Are increasingly popular silk pillowcases really worth the hype?
CELEBRITIES use them. Instagrammers love them. Hair stylists recommend them. Silk pillowcases are not new, but over the past couple of years, they seem to have exploded in popularity, embraced by the beauty and wellness industries and credited with delivering smooth, shiny hair and wrinkle-free, supple skin.
That doesn’t mean you have to rush out to buy one. Although acknowledging that silk pillowcases may provide some benefits for hair and skin, doctors say the products are best seen as a supplement to existing routines or as a self-care indulgence.
Amy Fox, a board-certified dermatologist and associate professor specialising in hair loss at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine, says that because so little research has been done on silk pillowcases, much of the information about them is anecdotal.
But there’s also no danger in trying one, says Pooja Sodha, a boardcertified dermatologist and director of the George Washington Center for Laser and Cosmetic Dermatology in Washington – other than the hit to your wallet, because some brands can be pricey.
Silk’s properties:
Silk is the only naturally occurring filament fibre, which means its threads are continuous and don’t need to be stitched together. Fibres that have to be spun together to form threads, such as cotton, have rougher textures because they contain more “corners”, but they can be treated to be softer.
Silk also regulates temperature well and doesn’t absorb much moisture. These properties are the main reasons for its supposed beauty benefits.
What silk does – and doesn’t do – for hair:
The benefits of a silk pillowcase are most pronounced for hair, experts say, because the silk can help hair retain
moisture from products and natural oils and reduce friction that could cause tangles and breakage. It’s especially beneficial for curly hair, which doesn’t retain as much moisture as straight hair and is more prone to breakage, says Misty Eleryan, a micrographic surgery and dermatologic oncology fellow at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
“It’s all a domino effect: If the silk or satin doesn’t absorb that moisture, then your hair stays moisturised and your hair isn’t as prone to breakage.”
Eleryan says people with straighter textures could still benefit from reduced friction, but silk scarves or pillowcases aren’t essential for their hair care.
New York colour specialist Carmen Powers recommends silk pillowcases to her clients who colour their hair, regardless of texture. Heat styling, chemical treatments, colour and rough handling can also weaken strands and create split ends and dryness, which could lead to breakage.
But although a silk pillowcase may prevent breakage, it won’t prevent hair loss. We all shed hair daily. More significant hair loss can be caused by a number of factors including alopecia, chemotherapy, hereditary baldness, childbirth and stress – but your pillowcase doesn’t have anything to do with it.
“Whether it’s cotton or silk, the pillowcase you sleep on doesn’t influence your hair loss in any way,” Fox says. Outside of medical or hereditary causes, “the things we do that create hair loss are the things we do to our hair,” including heat styling and rough handling. A pillowcase won’t prevent that.
What silk does – and doesn’t do – for skin:
Silk pillowcases’ benefits for skin are murky, experts say. Advertisements say silk’s smooth surface won’t wrinkle or crease the skin, which causes fine lines to form. They say that’s especially beneficial for side and stomach sleepers, whose faces make constant contact with the pillow throughout the night.
But while a smooth sleeping surface could be helpful to prevent sleep creases from becoming deeper, experts say, it probably isn’t a major factor in age-related wrinkles.