Headwear solutions for long term women's hair loss

Despite being extremely common, female long term hair loss presents a real challenge in finding stylish, suitable headwear which helps women experiencing hair loss feel both comfortable and self-confident.

More info’ is available over on our blog – What is the best hat for my face shape? Part 1 & Part 2

At Suburban Turban, we are both passionate about and renowned for meeting this need – in style!

How to manage long term hair loss

Understandably, when talking about hats for female hair loss – particularly long term hair loss – many women might think that’s rather like putting a sticking plaster on a broken leg.

Quite rightly, many women seek to understand the cause of their hair loss and there are many recognised channels of enquiry through GP and dermatologist.

However, headwear (and there are many different types) can help with the day to day management of hair loss and the ‘ebb and flow’ of patchy hair loss.

There are many different medical conditions that can have hair loss as a symptom – this could range from a 50p pence piece shaped bald spot to complete hair loss on the head.

In all cases, headwear can help – from keeping your head protected from the sun (the scalp is particularly sensitive to the sun once bare of hair), to keeping what hair you have in place on a windy day. It can also keep your head dry if you are using colouring powders to mask bald spots.

How to choose hats for long term hair loss

However, you do have to know what you are looking for.

For example, many hats are only designed to sit half way down the head. Think baseball cap or baker boy cap and you’ll get the picture: these would leave a 5-6 cm band exposed at the back of your head.

If there is enough fabric in the hat so that you can pull it down, it then ruins the shape and style of the hat. Think Frank Spencer who used to wear his beret as a beanie to great comic effect!

So this brings up a couple of interesting points: how to select a style with enough depth and how to wear a hat to best effect i.e so that it looks ‘normal’, and not as if it is trying to conceal something.

pink hat turban for hair loss

The best hats for long term hair loss

It is a fact not all hats are created equal. It is trickier to find styles for hair loss that give extra depth and coverage to cover all bald spots, for example, the space in front of the ears and all the way down the nape of the neck.

Suburban Turban offers a range of different styles especially designed for hair loss.

‘Barge’ and ‘Baker Boy’ caps

Traditional baseball caps are one to avoid – any fitted style to the crown will not tilt or pull down. Although, interestingly, this is quite an accepted ‘look’ for male hair loss.

However, fabric caps sometimes known as Barge caps and Baker Boy caps can be softer to wear and have more fabric in them, without the obligatory baseball cap ‘cut out’ at the back

We recommend…

soft chemo cap for hair loss

Soft caps

Genevieve – £46.00

We recommend…

summer chemo hat olive green

Bucket hats

bucket hat for hair loss in leopard print

Showerproof hat – £24.17

Bucket Hats

These small-brimmed, fabric casual hats are good for a little summer shade and when worn tilted slightly back on the head can comfortably cover the neck. This is probably one of the most readily available styles on the High St. particularly in summer.

It is worth noting here that if you pull any hat square down on your head, it doesn’t look brilliant – it closes down the face and we look as if we are trying to hide beneath it.

Tilt the hat front to back a little, so that your eyebrows are displayed and the base of your earlobes and suddenly the hat looks intentional but more relaxed. However, this maybe considered more of an outdoor style because of its brim (see note later).

Beanie and Cloche hats 

Some may think this is a hard look for anyone over 19 to pull off (!), but there are many different shaped beanies and soft nuances in pattern which have a significant effect on the final item when worn.

The idea here is to add soft volume with fabric folds, print or texture. Anything too tight to the head, unless you are blessed with perfect bone structure, emphasises the shape of your face.

Many women style their hair to create volume – a soft frame around the head – and a hat that can replicate this effect will be flattering to wear and easier to wear well.

We recommend…

Beanies

Kimmy – £29.50

We recommend…

headband for thinning hair

Wide headbands

Silk Headband / Bandana

Headbands and scarves

Silk headband scarves can be a ‘grown-up’ way of managing bald spots as they come and go. Don’t think high school Alice bands – more volume is required so that the band looks thicker around the head.

There is also more width to a scarf, which means it can be opened out to cover the crown of the head/or the nape of the neck, or kept narrow to cover thinning hair at the temples. This particular item fits round the head exactly once, so there are no dangling scarf ends aka Princess Anne in the 70’s! It’s a lovely casual fashion accessory for now.

Why choose lightweight hats for hair loss?

Another top tip is to keep your hats lightweight: at Suburban Turban we make our hats to look like t-shirts or jumpers for a reason.

We know women with hair loss will need to wear our hats regularly indoors – into the supermarket, the office or school – and we don’t want them to look out of place. (Think arriving at a restaurant, ordering and meal and then keeping your coat on whilst you ate. It would look out of place.)

Outdoor hats are designed for outdoors – sun, rain, cold and to go with whatever you are wearing at the time. Our lightweight hats are designed with indoor wear in mind – central heating, lack of central heating and to fit in with what you are wearing indoors.

So hats for female hair loss are no ordinary hats – they can be, but you have know what you are looking for: depth of style, fabric print/texture/volume and type of fabric.

Whatever headwear you opt for, you can make it your own with a little time, perseverance and practice.

And that’s exactly why Suburban Turban is here – to help!

Read on for  – What Is The Best Hat For My Face Shape?