We’ve received this question many times: “I heard bamboo caps are great. Why don’t you use that fabric?” Here’s why we’re not such big fans…
The advantage of bamboo viscose as a base for chemo caps and chemo scarves? It’s a soft, fluid fabric that feels silky to the touch. It makes sense that many brands choose it for delicate headwear for people experiencing hair loss due to chemotherapy or alopecia.
Silk? No, thank you…
When we started searching for the right materials for our Rosette la Vedette chemo hats and scarves, we immediately knew silk wasn’t an option: it’s too smooth and tends to slip off your head — and you want your chemo scarf to stay comfortably in place all day, right?
Why we prefer not to use bamboo
So what about bamboo caps — meaning chemo caps made from bamboo viscose? “But isn’t bamboo incredibly soft and non-slip? And isn’t it really trendy, too?” Maybe so, but when we asked test users to try our caps in different materials, they all came back with almost the same feedback: bamboo caps stretched out too quickly.
The fabric lost its shape, making the chemo cap feel loose and saggy. Not flattering in terms of silhouette — and it didn’t feel secure either.
Washing bamboo caps more often, hoping they would shrink slightly and fit better again, didn’t help. Frequent washing made the fabric pill faster, leaving small fuzzy bobbles. A pity, since bamboo caps are usually quite pricey…
The benefits of our viscose
‘Regular’ viscose came out best in our tests. It absorbs moisture well, is soft and supple, lightweight, and feels cool when you’re warm. But also — and this is the big one! — regular viscose keeps its shape: it stretches out far less quickly than bamboo viscose.
But isn’t viscose synthetic? Does it breathe enough? A common misconception! Viscose is semi-synthetic: it’s a man-made fibre originating from natural cellulose, and it feels as comfortable as natural cotton. You won’t get that sweaty, suffocating feeling — promise.
There’s a reason loyal customers write to tell us their chemo caps feel so comfortable they almost forget they’re wearing them. And that’s exactly what we aim for, right?
