Scrub fabric blends explained: polyester, rayon, spandex

Short answer

Most modern scrubs blend polyester for durability and color, rayon for softness and spandex for stretch.
Published blends we checked range from 3% to 7% spandex, and one uses rayon and nylon instead of polyester.
Care labels differ: a 55/45 cotton-poly Dickies top allows 60°C, while some poly-rayon tops say 30°C or cold.
If your employer expects hot washes, check the care label before you buy.

In this guide (9 sections)

What does each fiber do in scrubs?
What percentages do real scrubs use?
What does 4-way stretch mean on scrubs?
Polyester blend or cotton scrubs: what is the trade-off?
Worked example: matching a fabric to a 60°C policy
How do I read a scrubs fabric label?
How do you make blended scrubs last?
Do antimicrobial finishes change the fabric?
What to check before you act

Most scrubs sold today are polyester, rayon and spandex blends. In Cherokee's own description, polyester holds color and resists shrinking, rayon adds softness and breathability, and spandex adds stretch. The percentages change how a garment feels, and the care label changes how hot you can wash it: in the styles we checked, a cotton-poly top allowed 60°C while poly-rayon-spandex tops said 30°C or cold.

This page explains each fiber, then shows published blends for five styles with the care label and price we saw. It is data, not a ranking.

What does each fiber do in scrubs?

Cherokee's blog (21 March 2026) gives a plain description of the three common fibers. It calls polyester "the workhorse" of the blend.

Fiber	What it adds, as described by the source	Source
Polyester	Holds color through repeated washing; resists breaking down and shrinking	Cherokee blog, 21 Mar 2026
Rayon	Softness and breathability	Cherokee blog, 21 Mar 2026
Spandex	Stretch, so the fabric moves without straining at seams	Cherokee blog, 21 Mar 2026
Nylon	Used in place of polyester in Jaanuu's ULTRAsoft, marketed as "maximum stretch"	Ninja Transfers listing
Cotton	NHS England prefers natural fibers where possible for comfort	NHS England guidance, 2 Apr 2020

Cherokee is a scrubs brand, so this is a seller's description. We have not tested any fabric. The table reports what the named source says.

What percentages do real scrubs use?

These are published compositions for five styles. Prices and care labels are as seen on the named page on 23 October 2026. Prices change, currencies differ, and some pages are resellers rather than the brand.

Brand / style	Composition	Care as published	Sizes listed	Price seen	Where
FIGS, FIONx fabric	72% polyester / 21% rayon / 7% spandex	Cold wash, inside out, tumble dry low	Not given	Not given	All Custom Wear (reseller help page)
Barco Grey's Anatomy Kim GRST001 (women's top)	74% polyester / 23% rayon / 3% spandex	30°C	XXS–XXL in size guide	€49.00 incl. tax	medi-shop.gr
Healing Hands Purple Label 2167 Jane (women's top)	77% polyester / 20% rayon / 3% spandex	"Machine washable", no temperature given	XXS–5XL (US 5XL = AU 6XL)	AU$28.17 ex GST, sale (was AU$54.00)	medshop.com.au
Jaanuu W30003, ULTRAsoft	65% rayon / 30% nylon / 5% spandex	Not given	XXS–XL	From US$43.36 (retail US$84.99)	Ninja Transfers (reseller)
Dickies 81906 (men's top)	55% cotton / 45% polyester poplin	60°C, light spin, cold iron	XS–XXL	€32.50 incl. tax	medi-shop.gr

What the table shows:

Polyester dominates four of the five styles, at 45% to 77%.
Spandex ranges from 3% to 7%. FIONx has the most of the styles listed.
Jaanuu's blend has no polyester. It is rayon-led with nylon.
Only the cotton-rich Dickies top was labeled 60°C.

Brand pages for FIGS and Cherokee could not be fetched when we checked, so some figures come from resellers. Check the label on the garment you receive.

What does 4-way stretch mean on scrubs?

It is a stretch claim used in product copy. The All Custom Wear page describes FIGS FIONx as four-way stretch, and that fabric lists 7% spandex, the highest share among the styles above.

None of the sources we checked set a minimum spandex share for using the phrase. Compare the composition line rather than the slogan. The NHS England national uniform, for example, is described by one trust as lightweight and breathable with an extra 10% stretch, which tells you more than a slogan would.

Polyester blend or cotton scrubs: what is the trade-off?

Based on the sources above, the trade-off is mostly about care and comfort:

Polyester-rich blends are described by brands as color-fast and shrink-resistant. The ones we checked carried 30°C or cold-wash labels.
Cotton-rich blends such as the Dickies 55/45 top allowed 60°C. NHS England's guidance prefers natural fibers for comfort, especially mentioning menopause and peri-menopause.
Rayon adds softness but appears alongside cool-wash labels in every style above that gives a temperature.

NHS England's 2020 guidance tells employers to consider wash temperatures before buying, and to avoid low-temperature-only or dry-clean-only items. If you buy your own scrubs in the UK, that advice applies to you too.

Worked example: matching a fabric to a 60°C policy

Say your trust's policy asks staff to wash at 60°C, in line with NHS England's advice to use the hottest temperature the fabric allows.

The Kim top's published care is 30°C. Washing it at 60°C goes against the label.
The FIONx fabric's published care is a cold wash. Same problem.
The Dickies 81906's published care is 60°C. It fits the policy as written.

This is not a recommendation to buy any of them. It shows why reading the care label is the first step. Derbyshire Community Health Services hit the same issue with the national uniform: in June 2026 it stopped embroidering polo tops because embroidered garments can't be washed at 60°C.

Our guide to how to wash scrubs explains what NHS and CDC guidance says about temperatures. For sizing across these brands, see scrub size charts.

How do I read a scrubs fabric label?

Take the Barco Grey's Anatomy Kim top as a worked example. Its published composition is 74% polyester, 23% rayon and 3% spandex, with a 30°C care rating.

Largest share first. At 74%, polyester leads, so by Cherokee's description you would expect color hold and shrink resistance to be the selling points.
Softness share. 23% rayon is the softness and breathability part of the blend.
Stretch share. 3% spandex is at the low end of the styles in our table. FIONx, at 7%, has more than twice as much.
Care line. 30°C is the maximum the label allows. That number, not the fiber names, decides whether the top fits a hot-wash policy.

Do the same for any garment: largest fiber, then stretch share, then the care line. Fabric brand names such as FIONx or ULTRAsoft tell you less than the percentages.

How do you make blended scrubs last?

Cherokee's March 2026 blog gives care tips aimed at fabric life, not infection control:

Wash in cold water to protect color.
Dry on low or medium heat, or air dry, and avoid high-heat tumble drying.
Turn scrubs inside out to cut fading and pilling.
Don't overfill the washer.
Keep scrubs apart from denim, towels and anything with zips or Velcro.

The cold-wash advice can clash with workplace hygiene rules, which ask for the hottest wash the fabric allows. Where the two conflict, your employer's policy comes first.

Do antimicrobial finishes change the fabric?

Some blends carry a named treatment. FIONx and Jaanuu ULTRAsoft are both listed with Silvadur. That is a finish, not a fiber, and it does not appear in the composition percentages. What it can legally claim is a separate question, covered in do antimicrobial scrubs work?

What to check before you act

Read the composition line, not the fabric's brand name.
Read the care label for the maximum wash temperature.
Compare that temperature with your employer's laundering policy.
Treat reseller specs as secondary; confirm on the brand's own site.
Prices here were seen on 23 October 2026 and will change.

Questions people ask

What fabric are scrubs made of?

Most styles we checked are polyester, rayon and spandex blends; others use cotton-poly or rayon-nylon. Brands describe polyester as resisting shrinking and fading, rayon as soft and spandex as stretchy.

What does polyester rayon spandex mean in scrubs?

It is a three-fiber blend. Cherokee describes polyester as giving color retention and shrink resistance, rayon as adding softness and breathability, and spandex as adding stretch.

Can polyester rayon spandex scrubs be washed at 60 degrees?

Check the label. The poly-rayon-spandex tops we found were labeled 30°C or cold wash, while a 55% cotton, 45% polyester Dickies top was labeled 60°C.

Are cotton scrubs better than polyester?

They behave differently. NHS England's guidance prefers natural fibers where possible for comfort and asks employers to consider whether fabrics can be washed hot. Polyester blends are usually promoted for durability and color.

How much spandex do scrubs have?

In the styles we checked, between 3% and 7%. FIGS FIONx is listed at 7% spandex, and the Barco Grey's Anatomy Kim and Healing Hands Purple Label tops at 3%.

General information only, not medical, legal or employment advice. Your employer's uniform and laundry policy comes first, and brand specs and prices change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Sources

Durable scrubs: how to choose (Cherokee Uniforms blog, 21 Mar 2026)checked October 23, 2026
FIGS FIONx fabric (All Custom Wear help center, reseller)checked October 23, 2026
Barco Grey's Anatomy Kim GRST001 women's scrub top (medi-shop.gr)checked October 23, 2026
Healing Hands Purple Label 2167 Jane top (Medshop Australia)checked October 23, 2026
Jaanuu W30003 (Ninja Transfers, reseller listing)checked October 23, 2026
Dickies 81906 men's scrub top (medi-shop.gr)checked October 23, 2026
Uniforms and workwear: guidance for NHS employers (NHS England, 2 Apr 2020)checked October 23, 2026
National uniform rollout: further update, 3 June 2026 (Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS FT)checked October 23, 2026