Scrub Color Meaning: What the Color of Your Scrubs Says About You

You really love the color red, and it flatters your hair color and skin tone. So obviously you should get red scrubs, right? Not so fast. Before purchasing scrubs, you also need to consider the associations that every color has, both in the culture at large and within the medical field specifically. Here's what you need to know about scrub color meanings.

The Significance of Scrubs in Healthcare

Scrubs are more than just a medical uniform. Men's scrub sets and women's scrub sets are vital for maintaining hygiene and professionalism within healthcare environments. The color of scrubs can convey significant information and set the tone for patient interactions.

Why Do Hospitals Color Code Scrubs?

Color coding plays a crucial role in hospitals by helping distinguish between different departments and personnel, enhancing operational efficiency, and aiding in the quick identification of a healthcare professional.

Scrub Color Meanings: Cultural Associations

Colors don't have any innate meaning in and of themselves. However, through society and cultural practices, colors take on various meanings and come to be associated with different values. For example, in Western cultures, blue is seen as calming and reassuring, while red is meant to catch your attention and possibly issue an alarm. When choosing the color of your scrubs, it's worth taking these cultural and societal associations into account.

You also need to consider the very specific associations these colors have within a medical context. Red might conjure up ideas of romance on Valentine's Day, but in a hospital, red just makes patients think of blood, which isn't very soothing. Some colors also have strong ties to certain subsets of the medical field. For instance, surgeons often wear green scrubs, while OB-GYN practitioners may wear light pink or purple. When choosing your scrubs, keep these connections in mind. You might not want to choose green scrubs if you don't work on a surgical team, for example.

Why Blue and Green Are Such Popular Scrub Colors

While scrubs are available in a wide variety of shades, by far the most common colors you'll see on a hospital floor are green and blue. This wasn't always the case. White was once the dedicated uniform of hospital workers. It evoked cleanliness and was easy to bleach. However, all-white uniforms could be fatiguing on the eyes, and they also made blood and other stains very vivid by contrast, which could unnerve patients. Over time, white medical uniforms were replaced with green and then blue scrubs.

Blue scrubs are among the most common in healthcare due to their soothing effect on patients. They promote a sense of calm and trust, making them a preferred choice for many nurses and medical professionals. Green scrubs are predominantly used in operating rooms. Their color helps reduce eye fatigue from bright surgical lights and provides high contrast against red, which is beneficial during operations. Our guide on what color scrubs nurses wear breaks this down further.

Both blue and green sit across the color wheel from red, so when mixed together, they result in a dark, muddy color instead of a vibrant shade. This made blood stains appear less vivid, a plus for medical uniforms, especially for surgeons who may frequently splatter their uniforms. Your eyes can also fatigue if you look at the same color for too long, so green and blue scrubs gave surgeons' eyes a break after looking at red-colored organs. Over time, green scrubs became closely associated with the operating room, so other departments began wearing blue to differentiate themselves. To this day, it's still common for surgical teams to wear green scrubs.

However, not every department is at risk of getting stains all over their scrubs. If you work at a general practitioner's office, you might only rarely get something on your cotton scrubs. In that case, you might be able to get away with a color other than green or blue that doesn't neutralize stains quite as well.

Additional Scrub Color Choices

Choosing the right color for your scrubs can be more than just a personal style statement. It can also reflect your role, department, or even celebrate special occasions and seasons. Below, we explore a few additional scrub colors and what they might signify in the healthcare environment.

#1 Wine Scrubs

Wine is a deep, sophisticated color that reads as rich and refined rather than flashy. It works well for healthcare professionals who want a more elevated, polished look than standard uniform colors offer, and it pairs easily with neutral layers for a put-together appearance. Wine can also be a distinctive choice for staff who want to stand out with a more subtle, elegant alternative to brighter uniform colors.

#2 Pink Scrubs

Pink scrubs are often worn to support breast cancer awareness, particularly in October. They also bring a softer, more comforting presence to patient interactions, making them a popular choice in pediatrics and women's health departments.

#3 Grey Scrubs

Grey scrubs are versatile and practical, offering a modern twist on traditional blue and green. They help hide stains well and are popular in both clinical and administrative settings for their professional appearance.

#4 Ciel Blue Scrubs

Ciel blue is a light, calming blue that's one of the most commonly chosen colors for scrubs. It's widely recognized in healthcare settings for its soothing effect and is often the standard for many hospitals and clinics.

#5 Purple Scrubs

Purple scrubs are a distinguished choice that blend the calm stability of blue with the energy of red. This color is often associated with spirituality and wisdom, making it a popular choice in settings that call for a thoughtful, nurturing approach, such as hospice care or psychiatric units.

How to Choose a Scrub Color

At some employers, you'll be told a specific color to wear that matches your position or department, and that's the end of it. In other cases, you'll have free rein to choose your color, or you'll be able to pick from a certain range of shades. When choosing a color, keep in mind that light shades show stains more easily than dark shades, and solid, dark colors tend to be more slimming if that's a consideration for you.

Darker colors also tend to project a more serious tone than lighter colors. If you like to mix and match your scrubs, neutrals give you more flexibility since you won't be limited to pairing certain tops with certain bottoms. It's also worth taking time to determine your skin tone, since that can help guide which shades flatter your complexion best. Keep in mind you might run a shade darker in the summer than in the winter if you tan.

Find the Right Color Scrub for You

You might be able to choose whatever color scrubs you want, but that doesn't mean scrub color meanings aren't worth considering as you shop. Keep these associations and style tips in mind as you search for your next set. If you have a specific hue in mind, browse our full range of women's and men's scrubs to find the perfect match.