How to Choose the Right Sauna Hat

A good old sauna hat is a traditional accessory used for sauna and banya rituals. This item often looks funny, but it is highly protective. However, not all hats are similar, and some of them can be even hazardous. Let’s consider the core features of a good-quality sauna hat to enhance your experience of sauna spa procedures with it.

The first thing to consider in our sauna hat guide is, specifically, what a sauna hat is and why you need to wear it in a sauna. When you enter the steam bath in a sauna, your head and hair are exposed to critically high temperatures, which are harmful to them. When not protected with a sauna hat, your head can overheat, and this may lead to poor well-being, dizziness, or even more pronounced health issues like headaches, unconsciousness, or nose bleeding. High temperatures of sauna steam are no less harmful to your hair. It can become dry and porous if you regularly visit a sauna without covering your hair. That’s why it is reasonable to cover your head when you enter a steam bath, and it’s up to a good-quality sauna hat to provide you with additional protection.

Therefore, let’s not allow compromises and find out how to choose a sauna hat, and which one will meet your highest requirements for health protection.

The Core Features to Consider When Choosing a Sauna Hat

The main tasks of a sauna hat are as follows:

• It should cover all your scalp when you enter the sauna.
• It should provide good ventilation to prevent overheating and sweating.
• It should be made of inflammable materials.

Besides these features, a good sauna hat should be soft enough and not provoke an allergy or itching when you wear it. Another significant feature that may impact your choice is choosing the proper size of your sauna hat. It should fit your hat closely, but do not hamper your moves. The best thing is when you cannot even feel the sauna hat on your head, but you also do not feel excessive heat while steaming.

Which Is the Best Sauna Hat Material?

The primary choice of a sauna hat refers to choosing a proper fabric for it. It’s a lion’s share of your success if you get a fully natural accessory made of high-quality breathable fabric. What is the best sauna hat material? There are three of them for your choice.

1. Thick natural wool. It is the oldest type of sauna hat, known for centuries. The best option is sheep wool because of the presence of a natural wax-like compound, lanolin, in it. Such hats, made of 100% wool, are breathable, provide the best heat insulation, and are safe at high temperatures. You can wear them without any fear and enjoy the sauna effects for a long time without discomfort. Besides, lanolin, which is produced by this type of sauna hat fabric, is useful for skin and hair; it contributes to faster wound healing and moisturized skin and hair, which is especially crucial during a sauna session, when they can suffer from poor hydration.

2. Natural felt is one more good option. Felt is a dense, matted material made from wool. It has a thick, soft surface, and it is not prone to deformations, which makes such a sauna hat exceptionally durable, so you can wear it for a long time. Besides, like wool, felt can be dried quickly after you finish your sauna session, and it doesn’t allow bacterial growth on your skin and on the hat’s surface.

3. If you prefer lightweight yet protective sauna hats, you can also try a linen one. Natural linen is thick, a bit rough, but 100% breathable. It is hypoallergenic, and it provides a good temperature balance for your head. Although linen sauna hats are not as durable as felt ones, they are good for home saunas, hammams, and infrared saunas, where temperatures are lower than in Russian or Finnish saunas.

Which Sauna Hats Are Better to Avoid

When choosing a sauna hat, it’s actually more important to know what to avoid than just what to buy. The wrong material or design can make your sauna session uncomfortable, if not unsafe. So, here is our chart of not-to-buy sauna hats:

1. Avoid synthetic materials. Such fabrics as polyester, nylon, acrylic, or fleece are not safe for sauna procedures. They cannot smoothly protect your head and hair from high temperatures, and they are flammable, which is the biggest hazard for sauna visitors. It’s not pleasing if your hat deforms during your sauna rituals or starts to melt. That’s what can happen with a synthetic sauna hat. Besides, low-quality synthetic fabric often can release unpleasant odor when heated.

2. Choosing decorations over comfort. Overdecorated sauna hats are not always functional. So, even if you are totally delighted with its design, you’d better prioritize its convenience and natural fabric.

3. Getting a so-called ‘false felt’ hat is a wrong decision. Although such hats are often marked as ‘felt’, they do not provide proper insulation and air ventilation. Besides, they can lose their shape quickly.

These three types of sauna hats are ‘red flags’, because they are not safe and they cannot protect you in an expected way.

Bottom Line

Whether you select a sauna hat for your regular sauna visits or you are looking for a great gift for a sauna enthusiast, we hope that our sauna hat guide will be helpful to you.

Just keep in mind that your comfort is the primary goal, and even such a simple thing as a sauna hat should meet it fully. The best sauna hats are always convenient to wear, made of natural materials, and they are neither small nor big. The best way to get it is to measure your head’s diameter and to select the proper size in the manufacturer’s size chart. If it is possible, please select only natural-fabric sauna hats and avoid synthetics.

With a proper sauna hat, you can get all the benefits from your sauna visit without compromising on your well-being and your head’s protection from sauna heat.