A turban sits against your skin, your hair products and your make-up all day. It needs washing more often than most people assume — and it survives washing far better than most people fear, provided you don't put it in the machine.
The whole routine takes about five minutes of actual attention.
How often to wash
- Daily wear: every four to six wears.
- With oils, creams or leave-in products: every two to three wears.
- Occasion pieces: after each wear, or air them thoroughly if they were only on for an hour.
- Sensitive scalp or regrowth: more often, and always before the first wear.
The tell is usually the front band, where foundation and skin oils collect first.
The basic method: hand washing
This works for satin, knit and most textured fabrics.
- Fill a basin with cool water. Cool, not warm — heat is what sets stains and relaxes stretch fibres.
- Add a small amount of mild detergent. A teaspoon is plenty. Wool or delicates detergent is ideal; skip fabric softener entirely, as it coats the fibres and dulls satin's sheen.
- Submerge and press. Squeeze the fabric gently between your palms for a minute or two. Don't rub, twist or scrub — that's what causes pilling and misshapen bands.
- Rinse in clean cool water until the water runs clear. Residual detergent is a common cause of scalp itching.
- Press out the water. Lay the turban flat on a clean towel, roll the towel up with the turban inside, and press. Never wring.
- Reshape while damp. Fingers into the knot or bow, smooth the band, restore the shape you want it to dry in.
- Dry flat, away from heat. On a towel or a mesh rack, out of direct sun and off radiators. Usually four to eight hours.
Why not the machine? Even a delicates cycle puts the elasticated band under repeated tension and lets structured bows get crushed. It's the band and the shape that fail first, not the fabric.
Velvet: different rules
Velvet has a pile — raised fibres standing up from the base cloth — and the whole point of it is that the pile catches light. Crushing it flat is the one damage that's hard to undo.
- Spot clean first. Most velvet pieces never need a full wash. A damp cloth on the mark is usually enough.
- If you must wash it, use the method above but reduce handling to the minimum — a brief dip, a gentle squeeze, a rinse.
- Never iron velvet. Ironing flattens the pile permanently.
- Steam instead. Hold a steamer 15–20cm away, or hang it in the bathroom during a hot shower. The pile lifts as the fibres relax.
- Brush the pile back with a soft clothes brush while it's still slightly damp, always in one direction.
Treated this way, the pieces in the Velvet Edit keep their depth of colour for years.
Satin: keeping the sheen
Satin's shine comes from the smoothness of the weave, so anything that roughens the surface dulls it.
- Wash with other smooth fabrics only — never with towels or anything with a zip or Velcro.
- Skip fabric softener and optical brighteners.
- If it needs pressing, use the lowest heat setting with a cloth between the iron and the fabric, or steam it instead.
- Keep perfume and hairspray off it — alcohol marks satin, and the marks don't always come out.
Knit: preventing stretch and pilling
- Always dry flat. Hanging a wet knit stretches it out of shape under its own weight, permanently.
- Remove pills with a fabric shaver rather than pulling them off by hand — pulling takes yarn with it.
- Store folded, never on a hook.
Common problems, solved
Foundation or make-up on the front band
Treat it before it dries. Dab — don't rub — with a little mild detergent worked in with a fingertip, leave for five minutes, then wash as normal. Rubbing pushes pigment deeper into the weave.
The bow or knot has gone flat
Steam it lightly and reshape with your fingers while it's warm. For a structured bow, pad it out with a rolled-up sock while it dries and it will hold the shape.
The band has gone loose
Usually caused by heat — hot water, a tumble dryer, or drying on a radiator. Sometimes a cool wash and flat dry recovers some elasticity. Prevention is the only real fix. Styles with an adjustable tie are immune to this problem, which is one reason most of our range has one.
It smells even after washing
Detergent residue, usually. Rinse twice next time. For a stubborn case, soak for 20 minutes in cool water with a tablespoon of white vinegar, then rinse thoroughly.
Storage
How you store a turban matters as much as how you wash it.
- Store flat or lightly stuffed. A rolled-up scarf or tissue paper inside keeps the crown shape.
- Don't hang by the band. It stretches out over months.
- Keep velvet uncompressed. Don't stack anything heavy on top.
- Fold satin loosely, or roll it — sharp folds leave lines that need steaming out.
- Somewhere dry and out of sunlight. UV fades deep colours faster than washing does.
Travelling with one
Stuff the crown with a pair of socks and pack it upright in a corner of your case. It arrives with its shape intact and you've used space you were wasting anyway. Satin is the best traveller — it barely creases and what creases it does pick up drop out overnight.
The short version
Cool water, mild detergent, no wringing, dry flat, steam rather than iron. Do that and a good turban outlasts most of the rest of your wardrobe.
Not sure which fabric suits your hair in the first place? Start with our guide to satin, silk and cotton.
