What is a Bouffant Cap?

Bouffant cap is a disposable lightweight protective head covering made of polypropylene non-woven material. It completely covers the ears and hair. Bouffant caps are essential in hospitals, food laboratories, factories and other places where cleanliness is important. There are various qualities and types of bouffant caps available.

This article will show you some of the best bouffant caps. It will give you a thorough understanding of bouffant caps. Including how bouffant caps are made, and how to choose the right size. Let's enter the world of bouffant cap knowledge.

Why is It Important to Choose the Best Type of Bouffant Cap?

To ensure a clean and hygienic environment, you must choose the right cap. The cap will tie your hair and cover your entire head, preventing your hair from blocking your vision and preventing dandruff and sweat from contaminating the environment. Choosing the right type of bouffant cap will increase your comfort while working. It also enhances the hygiene of your environment. 

For example, PP nonwoven Bouffant Caps are anti-static, breathable and biodegradable. These bouffant caps are comfortable to wear and environmentally friendly. Environment America has said that poor quality plastics that do not biodegrade naturally have a very negative impact on human health and wildlife. Bouffant caps made from poor quality plastic are not only a health hazard to the wearer, but also a continuing hazard to nature. The best type of bouffant cap for your needs will depend on what you are looking for. Read on to find out more.

The Best 7 Types of Bouffant Caps Introduced to You

There are many types of bouffant caps to choose from. There are many different types depending on their construction, material and level of protection. Here are the main 7 types to suit your needs.

Bowler Bouffant Caps

When caring for patients in the general ward, you need a bowler bouffant cap. It prevents hair and dandruff from falling out and contaminating the operating environment. If you are on a food processing line, you need a bowler bouffant cap. In compliance with HACCP, it keeps human contaminants out of the production process. Or maybe you're in the electronics industry, in a clean room. The bouffant cap meets the environmental standards of precision component manufacturing.

Structural features: composed of non-woven cap body, fixed ring and adjustable elastic band, the cap body opening set up arc-shaped adjustable tube.

Material Characteristics: Made of spunbonded nonwoven fabric. 

• Porosity 35%-45%, balanced breathability and dustproof performance. 
• The weight of single layer is 18-22g/㎡, taking into account the protection efficiency and lightness of wearing.
• Comply with GB/T 39380-2020 “Single-use sanitary products” standard.
• Sterilized by ethylene oxide, no need for secondary disinfection after opening.

Strip Clip Caps

The cap is made of polypropylene non-woven fabric, breathable and waterproof, with moderate elasticity and other characteristics, equipped with environmental protection rubber band fixation. Regular size covers 18-21 inches, white, blue, green and other colors to choose.

Structural characteristics: the top with vertical fold design, forming a strip-shaped fluffy space, to enhance the breathability. Lightweight, portable and dust filtering.

Advantage: Reduces the feeling of heatiness on the head, suitable for long time wearing.

• Hospitals
• Beauty salons
• Food processing
• Chemical industry
• Food service

Protective cap with ears

The basic structure is similar to that of a bowler bouffant cap. It is an extension of the bowler bouffant cap, extending the protective surface to the ears and back of the neck. 

They are classified into general grade and medical grade according to the level of sterilization and material. Medical grade caps are used for clinical hygiene in non-infectious areas. General grade caps are generally used for hair coloring operations in beauty salons and splash-proof operations in chemical workshops.

Sterilization surgical cap

Sterilized surgical caps are a type of medical grade bouffant cap. It is designed to prevent the surgical operator's hair from falling in the operating room during surgery, contaminating the sterile environment of the operating room. Surgical caps are mostly disposable surgical caps, made of non-woven fabric. When wearing the cap, first unfold the folded surgical cap, and then the brim of the cap needs to cover the front and back of the hairline and both sides of the ears above, so that the hair does not leak out. 

Advantage: The material is non-woven, lightweight and soft, waterproof, breathable, non-toxic, non-irritating, antibacterial, chemical resistant, environmentally friendly.

Core Characteristics: Grammage ≥25g/㎡, ethylene oxide sterilization, bacterial filtration rate ≥95%.

Applicable scenes: operating room, ICU and other highly sensitive areas.

Daily medical cap

Basic style of sterilized surgical cap, same material.  Grammage≥17g/㎡, breathable non-woven fabric, anti-foam penetration.  
Suitable for outpatient, general ward.

Anti-static bouffant cap

If you work in an electronic component manufacturing plant, where equipment is very sensitive to static electricity, it's a good idea to have an anti-static bouffant cap. This bouffant cap is made of anti-static polyester filament striped fabric, embedded with conductive fibers. Wear-resistant, breathable, anti-static, is a type of industrial-grade bouffant cap. It can effectively prevent static electricity caused by dust and debris falling from the body of the personnel in the clean room. The elastic band on the edge of the hat can be adjusted according to the size of the head, and it is comfortable to wear. Especially suitable for electronic components manufacturing workshop.

Oil-proof and water-proof bouffant cap

In the food processing industry, sometimes ordinary non-woven bouffant caps cannot meet the requirements. For example, in the fried food processing, ordinary non-woven fabric can not block the oil stains. This is where you need an oil-resistant bouffant cap. This cap is made by adding a PE film to the nonwoven fabric during the production process, which makes it resistant to oil, water and liquid splash. Suitable for food processing and machinery maintenance.

Which Materials Define the Type of High-quality Bouffant Cap?

The material of the bouffant cap is important for quality. Find out what quality you need in a cap and choose the right one.

Polypropylene (PP)

Conventional bouffant caps are made of polypropylene (PP) non-woven fabrics (≥95%) with a weight range of 10-30g/m2. Breathability ≥200mm/s, body diameter 18-21 inches (about 45.7-53.3cm), elastic elongation ≥150%. This kind of bouffant cap is suitable for most scenarios, economical, and most used, reaching more than 70%.

PET

PET non-woven fabric is the main material for strip clip cap, with a grammage of ≥10g/㎡. It has the advantage of being the most portable and the cheapest. Due to material and price constraints, the level of protection is average, and can only be used for simple hair fall prevention.

Medical grade PP+SMS composite cloth

Sterilized surgical caps are used in highly sensitive areas such as operating rooms and ICUs. It has the highest level of prevention and control standards. Therefore, the material used to make it is also the most complicated. It is made of medical grade PP non-woven fabric and SMS composite fabric through spunbond + meltblown + spunbond three processes. It is then sterilized by ethylene oxide with a residue level of ≤10µg/g. This guarantees: Sterility Assurance Level (SAL) ≤ 10-⁶, breaking strength ≥ 15N (to prevent intraoperative tearing), and the pH value of the extraction solution is strictly controlled at 5.4-7.6.

Wood pulp nonwoven fabric

Made of natural wood pulp and chemical fiber as raw material, non-woven material made by hydroentanglement composite technology, with both wood pulp liquid absorption and fiber structure stability. Biodegradable and environmentally friendly material, grammage ≥ 10g/㎡. Suitable for environmentally friendly scenarios.

Conclusion

It is important to choose the right non-woven bouffant cap for your needs. There are a variety of styles and materials of bouffant caps on the market, each type designed for a specific industry or usage environment. Whether it's to ensure hygiene, protect the environment or improve work efficiency, choosing a cap that meets your requirements is the key to safety and comfort.