Can a silk pillow smooth wrinkles while you sleep?
BEDTimE has a familiar routine for 50-year-old Luigia minichiello. Whether she’s in a far-flung hotel or tucking up at home, she sleeps on a pure silk pillowcase.
While it sounds the ultimate luxury, the preserve of Hollywood divas or aristocracy, women such as London-based events manager Luigia swear they’re an essential anti-ageing device, as effective as any expensive treatments.
Costing £20 to £30 each, she says silk pillowcases keep her skin unlined, hair soft and improve her sleep quality.
No wonder high-end bedding company Soak&Sleep is saying it’s noticed an 11 per cent rise in sales year on year.
‘When travelling, every night i’d unfold my pillowcase and know i was staving off the effects of ageing,’ says Luigia.
Silk has been prized for centuries — it’s said silk farming dates back more than 7,000 years. The silkworm eats mulberry leaves, spins its cocoon and produces silk thread.
‘There are many reasons for silk’s beauty benefits,’ says physiotherapist and sleep expert Sammy margo, author of The Good Sleep Guide.
‘most of us sleep on our sides, with our faces pushed into the pillow, often waking with creases or indents in the skin. These take longer to disappear as we age and collagen and elastin are less effective.’
This is because fabrics such as cotton can be abrasive, dehydrating the skin.
‘Silk’s smooth surface means you won’t wake up with a face like scrumpled up paper,’ says Sammy. ‘Your moisturiser can also do its job better — it will be absorbed rather than dragged all over the pillow.’
The antioxidants in silk may also counter effects of ageing. Tests show mulberries contain up to 79 per cent more antioxidants — which aid cellular repair — than superfruits such as blueberries.
‘it’s possible skin moisture and heat may release antioxidants in the fabric,’ says aesthetic expert Dr Hilary Allan at Woodford medical.
Some silk pillowcase makers refer to research which says sericin, a protein in silk, can adhere to keratin, a protein in skin and hair, resulting in a barrier layer that helps retain moisture and may have a plumping, anti-ageing effect.
Sharon Snook, 56, started to use her pillowcase two years ago. Her skin is dewy and she looks a decade younger than her years — her cheeks are as smooth as a 30 year old’s.
AfEW years ago i was waking up with a line down my cheek. it didn’t fade till lunchtime,’ says Sharon, a product technologist who lives in Brentwood, Essex. ‘The sides of my face were starting to look wrinkly.
‘i wouldn’t have Botox as i may love it and feel i have to keep paying.’ A silk pillowcase is, she says, ideal for those who don’t have the money, or the stomach, for invasive treatments.
Over a few months she saw a gradual but marked difference. ‘You wake up feeling like you’ve just applied face cream. i don’t get creases, and it stopped the skin around my crow’s feet dragging across.’
You can buy a silk pillowcase for £19.99 from QVC — less than a moisturiser. Women going through the menopause say they help with fluctuating temperatures. The surface of silk won’t heat up.
Clare Welton, 59, bought one for £30 at Soak&Sleep four years ago, and says the cooling effects help. Her skin is fresh like Sharon’s.
‘in my early 50s, i woke up in the night feeling hot — enough that my sleep was disturbed. When i used the pillowcase i slept through the night.
‘it costs a lot for a pillowcase, but they last a long time. You spend so much time in bed, so it makes sense to invest in anything which helps sleep.’ And, as we know, good sleep means a better diet, more energy and better skin.
‘i’m not totally convinced silk is superior to cotton,’ says sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley. ‘But sleeping on natural fibre is preferable to man-made.’
Devotees also swear their hair is better, thanks to silk’s smoothness. it’s said rough fibres in other fabrics may cause breakage.
‘my hair texture has changed over the years,’ says Luigia. ‘it is coarser. But my bed-head is reduced by silk pillows.’
it prevents tangling and also reduces sebum production, so waking with greasy hair is less likely. Anecdotal evidence shows it improves frizz, too.
‘These pillowcases may help damaged hair,’ says trichologist iain Sallis. ‘They reduce friction on the cuticle. The surface you sleep on rubs off electrons, causing static electricity and bed-head. The smoother the surface, the fewer electrons will rub off.
‘But you aren’t going to wake up looking like you’ve had a blow dry.’ Neither will they help with hair loss.
Luigia still won’t leave home without her pillowcase. ‘When i visit friends, i take it with me. it’s a running joke, but the joke will be on them in a decade’s time!’