If you want to step up your self-care routine, invest in your beauty sleep, or simply want to feel rich AF, then I'd suggest getting a silk pillowcase. Yes, they may look totally expensive, while being actually quite cheap, but when it comes to health benefits, they're certainly no gimmick.
Getting eight hours of essential shut-eye is half the task of looking and feeling great — if your pillow isn't up to par, your skin and hair may be affected. It's true, sleeping on a silky smooth surface can save your skin and hair from damage caused by tossing and turning in the night. Your skincare routine will be perfectly preserved.
They may be endorsed by aestheticians, dermatologists, and sleep specialists alike, but believe me, I've tried all these silk pillowcases and can't go back to sleeping on cotton. Paired with one of the best pillows, I've said farewell to frizz, split ends, and acne, and hello to great sleep.
The best silk pillowcases
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Composition: 100% pure Slipsilk™
Mommes: 22
Colours available: 8
Care: Machine Washable
+ Specially developed Slipsilk™
+ Tested to absorb less hair and skin products
+ Preferred by dermatologists
- Cannot tumble dry
Tried and tested by more than one member of Real Homes as well as thousands of well-rested customers, this silk pillowcase from Slip Silk is a cult-beauty favourite. Constructed from their very own developed Slipsilk fabric, scientifically shown to reduce friction, helping both your skin and hair, this pillowcase is award-winning for a reason.
Composition: 100% pure mulberry silk
Mommes: 22
Colours available: 37
Care: Machine Washable and tumble dryer friendly
+ A vast variety of colours and patterns
+ Thermo-regulating
+ Oeko-Tex® Certified
- Expensive
No matter your bedroom aesthetic, Blissy has a pillowcase in a colour or pattern you're sure to love. In fact, there are 37 shades to choose from all beautifully pure and made from organic mulberry silk. With thermo-regulating properties too, your bed will not only look cool but you'll wake up feeling fresh.
Composition: 100% mulberry silk
Mommes: Not specified
Colours available: 3
Care: Wash and dry on a gentle cycle
+ Super-soft and smooth to the touch
+ Reasonable price
- Standard size was a little big
This Lanham silk pillowcase from Australian-owned brand Sheridan is made from 100% mulberry silk and is softer than a cuddly koala! We did find the case to be a little larger than our standard pillow, but it fitted perfectly on our Simba pillow (if you have one you'll know how huge they are).
Composition: 100% Eucalyptus fibre
Mommes: Not specified
Colours available: 3
Care: Wash and dry on a gentle cycle
+ Oeko-Tex certified
+ Sustainable with great eco-credentials
+ Super affordable
- Not a great range of colours
For the eco-conscious, this is a great alternative to conventional silk with all the same sleep benefits. Made from eucalyptus that's grown using 95% less water than cotton with zero herbicides or pesticides, this silk pillowcase is the most sustainable option on our list. This isn't even the best part. We love that they come in a pack of two, which is rare, and are a more affordable price compared to most.
Composition: 100% mulberry silk
Mommes: 19
Colours available: 6
Care: Machine wash and dry
+ OEKO-TEX certified
+ Reversible cotton side
+ Super affordable
- Few colours
The most affordable silk pillowcase on this list is this one by Lilysilk. Whilst it may be relatively cheap in comparison to others out there, this slip doesn't sacrifice quality. Rather, it's made of 100% non-toxic OEKO-TEX certified grade 6A mulberry silk. The fabric effectively reduces the friction between your pillowcase and hair, minimising hair loss. Only 5% of silk in the world meets this standard!
Composition: 100% mulberry silk
Mommes: 19
Colours available: 9
Care: Hand wash only
+ Great for keeping your hair smooth
+ Reasonable price
+ Good range of shades
- Not washing machine or tumble dryer friendly
This silky smooth option from John Lewis is the perfect pick-me-up present. Available in nine colours, it'll look great on every bed whilst feeling good on all skin and hair types. We've had this pillowcase for a while and love how well it washes, though we'd recommend not opting for white (choose this lovely blue instead) as it can stain easily. Though that goes for every brand.
Composition: 50% mulberry silk + 50% European flax
Mommes: Information not available
Colours available: 5
Care: Machine Wash on a warm cycle
+ Reversible linen side
+ Reasonable price
+ Available as a pack of 2
- Do not tumble dry
This best half-and-half option has a full silk side and a full linen side to choose between. Not only is this great for cooling down with a flip of the pillow during the night, but it'll also blend seamlessly in with your bedding if the silk stands out too much for your liking.
Composition: 100% mulberry silk
Mommes: 19
Colours available: 5
Care: Machine wash on a delicate setting
+ Sold as a pair
+ Great for curly hair
+ Reasonable price
- Do not tumble dry
- Creases easily when slept on
Supple, lustrous, and soft to the touch, there simply aren't enough words to describe just how smooth this silk bedding feels from Soak&Sleep. In fact, our tester has curly hair and found this silky number to be the one with the least amount of static, keeping her curls intact. Though the ultra-sleek finish does mean it creases quite easily.
Composition: 100% mulberry silk
Mommes: 22
Colours available: 3
Care: Hand wash only
+ Best for sensitive skin
+ Soothing properties
+ Oxford edges add a decorative touch
- Only 3 colour options
- Not washing machine friendly
If you love an Oxford pillowcase or are looking for some silk options to match the others on your bed (and are willing to splash the cash), then this ESPA Oxford Edge pillowcase is the perfect pairing. What's more, we found this option to be the most soothing to the touch — ideal if you suffer from sensitive skin.
Real Homes review process
Rest assured I've slept on all of these silk pillowcases. Yes, I've been getting my beauty sleep and making sure each smooth surface lives up to silky standards. I've also made sure to wash these pillowcases more than once and try them out again to see how they last. Oh, and we've had our curly-haired queen ecommerce editor Christina test out how anti-frizz each one is.
Louise is our biggest beauty sleep advocate and will stop at nothing to make sure she recommends only the best sleep products out there. If there's one thing she'd suggest buying, it's a silk pillowcase. Down to personal experience, she can't sleep on anything else!
"I have sensitive skin and was eager to test the difference between a cotton or linen pillowcase that came with my bedding and sleeping on silk. The cooling properties were more than noticeable. Resting my head on a cold surface lets my skincare soak in and doesn't irritate my cheeks too much."
Christina follows quite a specific ritual when it comes to maintaining her corkscrew locks, and silk pillowcases are a curly-haird girl's BFF.
"Generally speaking, cotton and polyester tend to create static and frizz, but with a high momme count, my mane doesn't have that 'frizz halo' in the morning. Because of the soft 'slip' of a silk pillowcase, us curlies worry less about 'fairy knots' (these are single-strand tangles that are coily/wave hair people's worst nightmare)."
What should I look for when buying a silk pillowcase?
Besides considering how much you'd want to spend and the colour that goes best with your bedding, there are some key details about silk you should look out for.
Firstly, you should make sure the pillowcase you're buying is made from natural silk if you're wanting to benefit from its properties. Lilian Wu, marketing manager at LilySilk, says holding a flame to silk can be a way to distinguish between real and faux silk. Genuine silk produces a smell similar to that of burning hair with an invisible flame that will soon self-extinguish. Fake silk will combust rapidly with an intense flame followed by the smell of burning plastic. So maybe don't test this out at home...
Secondly, find out the momme count. "Momme (mm) is a unit traditionally used to measure the quality of silk fabrics," says Wu. "Usually, the higher the momme weight, the more durable the weave, the more luxurious the fabric is, the more suitable it is for heavy-duty use, and the longer it will last."
Are silk pillowcases really worth it?
"Over our lifetime we will spend around a third of our time sleeping and the majority of us sleep on a cotton pillowcase every night," says Anya Ratnavel, owner of The Silk Collective. "While cotton may feel soft, it is more abrasive against our skin and hair compared to silk fabric. This can lead to cotton creases on our face each night (and wrinkles over time) and hair becoming tangled and tugged as you toss during the night, causing hair breakage." This and several other reasons make silk pillowcases a worthy investment.
How do I wash a silk pillowcase?
If you're wondering how to wash silk, the good news is that you won't have to rethink your laundry routine. Functionality-wise, there'll be no special wash instructions or fussy handwashing routine as most of the best silk pillowcases can be popped in your washer at 30°C. What's more, they're just as quick to dry as their cotton and polyester counterparts.
Now to the nitty-gritty. All of these silk pillowcases are anti-microbial, as well as bed bug and dust mite resistant too, so you won't need to wash them as regularly. But it's better to be safe than sorry. Make sure you know how to get rid of bed bugs if you do see critters in your space.