A neck strip or towel used under the cape during a service helps to:

Placing a clean neck strip or towel between the cape and the client's neck prevents the cape from touching the client's skin directly, which supports sanitation (the cape is not contacting bare skin of multiple clients) and adds comfort. Capes and linens should be clean for each client. This is part of proper draping and setup. It complements, but does not replace, disinfecting tools. Understanding the sanitary purpose of neck strips and clean linens is part of the service-setup and infection-control content.