My hair didn’t know peace till my accomplice purchased me a set of LilySilk pillowcases for Christmas a number of years again. Earlier than receiving this considerate reward, I slept completely on cotton pillowcases, not understanding that smooth-seeming cotton cloth was, at a microscopic stage, the equal of sandpaper rubbing in opposition to my curls and coils all night time (or nap) lengthy.
I’d at all times get up to frizzy hair, with lengthy tendrils sticking up and out. One way or the other I’d missed the lesson different younger Black women acquired on wrapping our hair at night time in silk scarves or bonnets to guard our ends from rubbing in opposition to the sheets and breaking off.
However when silk pillowcases slipped into my life, my hair issues had been solved. I’d get up with noticeably much less frizz, fewer tangles, and drastically lowered mattress head. No extra dangerous hair days, which meant notably higher days general.
This {smooth} and weighty pillowcase stands out for its sturdiness. Whereas we’ve got not had any points, some prospects have been disillusioned by LilySilk’s customer support, although.
The LilySilk pillowcase that my accomplice gave me was lustrous and weighty proper out of the field. It was black, but it surely is available in 9 completely different tones that ought to mix in with a wide range of bedding. However what actually sealed the deal for me was its situation after the primary wash: It assumed an nearly matte end that made it much less slippery and extra comfy to sleep on.
Most significantly, I get up every morning with corkscrew curls that really feel more healthy, extra hydrated, and unburdened by frizz. (Although I’ve made a number of orders and haven’t skilled any issues, some folks have been disillusioned by LilySilk’s customer support.)
A seek for the proper pillowcase
Though I beloved the pillowcases my accomplice gave me, I puzzled how they stacked as much as the mountain of different silk instances bought all over the place from Amazon to boutique retailers. In true Wirecutter trend, I dug in to seek out out what makes an ideal silk pillowcase—and whether or not there’s actually a distinction between a $90 case and one which prices a fraction of that.
Although the origins of silk manufacturing will not be solely clear, Chinese language legends have it that 5,000 years in the past an empress named Si-ling-chi discovered the best way to elevate silkworms, reel their silk, and spin it into fabric for clothes. Since then, the shimmering gossamer has been utilized in every thing from clothes to furnishings to linens, together with the mushy cloth that Black ladies have a really, very lengthy historical past of utilizing to guard our hair.
Carrying caps or bonnets at night time has been a cultural custom for at the very least a number of many years. Like most Black historical past, this custom isn’t nicely documented, but it’s a ubiquitous a part of our previous and current. Even for somebody like me, who wasn’t taught to wrap my hair at night time, it grew to become more and more apparent that my curls—which tended to be dry and cut up by morning—had been struggling for it.
This occurs as a result of sure kinds of hair—particularly any form of textured hair, together with coily, kinky, curly, or wavy hair—have a more durable time retaining moisture. Everybody’s scalp produces a pure, waxy oil referred to as sebum, however for folks with textured and even lengthy hair, sebum has a more durable time coating the hair shaft from root to tip, leading to dryness or cut up ends. Silk’s {smooth} construction absorbs much less moisture from the pores and skin and hair, which is why silk pillowcases have extra just lately been embraced as a part of many peoples’ skin-care regimens (one thing we’ve beforehand written about).
In the event you’ve shopped for silk pillowcases, you recognize the costs are all around the map. I needed to seek out out what you get once you pay extra and fewer. I narrowed my search to instances with three qualities:
- The very best form of silk: When folks speak about silk, they’re often referring to Mulberry silk, which is produced by a species of silkworm referred to as Bombyx mori. These worms are completely fed leaves from Mulberry bushes—high quality meals goes in, high quality silk comes out. They’re primarily farmed in China and India and are selectively bred to supply pure white cocoons that may be unraveled into lengthy, {smooth} threads.
- A excessive momme depend: Momme (mm) is the unit used to measure the density of silk cloth. It often ranges from 1 to 30; 19 is a standard momme depend, and 22 is a wonderful one. A 30mm silk pillowcase will value greater than a 19mm pillowcase as a result of the 30mm case has the thickest silk threads woven tightly collectively, which supplies it a hefty density. As you scale down the momme depend, the threads turn into thinner, making the material really feel much less weighty. In the event you’re taking a look at a selected pillowcase and the momme depend isn’t listed, you in all probability wish to keep away from it.
- A great grade: Lastly, you need silk that has a excessive grade. Not all Mulberry silk is equal, so the grading system, starting from excessive to low, or A to C, helps decide the standard. The A grade is then damaged all the way down to A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A (the best). A great-quality silk pillowcase may have its momme depend and grade listed within the product description—keep away from something with a grade decrease than 6A. A pillowcase woven from this high-quality materials might be buttery to the contact, and it must also maintain its silken options by years of damage and care. (I discovered whereas researching this story that my grandmother has been utilizing the identical silk pillowcases for 15 years.)
With that in thoughts, I examined seven pillowcases: the Fishers Finery, J Jimoo, LilySilk, MYK Silk, Ravmix, Olesilk, and Slip.
The runners-up
After I slept on seven completely different pillowcases over the course of every week, my accomplice was comfortable to know that the one I discovered myself regularly gravitating towards was the LilySilk 25mm 6A pillowcase he initially gave me. However there have been two others that caught with me nearly as good options to the LilySilk, relying in your wants and sleep-style.
This pillowcase is super-silky — probably too {smooth} for stressed sleepers.
Although it has a decrease momme depend, the 22mm Slip pillowcase is simply as thick because the LilySilk. Additionally made with 6A Mulberry silk, this pillowcase has a satin sheen that didn’t budge, even after its first time being hand-washed. However the pillowcase (true to its title) had a slippery high quality that made my head slide off to the aspect, which meant I needed to consistently readjust in the course of the night time. The Slip was additionally vulnerable to sliding round on the mattress, and after a number of weeks of use, it seemed extra wrinkled than the LilySilk.
Some might want this pillowcase to the LilySilk due to its super-silky options, however personally I didn’t like waking up with my head on the cotton sheets—and neither did my curls.
Whereas not fairly as mushy as dearer choices, this mulberry silk pillowcase nonetheless feels luxurious and retains curls {smooth} and frizzless in a single day.
The Fishers Finery pillowcase, additionally 25mm 6A Mulberry silk, strikes a very good stability between value and high quality. Although it’s not as mushy because the Slip or the LilySilk, this pillowcase nonetheless feels luxurious. It’s heavy and never too slick (it’s not as slippery because the Slip), and it stored my hair {smooth} and frizz-less by the morning. It’s nonetheless expensive by cotton-pillowcase requirements, however this one is the most effective I discovered for round $50 (and it’s leagues forward of cheaper instances).
Regardless of starting from 19mm to 22mm, the opposite pillowcases we tried—the J Jimoo, Olesilk, MYK Silk, and Ravmix—had been all practically an identical to the contact. These pillowcases, which vary between $21 and $30, had been mushy, however they lacked the weighty high quality of their more-expensive counterparts. They usually felt extra like uncooked, unfinished silk than {smooth} and satiny. The skinny materials of those pillowcases speaks loudly to the distinction in high quality. Nonetheless, when you’re on a price range and easily searching for one thing mushy sufficient to cut back friction in your hair, any of those choices can be an improve from a standard cotton pillowcase.
A irritating actuality of silk pillowcases specifically is that the majority of them are bought individually, not in units of two. As a result of that is such a excessive upfront expense, sustaining your pillowcases — by hand washing and air drying — will turn into simply as essential as choosing the proper ones for you.
Silk was initially supposed for royalty, and in fashionable occasions, it nonetheless prices extra to totally get pleasure from its luxurious. To date, the advantages outweigh the price for me, and I feel my hair, with its wholesome sheen, would agree.
The most recent model of this text was edited by Rachelle Bergstein.
