The skin benefits of silk pillowcases
Everyone knows the virtues of a good night's sleep for the body: it stimulates the immune system, relieves stress, gives you renewed energy when you wake up and leaves your complexion fresh, rested and free of dark circles.
But have you ever woken up with a "sleep crease" on your face?
We spend around a third of our lives in bed, and often sleep on our sides, spending 7 to 8 hours every night in a position that irritates and creases facial skin. Ask any plastic surgeon or dermatologist, and they'll tell you they can guess which side you sleep on simply by observing those folds on your face!
Around 99.9% of the population sleep on cotton pillowcases. The problem with cotton is that it doesn't slide, and the fabric continually rubs and pulls at the delicate parts of the face and neck.
As we age, our skin becomes more fragile, less elastic and "sleep folds" take longer to disappear, slowly but surely metamorphosing into permanent wrinkles.
Only pillowcases made from a very soft, low-abrasion fabric such as natural mulberry silk limit the friction of the fabric on the skin and the appearance of sleep folds.
But what are these benefits for the skin that are so often mentioned when we talk about using silk?
1 - Silk has an anti-aging effect
- First of all, silk contains natural proteins and 18 essential amino acids which accelerate skin cell metabolism and the effects of aging. This is all the more important as it is at night that the skin "works" and regenerates, producing new cells twice as fast as during the day.
- What's more, unlike cotton fiber, which is much rougher, the silky texture of silk prevents the use of a silk pillowcasethe formation of "sleep folds". resulting from repeated rubbing of your face on your pillow.
2 - Silk dehydrates less than cotton
One of the properties of cotton is its ability to absorb up to 30% of its weight in liquid. Silk does not, with an absorptivity of only around 11%.
It therefore dehydrates the epidermis much less than cotton and maintains the skin's natural moisture content throughout the night. Sleeping on a silk pillowcase keeps your skin looking and feeling more supple. Silk preserves the youthfulness of the face.
3 - Silk is hypoallergenic
- On the one hand, silk retains very few impurities due to the very structure of its fibers. What's more, there is very little space between the silk threads in a quality weave for dust and other allergens that irritate the skin and eyes.
- In addition enzymes present in silk prevent the appearance of small imperfections and help regulate acne: the skin breathes and rests on a more hygienic surface. The use of silk is therefore recommended in cases of severe acne or eczema for its numerous antibacterial qualities.
4 - Silk pillowcases absorb less beauty creams
Silk absorbs creams less and hair treatments than cotton. You can go to bed without any problem after applying your night cream: your care will be optimal.
5 - Silk is excellent for hair
As well as being good for your skin, silk is also good for your hair. excellent for hair in more ways than one :
- Firstly, unlike cotton fabrics, silk weaves are not rough. Because they are soft and silky, they allow hair to "slide" over the pillowcase and limit excessive rubbing the cause of hair breakage.
Long hair moves more easily with your head during the night, and tangles less. You can sleep again without tangling. The appearance of "split ends" and "knots" is visibly reduced, hair breakage is reduced and hair loss is halted.
- Secondly, silk limits static electricity and keeps hair soft and smooth! No more tangled, static-charged hair in the morning.
- Thirdly, soft, untangled hair also means less hair loss in the long term.
- Finally, silk works by capturing moisture, creating a protective barrier that keeps your hair properly hydrated. It absorbs much less of the sebum present on your hair. As a result, your hair is better protected.
6 - Silk is an excellent temperature regulator
Cool when it's hot, warm when it's cold, silk is an excellent temperature regulator. natural heat regulator It allows your body temperature to be perfectly maintained while you sleep, and is particularly appreciated by people prone to night-time hot flushes, or with fragile, inflamed or simply sensitive skin.
Keeping you cool in summer, there's no need to turn over your pillow to find that little spot of freshness!
But what do the experts think?
Numerous medical studies detail the proven benefits of sleeping on silk to slow skin aging and reduce wrinkles:
- In 1987, Dr. Samuel J.STEGMAN's work on sleep wrinkles in the USA demonstrated that the muscular region of the face (the "SMAS: underlying superficial muscular aponeurotic system") is damaged by prolonged contact with the pillow, favoring the appearance of "sleep lines". This particular manifestation of aging disappears in the morning in teenagers, but persists longer in adults, the phenomenon increasing with age. Many people in their late 40s and beyond maintain the sleep crease throughout the day.
Sleeping on one's back would seem to be the solution, but this is obviously illusory, as we turn over several times during the night to change position. And so.., the solution to sleep lines would be to sleep on softer, purer textilessuch as silk.
- Placing the face on a pillow causes repeated trauma to the skin. Over time, this damage, aggravated by the simple friction of a cotton pillowcase, can create permanent wrinkles linked to a decline in skin collagen" Doctor Dennis GROSS - Dermatologist - USA
- Many plastic surgeons recommend the use of silk pillowcases after facial plastic surgery", says Dr. Norman MARKUS - USA.
- I always sleep on silk so that my skin glides rather than rubs against the fabric, reducing the risk of wrinkles, especially those in the nasal labial fold, between the mouth and nose" Doctor Angelica KAVOUNI - Plastic surgeon - Harley Street USA
Beauty magazines also recommend silk pillowcases
"We never think of sleep as the cause of our wrinkles. A good night's sleep is supposed to protect us from these pesky things! Well, you might want to think again: it all depends on how you sleep. If you like to sleep comfortably, as most people do, you most likely sleep on your side, with your face plunged into the middle of a huge pillow.
Alas, you're about to discover that sleeping like this ruins all your efforts and undermines the effectiveness of your anti-aging creams and serums. The type of pillowcase you sleep on makes all the difference. If you want to preserve your youthful appearance, choose to sleep on Silk!"
"Say goodbye to your cotton pillowcase and opt for a little silk in your bed!
When you sleep, your skin cells regenerate twice as fast, and as we age, our collagen becomes less resistant. When you wake up, those sleep-induced creases can stay for hours ... or forever.
Traditional cotton pillowcases don't slip, so they tend to pull on delicate parts of the face and neck."
"It's no secret that silk is a noble material. Soft to the touch and pleasant to wear, it also benefits from genuine beauty virtues. Silk is often found in protein form in hand creams and face and body lotions. Its virtues? Moisturizing and softening.
When it comes to hair, silk offers numerous advantages. Here too, it is said to have moisturizing, sheathing and smoothing properties. Combined with our hair's natural keratin, silk proteins protect and deeply nourish hair, restoring its strength and vitality.
As a fabric, silk is hypoallergenic and thermoregulating.. Finely woven and very smooth to the touch, it does not dehydrate the epidermis. Quite the contrary, in fact. So, if you choose to sleep on a silk pillowcase, your face will be less aggressed than if you slept on cotton. An easy beauty ritual to adopt and recommend for all skin types." LE FIGARO.FR MADAME - January 20, 2015
While it's obviously easy to demonstrate that sleeping on silk has an impact on the appearance of facial skin, all you have to do is lay your head on a piece of cotton. silk pillowcase or crawl under silk sheets to convince yourself of their comfort and coolness during the warm season, and so adopt them for good.
As for the cold season, you'll appreciate the cozy comfort of a silk duvet cover and its extraordinary ability to retain body heat without any sensation of suffocation or perspiration.
