the surface fibres.

Cellulose fibres such as cotton are easily singed because the protruding fibers burn to a light ash which is easily removed. Thermoplastic fibres are harder to singe because they melt and form hard residues on the fabric surface.

==See also==
* [[Cauterization]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Hairdressing]]
[[Category:Textile arts]]
[[Category:Textiles]]

[[ar:تشييط]]
[[cs:Požehování textilií]]
[[de:Gasieren]]
[[Category:2Fix]]