Cotton, the One People Underestimate

Cotton has an image problem in hair accessories. Silk and satin get written about as though they were skincare; cotton gets treated as the budget option.

We make a great many cotton scrunchies, and they are among the ones customers come back for. Here is the case for it.

Not all cotton is the same cotton

The word covers an enormous range. A cheap cotton jersey and a Liberty-weight lawn are both cotton, and they behave nothing alike.

What separates them is the weave and the thread count — how fine the yarn is and how tightly it is packed. A fine, densely woven cotton is smooth to the touch and has almost no surface fuzz. A coarse, loosely woven one has thousands of tiny fibre ends standing proud of the surface, and those are what catch on hair.

This is the actual mechanism behind "cotton is rough on hair". It is not cotton that is the problem. It is badly woven cotton. A good quality printed cotton lawn is smoother against hair than a cheap polyester satin, whatever the marketing says.

What cotton does that satin cannot

It takes a print. This is cotton's real advantage and it is not a small one. The dyeing and printing processes that work on cotton produce crisp, saturated, detailed patterns that slippery fabrics simply cannot hold. Our cupcake print, the cherry motifs, the botanical leaves — none of those would be possible on satin. If you want a scrunchie with something actually on it, cotton is the answer.

It grips. Cotton has more texture than satin, which means it stays where you put it. For a working day, a gym session, or anyone with fine hair that defeats slippier fabrics, cotton holds better.

It washes. Cotton is by a distance the most forgiving thing we make. It takes a warm wash, tolerates being forgotten in a pocket, and comes back looking like itself. Satin and velvet both need thinking about. Cotton does not.

It breathes. Worn on the wrist all day in summer, cotton is simply more comfortable than a synthetic satin.

The honest comparison

For sleeping in, and for hair prone to creasing, satin is the better choice — a smoother surface means less kink and less friction. We would not pretend otherwise.

For everyday wear, for print, for grip, for durability and for not having to think about it, cotton is at least as good and usually better. Most people find they want both, for different days.

The embroidered ones

Some of our cottons are embroidered, and these are a slightly different proposition. Broderie anglaise, the pastel blue embroidery on the alabaster ivory, the botanical work — these are pieces where the cloth itself is the decoration.

Embroidered cotton needs a little more care, because embroidery threads can catch if they are pulled. Turn it inside out or pop it in a small bag if you are washing it with anything else.

How to wash a cotton scrunchie

Genuinely: however you like. Cool or warm hand wash with ordinary soap, or in a mesh bag on a gentle machine cycle if you must. Reshape the gather while damp, dry flat or on a line.

Cotton can be ironed if it has gone very creased, which is more than can be said for velvet. Warm iron, and go around the elastic rather than over it.

The cottons we currently have

Prints, mostly, and the sort you do not see elsewhere — because they come from remnants and end-of-roll pieces found on Goldhawk Road, a few doors from the studio. Cupcakes for birthdays, cherries and birds, leaves, small florals, and the plain crisp whites and ivories that quietly outsell everything.

When a cotton runs out, that is usually the end of it. Which is either a nuisance or the entire point, depending on how you look at it.

Regular and XL, both with our signature wide elastic.

→ Browse the cotton scrunchies

Next in the Fabric Library: the rarer cloths — taffeta, chiffon, brocade and crepe de chine.