The Reason You Need To Sleep On A Silk Pillowcase

Have you ever awakened from a deep sleep with creases on your face from your pillow? As it so happens, these creases could be causing serious damage. 

"If you are sleeping on your left side, you will have more wrinkles on the left side of your face," Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi, Founder & Director of Capital Laser & Skin Care and Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology at the George Washington University Medical Center, told Verily, and unsurprisingly, the same goes for your right side. "With skin aging and sun damage, skin doesn't have the same elastic properties, so when it's squished into one position, over time it starts to wrinkle and they will stay."

Ultimately, you should be just as selective about your pillowcase as you are about your nightly skincare regime, opting for a silk pillowcase, rather than cotton, to minimize creasing, pulling, and damage to your skin.

Fiona Stewart, CEO and Founder of SLIP, told Glamour, "Silk fibers are significantly less absorbent than many other materials, so they can help keep your skin's moisture and expensive face and hair products where they belong... on your face and hair, where they can work their anti-aging magic." 

Dr. Neal Schultz, New York City-based dermatologist and author of It's Not Just About Wrinkles, agrees, told Good Housekeeping that the smoothness of silk means it's less likely to absorb moisture from skin, which helps keep skin hydrated. It also causes less friction and creasing.

Nichola Stott, founder of SilkUp, claims a silk pillowcase can even protect hair and prolong a blow dry. "Silk is a natural material with a smooth texture that has been found to improve the quality of hair, reducing thinning, split ends and frizz," she told Glamour. "The natural properties and anti-static qualities in silk can extend the life of a blow-dry by two days, reducing the need to restyle in the morning and therefore avoiding any additional heat damage."

The best part? You don't have to buy the most expensive silk pillowcase to reap the benefits. Any silk pillowcase will be an improvement over cotton.