Sleeping On Silk

SLEEPING || On Silk

At this point in my life, it seems I’m constantly thinking about skincare & ageing, talking to colleagues & friends about it and researching beauty and aesthetic treatments, what the best skincare products are & how to properly care for my hair too. For years it’s been known that, to benefit our skin (& hair), we have to follow a healthy diet, drink water, exercise daily, use a SPF every day and sleep well during the night – all of this just to help us age as little as possible and keep us looking our best.

Enter the silk pillowcase.

Dermatologists, aesthetic doctors, beauticians & hairstylists alike recommend sleeping on a silk pillowcase for healthier hair & healthier skin.

I never knew that my pillowcase (yes, the quite irrelevant piece of fabric on which I spend 6 to 8 hours a night), can make just as much of a difference in my beauty routine. I couldn’t believe the difference it made in my life!

Something I read a while back by John Wildsmith, stuck with me and led me to buy my very own first silk pillowcase to sleep on:

“You are either in your bed or in your shoes, so it pays to invest in both”

Not only does a silk pillowcase (or silk bedding for that matter) make your bed feel a little more luxurious, it really benefits your skin and your hair in the following ways:

For hair

a) Silk pillowcases extend the life of blowouts & keep you from waking up with bedhead.

For me, there is nothing worse than waking up with frizz after I’ve spent good money on a blowout the previous day.

Organic silk pillowcases reduces friction and keeps my hair smooth and tame – making my blowout literally last twice as long as it normally did.

b) Sleeping on a silk pillowcase helps prevent split ends.

With less friction because of the smoothness of the silk pillowcase, your hair will have less breakage and less split ends.

I also found out through my research that if you wear hair extensions, the silk fabric will cause less pulling and damage to the strands of hair and wefts.

For overall wellbeing

c) Silk pillowcases are hypoallergenic.

Regardless of your level of cleanliness/ hygiene, dust and dust mites are both a real concern in every South African household.

Although I personally do not suffer from allergies in general, I can be intensely sensitive to dust at times. Silk pillowcases are hypoallergenic and have a natural resistance to dust mites & other allergens.

d) Silk pillowcases naturally regulates temperature.

Because of its natural composition (very much like the composition of your own skin), silk is a great heat regulator. Silk bedding can keep your skin feel cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Some people think that silk slips or gets uncomfortable during summer – it is actually not at all silk but satin that is the uncomfy culprit that clings, makes you feel hot and even scratchy.

For skin

e) Sleeping on a silk pillowcase helps prevent breakouts

Organic silk pillowcases are less absorbent than cotton/ cotton blends and therefor picks up less pore-clogging bacteria from skin, leading to fewer breakouts.

f) A silk pillowcase helps prevent facial creases.

Cotton fabrics (both pure and blends) pull and tug on your skin while you sleep, which isn’t good for aging over time. Silk is so smooth due to the Charmeuse weave, resulting in the reduction in friction while you sleep, so you won’t wake up with any facial creases in the morning – ultimately leading to a reduction in permanent wrinkles in your face and neck J

g) Silk pillowcases extend the life of your facial creams/ serums.

Due to less friction while you move in your sleep, your expensive skin products don’t transfer to your pillowcase – making them stay on your face longer, therefor making them more effective. Winning!

For me, there really isn’t anything better than getting into bed after a long tiring day, knowing that what I’m going to rest my head on is actually beneficial to both my skin & my hair.

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