Whether you favour a flannelette, a cotton or a fleece, for the most, pillowcases embody nothing more than a piece of material to decorate and protect your pillow. Silk, however, transforms this: working hard in both aestheticism and value, a pillowcase upgrade protects you. Vitamins, lotions, soaps, and serums overwhelm our searches for the latest beauty gold dust yet – for some reason – we consistently overlook one of the most fundamental elements of our life: sleep. Yes, we’ve heard it all before, the more sleep the better but as anyone living a normal life will tell you, this simply isn’t possible. However, the next best thing? Invest in a new pillowcase.
Silk is a fabric famous for its luxurious texture, a lightweight material that is simultaneously glossy and smooth, soft and glassy, essential but extravagant. In the beauty world, silk is fast becoming known as the antidote to our beauty woes. To help you navigate this new Princess-Esque bedtime essential, we’ve split the benefits up into the three main beneficiaries: hair, skin and sleep.
Benefits for Your Hair:
Waking up with a glamourous and stylish bedhead has never been easier! For most of us, our morning routine involves rigorous smoothing and brushing and straightening and teasing, frantically trying to erase the signs of restless sleep. Sleeping on silk, however, prevents these hours of pain. Commonly used by those with textured and curled hair, a silk pillowcase works wonders for signs of frizz and mess.
Being anti-static and retaining of moisture (19% less than normal synthetic materials) silk is a material that works with the natural movement and processes of your hair, reducing the impact and signs of sleep. Alongside this, the lack of opposition from the silk pillowcase helps to combat breakage and thinning which, no doubt, is something that your older self will thank you for.
Benefits for Your Skin:
In addition to keeping your hair in perfect condition, the smoothness of silk also works to reduce signs of aging. The softness of these pillowcases, and the subsequent lack of friction, reduces the impact of tossing and turning in the night. This is because the smooth fibers don’t catch or mark your face, in-turn reducing skin creases and the visibility of aging.
Hand in hand with this is the fact that silk is less absorptive than other synthetic materials. Although your skin might seem oilier in the morning, in keeping your skin moisturized the pillowcases lock in both your perfected skincare regime and your natural oils. In turn, this works to combat the dryness, unevenness and patchiness of your skin, helping to improve your complexion and help reduce signs of aging.
Lily Silk: 19 Momme Oxford Envelope Silk Pillowcase, (£36.00)
Neighborhood: Pure Silk Pillowcase With Washbag, (£35.00)
Benefits for Your Sleep:
Who doesn’t want to sleep like royalty? Except being the proud owner, there is nothing better than falling asleep in a luxuriously made bed. This alone will help you have sweater dreams. In addition, on a perhaps more practical note, silk pillowcases help regulate your temperature throughout the night. Unlike synthetic fibers, silk is identified as a more breathable material and so lets out excess heat throughout the night. As a colder temperature is proven to aid sleep, the pillowcase creates a blissful night sleep.
Like most things that become popular, the market of silk pillowcases is becoming associated with a confusing amount of choice and a hefty price tag. Whilst our Princess alter-ego dreamed of pure silk, this isn’t necessary. Opting for a faux silk pillowcase, a material that imitates the smooth texture, would provide much of the same benefits – just without the aching purse! When looking to buy a new pillowcase, focus on its material: textured or smooth, silky or woven, durable or a splurge?
At the end of the day, when your head finally rests against your pillow, anything smooth is better than not! So be it a cheap imitation or the finest blend, make the move towards silk and you won’t look back.
Words by Hannah Emery
Graphics by Frances Scott
