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What are the Best Scrubs for Nurses? Today, we’ll be trying to that question with the 7 Best Nursing Scrubs for Male and Female Nurses.
Also, we’ll answer some of the most popular other questions when it comes to scrubs: What are the most comfortable scrubs? Which are the most flattering? What are the most affordable? What are the best scrubs for new nurses?
We’ve consulted with several nurses, nursing forums, and real life experience to find what scrubs nursing actually wear, why they were them and which ones are the best.
Also check out: The Best Nursing Shoes to go along with your new scrubs.
What Features You Should Look for in Nursing Scrubs
A simple question: what features should you look for? But, commonly overlooked. A lot of nurses and healthcare workers will go by whatever scrubs they see first in the store. However, you really should consider a few things before making your decision.
- Comfort: Obvious right? Well, having a good 4-way stretch scrub can go a long way and is often overlooked. In addition, look for scrubs that are made out of rayon, elastane or spandex.
- Durability: For most nurses, we wear the same scrubs basically every shift (with the exception of some pediatric nurses). You want your scrubs to be durability and last through many wash cycles.
- Functional: A lot of pockets can help improve your on-floor functionality tremendously. Having places to keep all of your supplies and tools is vital.
- Breathable: Having scrubs that are breathable is extremely useful. It helps prevent you from overheating or excessively sweating. You can always add layers if you get too cold!
- Color: Most hospitals or units require certain colors. Make sure that you are buying scrubs that come in your unit’s color.
- Style: A lot of nurses overlook style when it comes to scrubs. However, getting scrubs that are flattering or look good is important for self-image and mental health. It can also stir up some good conversations.
Now that you know some of the features to look out for in the best scrubs for nurses, let’s get into it!
Best Scrubs for Nurses
Now that you know what it takes to be the “Best Scrubs for Nurses”, we’ll explore some of our top options. Keep it mind that all of these scrubs are built for men and women.
FIGS Scrubs
While we’ve already done some in-depth reviews of FIGS Scrubs. We’ll go over some of the main pointers here.
FIGS are one of the top growing scrub brands right now. They’re very popular among young nurses. Why are FIGS so popular?
Well, they look great, feel great and perform great. To sum it up, they really have it all when it comes to a pair of nursing scrubs. While the downside is that they can be a bit pricey, but that’s the price you have to pay for custom scrubs.
They use a formula of Rayon, polyester and spandex to accomplish an incredible soft feel, 4-way stretch and breath-ability. They have become one of the more popular brands of jogger scrubs. And since, have slotted themselves in as very stylish and durable.
In addition to scrubs, they have a slew of options from masks to lab coats and hoodies.
Cherokee Infinity Scrubs
Next up is the Cherokee Infinity Scrubs. These are Cherokee’s premium scrub brand line Infinity.
While Cherokee does offer some more budget options, they do not compare to the shape, feel and usability of the Infinity series. These are one of our favorite scrubs for their versatility.
A lot of other scrub brands will delete (or withhold from including) a lot of pockets. This could be for many reasons, but some might include for design/fashion purposes. But, Infinity series scrubs, have all of the traditional pockets, plus more!
They have a surplus of storage which we fully appreciate. These paired well with some Vessi shoes that we previously checked out.
The Cherokee Infinity scrubs are made from 95% polyester and 5% spandex. This means that they are extremely stretchy and comfortable. Some other brands will add a touch of Rayon (form of bamboo) for some more softness, but you loose some of the stretch characteristics.
With the Infinity scrubs, you really retain a lot of the movement that polyester and spandex provide. We would highly recommend them for starter scrubs or nursing scrubs in general. These are some of the best scrubs for nurses.
Carhartt Scrubs
Carhartt might not be the first name you think of when you hear “nursing scrubs”. However, they make scrubs for both men and women.
They have some extremely comfortable scrubs, but our favorite was the Ripstop series. They are 55% cotton and 45% polyester. So, they aren’t the most stretchy scrubs, but they are very strong.
As the name “Ripstop” suggests, Carhartt makes some seriously tough scrubs. They are very durable. A few downsides is the lowered comfort levels that come from not having a lot of stretch. But, they will definitely last a long time through several washes.
Grey’s Anatomy Scrubs
If you have never heard of Grey’s Anatomy, then you should check it out (usually on Netflix). But, this is a show that later turned into a scrub brand. We have a full Grey’s Anatomy Scrubs Review already, but we’ll go over the basics here.
They’re easily one of the most popular scrubs among nurses over the past decade. Grey’s Anatomy scrubs are very popular for their revolutionary stretch design. A lot of other scrub companies copied them since, but still hold the title for one of the most flattering scrubs on the market.
The scrubs are made by BARCO and they use a mixture of Rayon and polyester for construction. This means that they are incredible soft while maintaining an aspect of “stretch”. However, there is no spandex in Grey’s Anatomy scrubs meaning that they aren’t as tight fitting as other scrubs.
JAANUU Scrubs
JAANUU Scrubs are some of the most unique nursing scrubs based on how they’re made. The materials they use are very different from other scrub brands. JAANUU uses a combination of 65% Rayon, 30% nylon and 5% spandex.
What does this mean? Well, this means that JAANUU scrubs are unbelievable soft. Rayon is a very soft material. It also has some stretch components to it and when combined with spandex, you get a 2-way stretch.
Nylon is also very stretchy and helps aid the spandex with the stretch component. There isn’t any other scrubs that use 65% Rayon though. This is a very, very comfortable blend.
So for nurses, this means that you will have a very comfortable fabric with medium movement characteristics.
DICKIES Scrubs
Why Dickie’s Scrubs? Well, they offer some of the best value when it comes to scrubs for nurses. Dickie’s has one of the most affordable 5% spandex, 95% polyester blends on the market. They come in at around $10 cheaper than Infinity scrubs.
But, what do you give up? Well, storage and design. The Dickie’s scrubs aren’t the most fashionable and they aren’t the most well-design (as far as pockets go). Infinity has not only more pockets, but in our opinion, a better design.
However, as mentioned before, Dickie’s scrubs are an awesome value and should not be looked over!
BARCO Butter-Soft Scrubs
As mentioned before, we already compared Butter-Soft Scrubs to some others. But, in-case you missed it, Butter-Soft scrubs are the original polyester scrubs. They are one of the legendary scrubs in the nursing world.
Why? – Because they’re made from a 65% polyester, 35% combed cotton blend. This is an extremely unique material choice that not a lot of other scrubs copy. It provides an extreme amount of softness and comfort (combed cotton) with a 4-way stretch (polyester).
While they aren’t as stretchy as something like Infinity scrubs, they are more comfortable (as far as straight feel goes). However, if you prefer a more stretchy, compliant scrub, you might like FIGS, Infinity, or Grey’s Anatomy better.
Just Love Scrubs
The Just Love Scrubs are similar to FIGS with an incredible comfort and feel. The Solid Stretch Series is our favorite. They use a blend of 93% polyester and 7% spandex to accomplish a 4-way solid stretch.
In addition, Just Love scrubs provide a very figure flattering design with women in mind. If you didn’t guess already, they don’t make men’s scrubs.
The Just Love scrubs have enough pockets and storage for everything you might need to store. In addition, they have reinforced stitching and high-quality fabric designed to last throughout many washes.
They’re extremely breathable, comfortable and will make you look great!
WonderWink Scrubs
WonderWink Scrubs have scrubs for both male and female nurses. They are unique because they are made from 100% polyester. This means that they have a very unique feel.
WonderWink also uses their signature color-pop drawstring and bungee loop. They are very popular among nurses for their flattering appearance and good looking design.
They are very comfortable to move around in without being too fragile. WonderWink scrubs can definitely put up with some use.
A lot of people wouldn’t know that they also make scrubs for men. And, they’re actually a great option for murses. They have the same 100% polyester feel, without the color-pop drawstring and bungee loop.
Cheap vs Expensive Scrubs
Throughout this list you’ll probably notice that a lot of these scrubs are not budget options. Why? Because, quite honestly there is a huge difference between cheap and expensive scrubs.
Typically you get a lot nicer, more breathable material with more expensive scrubs. You also get a more tapered design. A lot of the more expensive scrubs also have an abundance of pockets that are carefully thought out for nurses on the floor.
When comparing cheap and expensive scrubs, the most important comparison is the fit. You can tell with some of the more expensive scrubs that they really invest the time into the fit and finish.
FAQ
What Scrubs Should You Get for Nursing School?
Nursing students typically get scrubs provided or purchased through their respective schools. However, in the case that you work outside of clinical hours or your school allows you to pick your own, we’d recommend FIGS or Cherokee Infinity.
What Scrubs Should You Get as a New Grad Nurse?
What are the best scrubs for new nurses? We’d recommend any of the scrubs on this list. However, our favorite by far is the Cherokee Infinity Scrubs. They are great for new grads because they provide a lot of movement, comfort and breath-ability while still being very durable.
Another great choice for new grads are FIGS Scrubs. FIGS are one of the most common scrub brands you’ll see on the floors, especially with younger nurses, and for good reason! They provide a high amount of comfort and style while providing one of the most durable fabrics in the game.
What Are the Most Flattering Scrubs?
The most flattering scrubs, in our opinion, are probably Grey’s Anatomy Scrubs. Why? Well, Grey’s Anatomy scrubs just fall in the right way. The materials and structure of fabric that they utilize helps hide the unwanted parts.
What Are the Best Scrubs for Nurses?
It can be difficult to say what the BEST scrubs for nurses are. However, our favorites are; Infinity by Cherokee, FIGS, and Carhartt. A lot of female nurses really like WonderWink and JAANUU.
Final Verdict
So in the end what’s the best nursing scrubs? Well, that depends on you!
Realistically you could take a week to look at all of the different nursing scrubs. But, in the end if you want the best pair of scrubs we highly recommend FIGS Scrubs, Cherokee Infinity or one of Carhartt’s offerings.
These, in our opinion, offered the best balance between features, affordability, comfort and usability. While some female nurses might like other brands when compared to male nurses. We think that FIGS, for one, offers great options for both male and female nurses.
