Your Guide to Scrubs Hats

For many healthcare professionals, a scrub hat is an integral part of the work uniform. An important way of maintaining hygiene in the operating room and other sterile areas, scrub hats are worn by surgeons, scrub nurses and other medical workers who want to protect their patients from potential infection. 

Why Doctors Wear Scrub Caps 

Doctors and nurses who work in sterile areas, like operating theatres, are often required to wear scrub caps. Like a face mask, gown, surgical gloves and other PPE, scrub hats help to prevent cross-contamination and keep the area clean and safe. 

A medical professional working in a sterile environment will be required to wear a scrub hat whether they have short hair, thick hair or virtually no hair at all. This is because hair is packed full of bacteria, even when it’s washed on a regular basis.  

The human scalp contains around 4,838 core bacteria and 1,220 transient bacteria. This bacteria can be transferred to other surfaces when hairs fall out. In most cases, the bacteria will be harmless. However, if it falls into an open wound during an operation, it could put patients at serious risk of infection. 

The Purpose of a Scrubs Hat 

The purpose of a scrub hat is to prevent hair, and the bacteria it contains, from contaminating sterile spaces and causing infection. We lose around 100 hairs from our scalps every single day. Every one of these hairs carries bacteria. Wearing a surgical scrub cap in sterile areas, and when treating vulnerable patients, will help to stop these hairs causing infection. It will also help to keep the operating room clean, tidy and germ-free.

Another benefit of wearing a scrub hat is that it keeps hair tucked back and out of the way. This can minimise distractions in the operating room, make medical professionals feel more comfortable and prevent doctors and nurses from touching their hair and contaminating their hands.

What Type of Hat Is a Scrub Hat? 

A scrub hat is a type of professional headwear specifically designed for surgeons and others who need to maintain a sterile workspace. Generally made from a soft, pliable fabric, scrub hats fit snugly around the front and back of the head to trap hair and prevent contamination.

Like scrub tops and scrub pants, these specialist hats should be washed after wearing to remove marks and maintain hygiene.

Are Scrub Caps Worth It?

Scrub hats make a significant difference to hygiene and sanitation. In fact, when PPE was in short supply during the pandemic, a lot of medical professionals made their own DIY scrub caps and DIY surgical hats to protect both themselves and their patients.

Different Types of Scrubs Hats 

If you need to wear a scrub hat for work, there are a few different designs out there to choose from. The most common options include: 

• Ponytail scrub cap
• Bouffant scrub cap
• Pixie scrub cap 

Ponytail scrub caps are perfect if you have a lot of hair you need to tie back when you’re in theatre. This type of surgical scrub hat has an opening at the back to keep long hair in place. Some also have a large pouch at the back that hair can be pushed into.

Bouffant scrub caps offer even more space than ponytail scrub hats, making them ideal for those with longer hair. As the name suggests, these spacious scrub hats offer lots of room, making them suitable for even the longest locks. 

Pixie scrub hats have a closer fit than either bouffant or ponytail hats, making them less suitable for long hair but perfect for those with a shorter style. Like all scrub caps, they’re unisex and are designed to be used in all medical settings.

 The Colours of Scrubs Hats

Like scrubs themselves, scrubs hats come in a great choice of shades. A lot of medical professionals opt for solid colours like blue, pink and purple. This is a good option if you want your scrub hat to match the rest of your work uniform. 

If you want something a little different, why not choose a scrub hat with a pattern? A great pattern like flowers, cartoon characters or geometric shapes can brighten up your local hospital or paediatric ward and help you to stand out from the crowd.

You can find a scrub hat pattern that suits you by looking through our eye-catching collection. Alternatively, you can customise your hat yourself using a printable pattern or an embroidered scrub cap pattern. If you’re feeling creative and are handy with a sewing machine, you could follow a step by step sewing tutorial or free sewing pattern to make a scrub hat that’s totally unique to you. Find a cap sewing pattern online or take a look at Etsy for a choice of pre-customised hats.

The Difference Between a Scrub Hat and a Surgeon's Cap 

A scrub hat and a surgeon’s cap are essentially the same thing. Both are designed to keep hair in place and out the wearer’s face. Scrubs hats that are specifically used for surgery may be kept in sterile packaging until they’re required, whereas those worn by non-surgical medical staff are commonly kept with other scrubs tops and bottoms.

Can Any Nurse Wear a Scrub Cap?

Generally, scrubs hats are worn by nurses who work in operating theatres as well as those who care for vulnerable or immuno-supressed patients. If you don’t work in one of these environments but still want to wear a nurse cap, talk to your manager or the person in charge of uniforms.

How Should a Scrub Cap Fit Your Hair?

The purpose of a scrub hat is to stop falling hair from contaminating the surrounding area and putting patients at risk. So, it’s important that your scrub hat fits snugly around the front and back of your head, while leaving plenty of room for your hair to fit comfortably inside. If you have a lot of hair, a bouffant or ponytail style scrub hat will probably suit you best.

Scrub hats are an integral part of many scrubs uniforms. Learn more, and find the best scrub hat for your look, by exploring our collection today.