What is the Best Head Protection for Figure Skating and Ice Skating

The Best Head Protection for Figure Skating and Ice Skating

Figure skating and ice skating are elegant sports, but the surface is unforgiving. A skater can catch an edge, lose balance, collide with another skater, miss a landing, or fall backwards.

When the head strikes ice, the impact can be sudden, hard and angled. That matters because angled impact causes a sudden acceleration and deceleration of the head where the brain moves both in a linear direction and rotates inside the skull. This acceleration-deceleration of the brain can result in widespread brain damage (neuronal, cellular and vascular), with bleeding, bruising, and swelling in the brain ^[2].

The best head protection for ice skaters is designed to reduce the transmission of rotational forces.

Why Ice Skaters Need to Think About Brain Protection

Ice skating injuries are often discussed in terms of wrists, ankles, knees and hips. But head injury is also part of the skating risk profile.

Canadian winter-sport injury surveillance recorded ice-skating injuries presenting to emergency departments between October 2016 and January 2024. In that dataset, traumatic brain injuries accounted for 11.3% of hospital admissions related to ice skating ^[3].

Research from the United States has also highlighted head injury risk in ice skating. A study published in Pediatrics reported that head injuries accounted for 20% of ice-skating injuries in the study population, a higher proportion than in roller skating or in-line skating ^[4].

Traumatic brain injury is not uncommon in ice skating, and brain protection deserves serious attention in a sport where speed, balance, body rotation and a hard frozen surface come together.

What Happens When a Skater Hits Their Head on Ice?

When a skater falls and the head contacts the ice, the skull may stop suddenly while the brain continues to move inside the skull. If the impact is angled, the head may also rotate sharply.

That rotational motion is important.

A direct, straight-line force can move the brain forwards and backwards. A rotational force will twist the brain, creating strain across neural tissue, blood vessels and supporting structures.

Rotational acceleration produces higher strain within the brain than linear acceleration alone, making it highly relevant to sports brain injury risk ^[1].

In skating, this is especially relevant because falls are rarely perfectly straight. A skater may rotate during a jump, turn suddenly on an edge, slip sideways, or fall backwards while the body continues to move.

The result can be a head impact that is not just hard, but rotational.

Why Rotational Forces Matter in Figure Skating Falls

Figure skating is built around rotation. Jumps, spins, turns, transitions and edge work all involve controlled movement around an axis. When that control is lost, the body may continue rotating as the head approaches the ice.

A skating fall can involve:

• direct contact between the head and ice
• sudden deceleration of the skull
• twisting movement of the head and neck
• continued body rotation after the head contacts the surface
• rotational force transmitted to the brain

This is why brain protection should not be judged only by thickness or softness. A product can feel padded and still fail to address the rotational forces most closely associated with brain injury.

For figure skating and ice skating, the strongest protection strategy is one that asks: How do we reduce the rotational forces reaching the brain?

What Should Figure Skaters and Ice Skaters Look for in Head Protection?

The best head protection for skating must work with the realities of the sport. Skaters need freedom of movement, balance, comfort and confidence. If protection feels bulky, distracting or restrictive, it is unlikely to be worn consistently.

Brain-focused design

The priority should be protection designed around the brain, not only the surface of the head. For skating, this means paying attention to rotational force transmission.

Low-profile fit

Figure skaters and recreational skaters are more likely to accept head protection if it feels natural, discreet and compatible with training.

Secure positioning

Protection must stay in place during jumps, spins, turns, edge changes and falls.

Comfort during training

Skaters repeat movements for long sessions. Head protection should feel comfortable enough to wear throughout practice, not only during higher-risk drills.

Evidence of testing

Skaters, parents and coaches should look for clear performance claims, credible independent test results, and a precise explanation of what the product is designed to protect.

Rotational force reduction

For brain protection, this is the key criterion. The most relevant question is not simply whether the product cushions impact, but whether it is designed to reduce rotational force transmission.

Why Rezon Halos Are Different

Rezon Halos® are designed as brain protection for sport. Unlike conventional padded headguards, Halos® uses patented Rotection® technology to reduce rotational force transmission during head impacts ^[1].

For figure skating and ice skating, this distinction matters because many skaters currently wear nothing on the head. The relevant step forward is not necessarily bulky protection that changes how skating feels. It is low-profile protection designed around the forces associated with brain injury.

Why Halos®:

• up to 61% reduction in rotational force transmission
• 74% concussion risk reduction ^[5].
• Virginia Tech 5-Star safety rating
• CE/UKCA Category II PPE certification ^[6].

Rezon Halos® is focused on reducing rotational force transmission in head impacts, one of the key mechanical pathways associated with brain injury.

Halos® is the only non-helmeted head protection to achieve both CE/UKCA Category II PPE certification and a Virginia Tech 5-Star safety rating.

What Figure Skating Injury Research Shows

Figure skating has a meaningful injury burden, particularly among young and competitive athletes.

A Swedish study of young female competitive figure skaters found that one-third had sustained a severe injury episode during the previous year, and one-fifth reported an ongoing injury episode ^[7].

Skate Canada’s concussion protocol also recognises that concussion can occur during lessons, practice, training or competition, and sets out a structured process for assessment and return to skating ^[8].

That study was not only about head injury, but it supports a broader point: figure skating is physically demanding, repetitive and injury-prone. Brain protection should sit within that wider athlete-health conversation.

The available concussion literature in figure skating also indicates that the issue is under-discussed. A 2025 clinical commentary on return-to-sport strategy for elite figure skaters noted that sport-related concussion data in figure skating remain limited, while also reporting that one cross-sectional figure skating sample found 27% of participants had experienced at least one concussion ^[9].

This is why skating needs clearer education on brain protection. The risk is real, but the public conversation is still developing.

What happens when the head strikes the ice – A real-life example

A curler and former NHS Physiotherapist, Rob, shares his story about falling and striking his head on the ice.

Different sport. Same surface. Same head-impact problem.

For figure skaters and recreational ice skaters, this is a useful real-world reminder. Ice does not forgive in the way grass or turf might. When the head meets the ice, the transmission of rotational forces to the brain can be sudden and the consequences can be severe.

Watch: A curling testimonial showing how quickly a fall on ice can become a head-impact event. Different sport, same surface, same reason to think seriously about brain protection.

Best Head Protection for Figure Skating and Ice Skating: Summary

The best head protection for figure skating and ice skating is protection that addresses the rotational forces most relevant to brain injury. Because skating falls often involve angled impact, rotational force reduction is especially important. Rezon Halos® are designed to reduce rotational force transmission during head impacts, offering low-profile brain protection for skaters who want protection without compromising movement, balance or comfort.