How to Wash and Care for Your Lona Scott Cashmere

Your Cashmere Gets Better With Every Wash (If You Do This)

I'm about to tell you something that sounds wrong: your cashmere scarf should feel better after ten washes than it did when you first unwrapped it. Not just clean - actually softer, slightly fuller, more itself. That's not marketing speak. It's what happens when you wash Grade A cashmere properly.

The catch? Most people don't.

Why Your Cashmere Actually Wants Water

Cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of cashmere goats, grown at high altitude in harsh climates. These fibres evolved to handle moisture - morning dew, snow, the occasional downpour. The problem isn't water. The problem is heat, agitation, and the wrong detergent.

When you wash cashmere correctly, you're essentially giving those fibres a chance to bloom. Grade A cashmere (which all our cashmere scarves use) has a micron count of 14-15.5 - incredibly fine, but also resilient. Each fibre has tiny scales that, when treated gently, lie flat and create that signature soft hand-feel.

How to Hand Wash Cashmere: The Actual Method

Fill a basin with cool water - genuinely cool, not "I tested it with my wrist and it feels fine" warm. Add a capful of wool-specific detergent (or baby shampoo in a pinch). Never regular detergent, which is formulated to strip oils that cashmere needs.

Submerge your cashmere completely. Let it soak for 10-15 minutes. Then - and this is crucial - don't agitate it. No rubbing, no wringing, no "I'll just scrub this one spot". Gently press the water through the fibres. Think of how you'd wash your own hair after a keratin treatment: carefully.

Rinse in cool water until it runs clear. Press (don't wring) excess water out. Roll the item in a clean towel and press again. Lay flat on a dry towel away from direct heat.

That's it. No tumble drying, no radiator draping, no hanging. Flat drying is the secret to keeping your cashmere jumper the same size and shape as when you bought it.

How Often Should You Wash Cashmere?

Wash your cashmere after 5-7 wears, or when it genuinely needs it. Cashmere naturally resists odours - those fine fibres don't trap bacteria the way synthetics do. Between wears, air your pieces out for a few hours. Most of what people think is "dirty" is just compressed fibres that need air.

For cashmere wraps and stoles that don't touch your skin directly, you might stretch that to 10+ wears. Your cashmere beanie that you wore skiing? Wash it.

The Pilling Question Everyone Asks

Pilling isn't a sign of poor quality - it's a sign of friction. The fine fibres tangle into tiny balls where your bag strap rubs your shoulder or your jumper meets your coat. Higher quality cashmere pills less, but even Grade A, 2-ply cashmere will pill eventually in high-friction areas.

The solution: a cashmere comb. Not scissors (you'll create holes), not a razor (same problem), but a proper comb that catches pills and pulls them away without damaging the base fabric. Do it gently after washing while the item is still slightly damp. This actually improves the surface because you're removing damaged fibres.

What About Dry Cleaning?

You can dry clean cashmere, but you don't need to. Dry cleaning uses harsh chemicals (perchloroethylene, specifically) that are effective but ultimately harder on natural fibres than gentle hand washing. The textile experts who make our lambswool scarves and cashmere? They recommend hand washing.

Dry cleaning makes sense if you've spilled red wine on your cashmere jumper or need something cleaned quickly. For regular maintenance, your bathroom sink is better.

The Storage Part Nobody Talks About

Once your cashmere is completely dry - and I mean bone dry, which takes 24-48 hours - fold it and store it flat or loosely rolled. Never on a hanger, which creates shoulder dimples in knits. Add cedar or lavender if you're storing pieces seasonally, but the real enemy is moths, which are attracted to body oils and food particles you missed.

This is why washing before storage matters more than washing after. A clean cashmere jumper stored properly will emerge next autumn exactly as you left it.

Proper care isn't complicated - it's just specific. Browse our full collection of cashmere and lambswool, and know that everything you choose is designed to last for years with this simple routine. That goes for cashmere jumpers, blankets, gloves, and slippers too.