The Hair and Skin Benefits of Sleeping on Silk Bedding

Silk is a fabric that is synonymous with luxury and opulence. It evokes a feeling of richness wherever it is used and has long been the material of choice for ateliers and designers looking to create a sense of decadence and grandeur.

Not only is this fabric beautiful to look at and touch, but it turns out silk can also help make our skin and hair more beautiful, simply by being around it. This might sound too good to be true but in fact, there's evidence to back this up.

Read on to find out how sleeping in silk bedding can make your skin more clear, your hair more lustrous and your life a little bit more fabulous.

Although we cannot with certainty say exactly when the production of silk began, we do know that the process originated in China, around 8,000 years ago. The Chinese guarded the secrets of silk production fiercely, passing down the methods from generation to generation. Finally, it spread to other countries and across the world.

Since its invention, silk has been a highly regarded commodity and modern times have seen no change to this perception. In fashion and interior design, it remains a symbol of grandiosity to this day. In the 1950s, women popularised the use of silk pillowcases as a means of keeping their hairstyles intact for longer. 

Today, silk bedding has once again come to public attention as the buzzy new beauty trend promising a practically magic solution for better skin and hair. But what exactly are its benefits?

The smooth and friction-free feel that silk is famous for is pleasant to touch, and even more so to rest your face on. Even better than that, however, is the fact that the silky feel can also help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles on the skin. The lack of friction caused when using silk bed pillowcases versus cotton pillowcases has the effect of reducing fine lines and puffiness on your face when you wake up each morning. Buy a grey silk pillowcase and start seeing the difference in your hair and skin.

If you're someone with sensitive skin, then you'll know the feeling of omnipresent dread that almost anything could set it off next. Silk pillows are kinder to the skin because of the lack of friction they produce. They also naturally regulate temperature, which means less redness when you wake. What's more, silk is hypoallergenic, which means even if your skin is super sensitive it's still less likely to flare up with silk bedding.

Most people can relate to the feeling of going to bed with their hair looking somewhat normal and waking up looking like they've stuck their finger into an electrical socket. When you toss and turn your head as you sleep, your hair becomes more tangled as it moves across your pillowcase. With silk bedding, the hair has a much smoother surface to slide across, and so fewer tangles occur. This in turn means fewer breakages and overall healthier hair.

According to dermatologists, sleeping on cotton pillowcases and bedding draws moisture out of the skin, which can leave it dry, itchy, or irritated. In contrast, sleeping on a silk bed set can help your skin retain its natural moisture. This leads to overall healthier skin with a dewy and youthful appearance. It also means less dandruff and frizzy hair, as the skin on the scalp and the hair maintain their moisture, too.

A wealth of anecdotal evidence suggests that silk bedding helps those who use it to have a longer and more sound night's sleep. Whether that's down to the soft, silky feel of the fabric, its ability to regulate temperature, or something else entirely we can't say. The bottom line is that better sleep means better skin, fewer under eye dark circles, and fewer wrinkles.

We've spoken about the way silk can help regulate your body's temperature in a few different contexts so far, but we're missing one that's very important indeed. Because silk bedding prevents your body from overheating during the night, you'll find that you are sweating less when you go to bed. This means you won't have sweat sitting on your skin for long periods overnight, which is a positive thing, as this can lead to breakouts and clogged pores.

Did you know that even when washed as often as once a week, some pillowcases have been found to contain as much bacteria as a toilet seat? This unsettling but true fact is one major reason our hair and skin can become greasy or prone to acne when we sleep. Silk naturally draws in less moisture and grease. This means it's cleaner when you lay your head on it each night, and thus less likely to be exposed to a plethora of bacteria waiting to wreak havoc on your skin and hair.

Of course, there's no magic potion that will instantly take away all your wrinkles, make your hair smooth and shiny as a supermodel's and make your skin completely blemish-free. But that doesn't mean that there aren't things we can do to slow down the ageing process and turn our hair into the very best version of itself it can be.

Sleeping on silk bedding can help to do all this and more. It's not a miracle cure, but it has, at times, been known to produce some pretty miraculous results. If you'd like to see for yourself what all the fuss is about, browse our range of luxury silk bed sheets now.