You should sleep on a silk pillowcase because it’s a simple overnight beauty treatment that improves your skin and hair while you rest. And nothing on earth compares to the luxurious feel of real mulberry silk. But there’s so much more to learn -- and love -- about sleeping on silk.
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Happily, the team at Mulberry Park Silks is here to spill our secrets about why a genuine silk pillowcase is a great investment in your beauty, health and wellness. Educating our clients about the benefits of silk is an important part of our mission (right up there with bringing the highest quality silk to market at fair and affordable prices).
We believe the more you know about the benefits of silk, the better. Read on to learn how sleeping on a silk pillowcase from Mulberry Park Silks keeps your skin and hair healthy and beautiful. We’ll also discuss the longevity of our silk pillowcases (hint: with proper care, they will last a long time) and offer some professional tips for washing silk bedding.
How Sleeping on a Silk Pillowcase Helps Your Hair
Most of us know what it’s like to wake up with a horrible case of bed head -- especially if we have curly hair or frizzy hair. The tangles, nests, and unsightly mess are definitely not the morning look you’re going for. But did you also know that your cotton pillowcase is the likely culprit causing all that damage? Even the smoothest cotton pillowcase contains tiny fibers that can pull and tear at your hair, which leads to bed head, hair breakage, and tangles. Cotton fabric is also absorbent, which can draw moisture away from your hair and exacerbate dryness and split ends.
Sleeping on our 100 percent mulberry silk pillowcase, however, is completely different. Your hair glides friction free across the smooth surface with no pulling, tugging, or damage. Even better, silk is a natural fiber that -- like your hair -- is protein-based. Real silk is loaded with nourishing amino acids that work to condition your hair while taming tangles and frizz. (Fun fact: silk protein, known as “sericin,” is an essential ingredient in many high-end skin and hair care products). Silk is the ideal environment for keeping your hair smooth and well-conditioned as it protects and nourishes your hair while you sleep! Silk is wonderful for any hair type, and uniquely beneficial for dry, damaged, and delicate hair.
How Sleeping on a Silk Pillowcase Helps Your Skin
Sleeping on a silk pillowcase helps your skin in so many ways. As we mentioned above, the smooth surface of a silk pillowcase is nearly friction free. Your face moves across the surface without pulling delicate facial skin, which prevents sleep crease formation you get with your regular pillowcase. Unlike an absorbent cotton pillowcase, which pulls moisture from your skin, a silk pillowcase helps keep your skin well hydrated. Consider adding a pure silk eye mask to round out your skin care routine and further minimize fine lines while you catch some beauty sleep.
Preventing fine lines and keeping your skin moisturized are only part of how silk helps give you better skin. Silk is naturally hypoallergenic, non-irritating, and resistant to dust, mold, and mites. Dermatologists recommend sleeping on silk for anyone with sensitive skin (even babies!), particularly those dealing with conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, or acne. Silk also wicks away moisture and regulates temperature, which keeps you sleeping comfortably in all conditions.
The Longevity of a Silk Pillowcase
Buying a silk pillowcase or set of silk sheets can be an investment, and you want to make sure your silk items last (Note: satin and silk are not the same thing. You will find many budget-priced satin pillowcase offerings in the marketplace, but they will not deliver the same beauty benefits as genuine silk. Learn more about how to tell genuine silk from fake silk satin here).
At Mulberry Park Silks, our silk pillowcases, silk sheets, sleep mask collection and other accessories are made from the highest grade silk fiber (6A) in the marketplace. Less than 5 percent of all silk is Grade 6A. This silk is the longest, strongest, and finest available. Silk fabric also comes in different weights, known as momme. Similar to thread count in cotton sheets, momme weight measures the amount of silk used; the higher the momme count, the denser the weave. High momme count silk also contains thicker silk fibers. Mulberry Park Silks sells pillowcases in a budget-friendly 19 momme, a heavier weight 22 momme (our most popular), and a super luxurious 30 momme weight.
Buying high-quality silk and caring for it properly will go a long way toward getting maximum longevity out of your silk pillowcase or bedding.
Ease of Caring for a Silk Pillowcase
Caring for your silk pillowcase or silk sheets requires just a bit of extra effort. The good news is, Mulberry Park Silks pillowcases and sheets sets can be easily washed by hand or machine following these simple instructions.
Machine washing your silk pillowcase is easy to do. Turn the pillowcase inside out, and place it in a fine mesh laundry bag. This will protect the fabric from any snags and pulls inside your washing machine. We recommend washing on a delicate or silk setting (learn more about the various settings of your washing machine here) and using a detergent specially formulated for silk and other natural fibers such as Heritage Park Luxury Silk, Wool, and Cashmere Detergent. To hand wash, turn your silk pillowcase inside out and wash in cool or lukewarm water in a sink or utility tub with a small amount of detergent. Rinse in cool water and do not wring.
To preserve the integrity of the silk fiber, never put your silk pillowcase or sheets in the dryer. You should either lay your pillowcase flat to dry on a clean towel, or hang indoors or outside away from direct sunlight, which can cause silk to fade. Silk will wrinkle, but you should use an iron sparingly if at all and only on the lowest setting; click here to learn how to iron silk without ruining it. We prefer putting the silk pillowcase back on while slightly damp and smoothing out the wrinkles by hand; they will naturally release on their own after a day or so of use.
We are beyond proud of our silk products, and welcome comparing our silk pillowcases to others in the market. Click here to read a review of Mulberry Park Silks vs. Slip Pillowcase and here to check out how we compare to a Blissy pillowcase.
Need more help deciding on which silk pillowcase is right for you? Take our quiz: