The Pros and Cons of Silk Pillowcases

If you’re thinking of spending some of your hard-earned cash on a silk pillowcase, then you probably know that they don’t come cheap. So it’s something of an investment purchase. To decide whether it’s really worth it, though, you need to know about all the pros and cons of silk pillowcases.

From what a silk pillowcase can do for your hair and skin to how easy it is to care for, this article explores all the pros and cons of sleeping on silk. By the end of this piece, you should be able to make up your own mind about whether a silk pillowcase is worth the money. Let’s dive right into all the pluses and minuses associated with natural silk.  

Here are just some of the reasons why buying a real silk pillowcase can be a great idea!

1. Silk improves skin moisture levels

Sleeping on silk is great for your skin - and in fact your hair too. When you slumber on silk, this material absorbs far less moisture than cotton or man-made fabrics. This means that your skin can retain its natural moisture levels more easily. In fact, each strand of hair does too.

Not only that, but as silk takes in less moisture this means any creams, lotions, serums or other skin potions remain exactly where you put them. On your face, rather than the pillow. This means they can stay in place to work their magic overnight. So you reap the benefits of every last drop, rather than paying for a product that ends up on your bed linen instead of your skin.

2. Silk minimises the signs of ageing

Silk doesn’t only help your skin to stay hydrated. It also causes less drag on your skin, and doesn’t crease as easily as cotton. Night after night, less dragging of the skin leads to less wrinkling.

When you sleep on silk, you don’t wake up with pillow creases on your face either. If you want to wake up to youthful, hydrated skin every day, then you really do need to try replacing your cotton pillowcase with a silk one.

Over time, the positive benefits of using a silk pillowcase really begin to show - because you’ll develop fewer fine lines and wrinkles than you would have otherwise.

3. Silk is hypoallergenic

Pure, natural silk is also hypoallergenic. Which is great news for anyone who has sensitive skin. You only need to look at it to imagine how much more gentle silk is on the skin, due to the super smooth surface.

But it runs deeper than that. Silk is ideal for anyone who suffers from acne, eczema or psoriasis. Or indeed any other sensitive skin conditions. Sleeping on it can reduce irritation and flare-ups, so your skin looks and feels better than ever before.

4. Silk reduces frizz, tangles and hair damage

Silk is also so great for your hair. The fact that it’s so much sleeker than cotton means more than just comfort - though that’s obviously a pretty important factor. This smoothness reduces friction enormously, so your hair doesn’t get ruffled up so much during the night.

Which means you don’t wake up with a bedhead each morning. As there’s far less friction, tangling, frizz and damage to the strands is also dramatically reduced. The result is shiny, smooth hair that requires minimal styling each day. What’s not to love about that?

If you want to avoid static, a quick word about that. The worst culprit is synthetic materials, such as satin. It may seem like a viable and more affordable alternative to silk, but… don’t. Just don’t.

5. Silk is thermoregulating

Pure mulberry silk can even help to regulate your body temperature as you sleep. This means you have far less chance of waking up in summer because it’s stiflingly hot. It also means you shouldn't wake up in winter because you’re freezing cold - well not unless the duvet slipped off during the night and ended up on the floor, that is.

A silk pillowcase really comes into its own if you have a tendency to suffer from night sweats or hot flushes. Whatever the cause. Less chance of waking up during the night means you may catch more shut-eye than ever before. Who wouldn’t want that?

See why we overheat so much at night.

To balance things out, here are some of the downsides of choosing a silk pillowcase over one made from another type of fabric.

1. Silk is expensive

There’s no getting away from it. Silk is much more costly than cotton or man-made fabrics. A silk pillowcase costs more than just a few quid.

Look at what you get for your money, though. Silk cares for your hair and skin, helping both to look and feel their absolute best. It’s going to cause less irritation than cotton or synthetics, and less waking up due to being too hot or too cold. For an anti-ageing skin and hair care product that also looks great and feels amazing, it’s a pretty low price to pay.

2. Silk is high maintenance

So you have to handwash silk, right? Isn’t that a bit of a pain? Well it would be - if that was the case. But it’s not.

In fact silk can be washed in your machine on a 30 degree cycle, along with your other bedding. As long as you avoid temperatures that exceed that and stick to gentler detergents and programmes, it will be fine.

Drying silk is also easy. Ideally, lay it out flat to dry, but you can also hang it over a clothes airer. Pegs are best avoided due to the marks they can make, and in any case you should avoid direct sunlight as it may cause the colour to fade. Also give tumble drying a miss, due to the heat this generates.

You’ll probably even find that your silk pillowcase dries more quickly than your old cotton one. Which in a way makes it even more low maintenance. In fact, good quality mulberry silk is also much stronger than you probably think it is too!

Are you ready to try a silk pillowcase for yourself? Then check out the selection right here, all of which are available from a family-run, UK based company.