Troops that are deployed to the Middle East often face hot temperatures of 130 degrees and higher. Troops wear them like ties around their necks, which gives them a feeling of a cool Linen Scarf on the back of their necks.A cool scarf is a strip of cotton woven fabric that has been filled nontoxic polyacrylamide granules (crystals) concealed in the casing of the Pashmina scarf. When the scarf is soaked in water for 15-30 minutes, the granules absorb the water, expand 400 times, and turn into a crystalline gel. The cotton fabric absorbs water from the gel, and then the water evaporates for a cooling effect. Pure Wool Scarf stay cool and moist for hours due to the polyacrylamide's water-retaining properties. When the pure wool shawls are allowed to dry, the gel returns to crystal form.