A sauna hat is about the simplest piece of kit you'll ever own, but there's still a right way to wear it. Pull it down far enough, keep it dry, and know when to take it off. Get those three things right and your head stays comfortable through rounds that would otherwise have you leaving early with a pounding scalp.
Putting it on: cover the ears and the nape
The hat's job is to shield the parts of your head that suffer most in the hottest air near the ceiling. In practice that means the crown, the tops of your ears and the back of your neck. A hat that only covers the top of your skull does half the job.
Put it on while you're still outside the hot room and pull it down with both hands until the edge sits just above your eyebrows at the front. At the sides it should come over the tops of your ears or cover them completely, and at the back it should reach the nape, where your hairline meets your neck. Ears are thin, full of blood vessels and stick out into the heat, so they're usually the first thing to start stinging. Covering them is the biggest comfort gain you'll get from a hat.
Bell-shaped hats, the classic Finnish and Russian cut, are made roomy on purpose. They fit larger heads, and the extra space holds a layer of air that adds insulation. If yours slides over your eyes, fold the brim up once or twice all the way round. The fold gives you a neat cuff, a snug fit and a double layer of felt over your forehead. Don't try to shrink a hat to make it fit. Hot water, rubbing or a tumble dryer will shrink it unevenly, harden the felt and leave less of the air that does the insulating. Folding the brim is the fix.
Why you wear it dry
Felt works because of the air trapped between its fibres. Dry wool felt is full of tiny pockets of still air, and still air is a poor conductor of heat, so the hot air in the room reaches your scalp slowly. Water fills those pockets and conducts heat far better than air does. A soaked hat stops insulating and simply holds hot water against your head.
So the rule is simple. Put the hat on dry, wear it dry and leave it dry. Don't soak it, dip it or dampen it before a round, and don't dunk it between rounds. Your own sweat will make the inside a little moist by the end of a long session, and that's normal. The point is to start every round with dry felt. We go into the physics in more detail in our piece on why the hat stays dry.
Thickness matters for the same reason. A dense felt hat like the $20 DIVELUX classic holds much more air than a thin linen cap. You'll notice the difference when someone throws a ladle of water on the stones and the steam rolls down from the ceiling.
Long hair: tie it up first
Long hair dries out and gets brittle in high heat. The ends take the worst of it because they usually hang outside any hat. Before you put the hat on:
- Twist your hair into a loose bun or low knot near the crown, not right on top. That keeps it under the deepest part of the bell.
- Use a fabric scrunchie or soft tie. Metal clips and hairpins heat up fast and can burn.
- Pull the hat over the bun, then tuck in any loose strands at the nape.
Roomy bell shapes and wide bucket hats take a bun far more easily than snug caps. That's one more reason not to choose a hat that fits tightly in the shop.
When to take it off
Wear the hat for the whole time you're in the hot room, including while the steam is thrown. That's when it matters most. Take it off as soon as you step out:
- Cool-down. Between rounds your head needs to shed heat. A bare head in cool air does that quickly, and an insulated one doesn't.
- Cold plunge or cold shower. The hat comes off before you go in, every time. Taking it into the water soaks the felt, ruins it for the next round and stops you cooling your head. If you're new to cold water, read our sensible starter guide to the cold plunge first.
- Feeling dizzy or overheated. Leave the room, take the hat off and sit down somewhere cool. The hat makes the heat more comfortable, but it doesn't change how long your body can safely stay in.
Where to hang it between rounds
Most traditional hats have a small loop sewn into the crown, and that's what it's for. Hang the hat on a hook in the changing area or on the wall outside the hot room, open side down so air can move through it. A few minutes on a hook is enough for most of the moisture from your sweat to evaporate. The felt will then be close to dry when you put it back on.
Don't leave it inside the hot room on the upper bench, which can bake the wool, and don't leave it in a crumpled heap on a wet floor. After the session, hang it to air-dry completely before you pack it away. When it needs a proper wash, do it by hand in cool, room-temperature water (about 20–24 °C / 68–75 °F) with a little wool detergent. Press the water out gently, reshape the hat and let it air-dry. Never put it in a washing machine or dryer.
Common wearing mistakes
| Mistake | What goes wrong | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Hat perched on top of the head | Ears and nape take the full heat, and the hat falls off when you lean back | Pull it down to cover your ears and nape, and fold the brim if it's loose |
| Soaking the hat in water | Water replaces the insulating air and holds heat against your scalp | Wear it dry every round |
| Wearing it into the cold plunge | The felt is soaked for the next round and your head can't cool down | Take it off at the door and hang it on its loop |
| Shrinking a big hat to fit | The felt goes hard and uneven and loses its trapped air | Fold the brim up a little |
| Loose long hair under the hat | Ends dry out in the hottest air | Tie a low bun with a soft fabric tie |
A short routine you can follow
- Shower, dry off and tie up long hair.
- Put the dry hat on before you enter and pull it down over your ears and nape. Fold the brim if it's roomy.
- Sit your round, keeping the hat on through the steam.
- Step out and take the hat off right away.
- Hang it by the loop outside the hot room.
- Cool down with a shower, fresh air or the plunge, bareheaded.
- Rest, drink some water and put the dry hat back on for the next round.
- When you're done, air-dry the hat fully before storing it.
A note on the hat itself
Technique does most of the work, but a thick wool felt hat with room for your ears makes it easier. DIVELUX is the #1 Best Seller in Sauna Accessories on Amazon. Its classic bell is cut generously and comes in all seven colors, and you can also find it on Amazon. Whichever hat you wear, the rules don't change: pull it down, keep it dry and take it off when you leave the heat.