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Many of us with curls and waves share the experience of going to bed with fresh, intact curls and waking up in the morning to find yesterday’s style frizzed out beyond recognition — often with pillow lines etched into your face, to boot.
It turns out that preventing morning frizz and creased skin may have a lower-effort remedy than you might think — namely, swapping out your current pillowcase for a silk one, which is gentle on the skin and hair and minimizes the friction that can lead to frizz and irritation.
Silk absorbs less moisture than other fabrics like cotton and microfiber, Joie Tavernise, a medical esthetician and founder of JTAV Clinical Skincare, previously told HuffPost. As a result, “[I]t won’t suck the hydration or night products from your skin overnight,” she said.
I wanted to see for myself. I’m protective of my money, so I combed the internet to find the best and most affordable silk pillowcase for my needs that wouldn’t hurt my budget. I chose this organic mulberry silk pillowcase, and it’s been worth every penny.
It keeps my finicky, frizz-prone curls smooth and intact, including when I sleep with wet hair (which I know is a no-no, but hey, we all do it sometimes) — a result that was unheard of with my previous pillowcases. The silk also feels luxe and cooling on my skin, which is especially a treat since I sleep hot. I feel somewhat like a princess laying my head to sleep at night on her silk pillowcase, and I’m not mad about it. The fact that this was such a low-effort hair and skin care solution — all I had to do was swap pillowcases and sleep as usual — just makes the results that much sweeter.
Another often overlooked reason to invest in a silk pillowcase that Tavernise mentioned? Silk absorbs less product from our skin than do other materials, so your expensive skin care and hair products stay on your face and strands instead of getting swallowed by your pillowcase. I wasn’t aware of this before buying a silk pillowcase for myself, but I’ve since noticed that my products are actually, blessedly, staying on my face.
Besides the impressively affordable price point for good quality silk, this pillowcase stands apart from the rest because of its zipper enclosure, which ensures that you don’t have to deal with your pillow escaping from its case after minimal tossing and turning, a major pet peeve of mine. The zipper is unobtrusively situated on the side of the case, so you get to benefit from its secure encasement without having to ever feel the zipper.
I’ve also found that this pillowcase is impressively sturdy; I exclusively wash and dry mine in a machine and have found that it’s held up beautifully. I purchased the navy color, which looks chic and timeless on my bed, though a number of other colors are available, both neutral and bold. They have standard, queen, king and body pillow sizes, too, so if you’re feeling especially decadent, you can treat yourself to a silk body pillow. (That’s currently on my wish list!)
By the way, there are other good options out there, including this fan-favorite Bedsure satin pillowcase that mimics many of the benefits of silk and costs only $9.99 for a two-pack at Amazon. I still chose to buy this mulberry silk case since I felt it gave me major bang for my buck and was worth the slightly higher cost, but if you’re unsure it’s definitely worth giving the Bedsure satin cases a try.
Amazon reviewers love this pillow as much as I do. Take a look at what they have to say:
“I can’t believe I never tried silk before. These are absolutely luxurious. It feels so comforting on my face, and it keeps my head and face at the perfect temperature. I have ordered several different colors - all the colors are gorgeous. I especially love this gray apricot because it’s very classy and very neutral. It goes with every single other color I have, of any type of sheet. I also have neuropathy in my legs and everywhere that the silk touches my legs helps with the pain versus other types of sheets increase my neuropathy pain. I wish I could afford an entire set of sheets made of silk. I’ve had people claim that satin is the same as silk, but it absolutely is not, the silk is far superior. These are absolutely worth the money. They feel amazing on my skin, they have the best temperature regulation of anything I have slept with, and they don’t make my neuropathy worse. I Love them!” — Jessica T.
“This is an amazing pillowcase, and it is saving my curly hair. I hide my pillow from my dogs in the morning (they’re weirdos who behave like magnets with my pillows) and can’t wait to get it back out again in the evening because it is so soft and silky. I love the zip closure, and easy laundering instructions. It definitely wrinkles, but that’s fine with me. So far I have noted no snags or imperfections. I noted that when using it my eyes (i have chronic bad allergies) are not itchy at night, nor red in the morning. I am getting away with using way fewer allergy eye drops, and am waiting to find out if this is purely coincidental... I have always used allergy covers on my pillows and bedding.” — Jordy Roberts
“I wish I had gotten this pillow case sooner. The first night I could tell a difference in my hair. It was less matted and easier to style in the morning. My face doesn’t pull or catch on the pillow case so I do feel like it’s helping with my fine lines around my eyes. It stays cooler than a normal pillow case. I like that it has a zipper so that the pillow won’t come out at all. I’ve washed it many times and it’s still in perfect condition. Same as when I first got it. I will being buying more of this brand!” — Cody
“I have washed this several times and have had no issues with fraying, ripping, the zipper, or anything. It comes out of the dryer wrinkle free. My hair is long and very curly and I have noticed a huge difference in tangles and just overall hair health since using this. My hair doesn’t look crushed on one side anymore when I wake up. I love that it zippers shut as I have another silk pillow case without it and it always slid off my pillow.” — NM