Jan 16 2008
Women’s Fashion Hats Today
Once the ladies hat was an essential accessory and no one dared go out of the house without a hat. Now, once again, a woman’s fashion hat is an essential accessory for today. Good winter warmer hats perform not only a fashion function, but a utilitarian one too.
Heat Loss and the Need for a Hat
Almost 50% of body heat loss is through the head and neck area. In our world of heated cars and centrally heated homes many people have simply forgotten that hats are a marvellous utilitarian fashion. If the skull region is kept warm, then the blood in the brain circulates properly to all parts and therefore makes our brain function much better. With a blood supply freely moving through the brain, we are able to continue performing tasks and go about our business. When we become very cold, especially when the wind chill factor is high in winter this activity slows down and all we can think about is how cold we feel. Concentration is lost and getting warmer is all that matters.
Without a protective covering, the head and neck becomes a very exposed area. In freezing weather up to 50% of body heat can quite rapidly be lost just in this area alone. Adequate headgear does not prevent heat loss, but because trapped air is a poor conductor of heat the hat helps provide an insulating layer. The trapped air keeps the head warmer. Without a hat in the wrong climatic conditions, hypothermia will occur much faster than when wearing a hat. In fact when someone does have hypothermia the first thing you should do is make sure their crown and neck is covered to prevent further heat loss which can be as much as 50% of body heat.
