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If you’ve ever experienced the head-splitting pain of a migraine, you know you’d do almost anything to get rid of it—including putting on a migraine cap. Yes, yes, the idea of donning an ice cap, essentially strutting around with a well-fitted cold pack on your cranium, sounds a little ridiculous. But headache hats can be a powerful pain relief tool for managing a serious chronic condition.
Cold therapy has been the gold standard in DIY migraine relief for decades thanks to the numbing effect of a good ice pack. One 1986 study published by the National Institutes of Health found that using a cold gel pack in addition to headache medication helped bring 52% of participants immediate relief (with nearly three in four saying the cold therapy helped overall). Just because it’s an old trick doesn’t mean it isn’t a highly effective one.
Luckily, you don’t have to walk around holding a reusable ice pack to your head until your headache goes away—the internet is full of purpose-built headache relief caps. Here, we’ve rounded up the most highly recommended migraine caps, according to reviewers on Amazon, to add to your arsenal of migraine relief products.
With over 21,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, this head-shaped gel ice pack is the Bentley of headache hats. “As someone who is neurodivergent and chronically ill, I’m always looking for products/gadgets/life hacks to make life more manageable,” one reviewer wrote. “This product solves all my problems. The texture reminds me of those gel wrist rests/mouse pads for your computer with spandex-y material on the outside. For any sensory-seekers out there, it’s really satisfying.”
TheraIce Form-fitting Gel Ice Thera Relief Cap
This acupressure migraine relief cap is highly rated for good reason: It’s machine washable, accommodates a ponytail, and is adjustable so you can find the most comfortable fit. In addition to its cold therapy effects, this migraine hat is designed to give your head a gentle squeeze, which can help alleviate the pain of sinus and tension headaches.
Magic Gel Migraine Ice Head Wrap
Need migraine relief on the go, you say? The original Headache Hat, which looks like a black puffer beanie, is actually kind of chic. Underneath the streetwear-ready exterior, it features 24 reusable ice cubes in an adjustable compression band. You can control both the tightness and the placement of the cold cubes, which stay icy up to two hours. And if your environment simply becomes too much, you can pull the hatband down over your eyes for some portable cold compress sensory deprivation.
The only thing worse than a migraine is migraine pain that starts radiating down your neck. This highly rated comprehensive cold therapy kit includes a headache hat and a specially designed neck wrap and has 4.4 stars on Amazon. According to customer reviews, the cooling therapy lasts for hours.
ComfiTech Migraine-Relief Cap & Neck Ice Pack Wrap Gel
Also in the Migraine Caps as Fashion category is this little number, giving jaunty garden gnome. The reversible headache hat is constructed with gel packs that can be used for either cold therapy or heat therapy. Pro tip: Put it in the fridge instead of the freezer to avoid an uncomfortable ice pack situation that can exacerbate head pain.
SOOTHIE Headache Relief Hat and Migraine Relief Cap
This migraine headache relief cap is constructed out of one thick piece of gel (rather than individual ice packs) for all-over pain and stress relief. Because of its flexible cylindrical design, reviewers note that you can repurpose it as a cold pack for other needs, such as knee pain or foot pain. It even comes in an avocado print, because, well, why not?
Vanlon Migraine Anxiety Relief Cap
A slightly more discreet option, this continuous soft gel cap looks like a regular beanie that you can pull over your eyes for ultimate migraine relief. It’s “weirdly more comfortable” than expected, according to one reviewer, and stretchy enough to wear to bed as an eye mask alternative. Pop it in the fridge for cooling relief or the microwave for some reusable hot therapy.
Macaela MacKenzie is a writer and editor specializing in wellness. She writes about self-care, mental health, fertility, and women’s equality with a focus on breaking down stigmas in women’s health. She’s the author of Money, Power, Respect: How Women in Sports Are Shaping the Future of Feminism.
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