Silk pillow: miracle solution for hair and skin?!

Let’s talk about that stuff that caterpillars spit out and spin, are boiled with and that finally is made into your pillow, scrunchie or eyemask. Silk. Is a silk pillow good for your hair and skin?

Silk has its own allure and aura of desirability. The Chinese guarded the secret of how silk is made jealously, until the knowledge was smuggled out in the Middle Ages. 

When the secret got out, silk was so sought after that people would pay incredible amounts for silk, because it was light, but still tough. So tough, people would actually strengthen armour with silk. Nowadays, silk has made its way into the beauty industry. The question is: will it make your hair less brittle and frizzy, and help to prevent wrinkles? Let’s find out.

How silk is made (no, it’s neither vegan nor cruelty-free)

Silkworms (larvae from silk moths) spin cocoons from secretion called liquid silk that solidifies when coming into contact with air. In just a few days, the caterpillar spins about 1 mile of silk filaments. The cocoons are then heated or boiled, a process in which the caterpillar dies, and the cocoon unwinds.

The production of Ahimsa silk allows the the caterpillar to leave the cocoon to transform into a moth, but the process leaves a hole in the cocoon, thus leading to shorter strands with inferior quality.

Sustainability

There’s a discussion around the question if silkworms can feel pain (Better Meets Reality), but let’s assume that silk is not exactly cruelty-free. You need about 2500 cocoons to make a pound of silk – a rather staggering number.

Silkworms only thrive on mulberry trees. Their leaves are all they need. The amount of water needed to manufacture silk (especially compared to cotton) is small, as well as the Carbon emission (Good on You).

Silk pillows

What they’re supposed to do

Moisturise

Silk fabrics tends to repel water, because they’re pretty non-absorbent. Which is not great for when you’re wearing a silk shirt in Summer: even if the fabric is super light and breezy, you’ll sweat like a §$!&/%%$ under it. What’s horrible for a clothing situation is actually great when you’re sleeping on it: different to cotton that’s VERY absorbent, it won’t suck both moisture and all the nice extras in your skincare right out of your skin. (I’m exaggerating, but you get the picture.)

Prevent hair breakage

Fabric made from silk is very, very smooth, while other fabrics (like cotton) can rough up strands, making it knotty and frizzy.  

Wrinkle prevention

Sleep wrinkles are caused by smooshing your face against a pillow. That may cause collagen to break down (the skin looses elasticity, especially when you always sleep in the same position) in those areas. When sleeping on silk, your skin rather slides than pull on the fabric of your pillow, which diminishes the danger of getting sleep creases and wrinkles on your face.

Performance

I’ve been lemming a silk pillow case for a looooong time, but finally took the plunge when my local Tchibo (part coffee roaster, part novelty store) released double-sided ones (one side silk, the other cotton) for a reasonable price of 30€ for my 80x80cm pillow.

I lovingly stroked the silk side, put it on my pillow and – GAH!

But here’s the more articulated version.

Hair benefits

Did I wake up with less frizzy bedhead? I can’t properly say. Maybe? I just changed a lot of my haircare around the time I started to sleep on my silk pillow, and that generally resulted in less frizz. When I heat-styled it, though, it held up for a longer time when I was sleeping on the silk side.

Skin benefits

So, here’s the good news: NO sleep wrinkles, ever, no matter how much I face-planted into my pillow. (And I’m usually very prone to them.) That’s a definitive win, right? But (and here’s the but) – to my total surprise, I absolutely hate the feeling of silk on my skin – at least on my face. (I love my silk shirts and skirts with a passion, so that came as a bit of a surprise.)

The reason for this is that that the fabric sticks to product residue on my face with the strength of cling film, and results in the same feeling: I feel like I’m stuck on plastic when I lie on it. Result: I absolutely hate it.

Recommended?

While I think a silk pillowcase has definitely benefits for both face and hair, I just don’t like the feeling of sleeping on it. (Yup, my reaction to that, very likely like yours, was ‘WHAT?!’ – but here we are.) The moisture repelling nature of the fabric could lead to less skin and haircare items being used. I also love that’s definitely more sustainable than cotton. Still, I think the feel of it might not be for everyone.

Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.