Sleep is the most pleasant physiological need of the body because it allows you to relax fully, restoring strength and getting a boost of energy for a new day. It is only essential to understand that a full recovery of the body depends on the quality of rest, and therefore, on the state of the sleeping place and, above all, on the quality of bedding. You must admit thatit is so lovely to sleep on a whipped pillow, resembling a soft cloud, and wrapped in an incredibly delicate silk pillowcase.
It is generally accepted that a pillowcase is necessary for protection, and it should protect the pillow from sweat and body fat. This is true, but not entirely. Primarily, the pillowcase in contact with the person’s face is designed to protect the skin from dust mites and allergic irritation caused by down of the bird. In this regard, silk is considered a perfect material for making pillowcases.
It is a matter of historical record, Chinese women for many centuries slept exclusively on pillows with silk pillowcases, and all to prevent early wrinkles and dry hair. Today, few people know about Chinese tradition. Most of us sleep on regular cotton pillowcases, even though cotton absorbs moisture, which means it dries hair and skin, causing wrinkles.
Why are silk pillowcases the healthiest?
1. Silk prevents the appearance of early wrinkles
As you know, silk fabric is extracted from a silkworm cocoon, which means it is a product of natural origin. That is why, unlike other types of matter, silk contains 18 essential amino acids and natural protein. When silk touches the face, amino acids have a beneficial effect on the epidermis, preventing the skin from drying out and the appearance of early wrinkles, while natural protein increases the metabolism of cells, which also helps to maintain firm and even complexion.
2. Silk helps nourish the skin
You will be surprised, but silk helps skincare. The night cream that you apply before bedtime is not absorbed by silk, and friction on the smooth surface of the pillowcase only moisturizes it, allowing it to penetrate the skin pores better. Besides, people suffering from dermatitis prefer to sleep on silk pillowcases and silk sheets, which significantly facilitates their condition.
3. Silk is a hypoallergenic material
Thanks to the natural protein, silk is a hypoallergenic material in which dust mites and mold do not take root, which means that silk pillowcases and sheets made of this material are most useful for human health. By the way, according to reviews, it is much easier for asthmatics to breathe if they rest on silk bedding.
Also Read: How Pillows Affect Our Health and Well-being
4. Silk maintains comfort temperature
The considered material has a paradoxical ability to maintain a comfortable body temperature. Silk bedding envelops the body with a gentle shroud, eliminating the cold, but at the same time, does not make it sweat, providing the most comfortable rest.
5. Silk protects hair
The hair pleasantly glides along with the silk pillowcase, completely not clinging and not confusing long curls, while the pillowcase made of cotton fabric is coarse, which means that the hair on it is tangled and bundled up.
What silk is suitable for pillowcases?
Having learned about the advantages of silk as a material for making bedding, we will talk about the material that is best suited for a pillowcase. Having decided to purchase bed linen made of silk, pay your attention to charmeuse. This refined material with a shiny, satin, and incredibly delicate surface captivates with its lightness and comfort. It is not for nothing that magnificent dresses and dresses are sewn from it. Moreover, with external lightness and airiness, charmeuse has high strength, which means it will last a long time.
What should vegans do?
Many of us have heard about vegans who not only do not eat meat and fish but also even refuse to eat animal products. Among other things, vegans refuse to use silk products. The reason is that for silk, mulberry worms are killed at the stage of transformation into a chrysalis, and this, according to vegans, is simply unacceptable. Defenders of wildlife are also puzzled by this question.
However, there is a solution. Silk can be obtained without destroying the tracks. There is the so-called “peaceful silk” or “Eri” silk. It is extracted from cocoons of a wild silkworm, which deliberately leaves a small hole in the envelope, through which the newborn butterfly crawls out.There is another kind of silk, which is called “Ahimsa.” This is an ordinary silkworm cocoon, but only with a hole eaten by a moth before it got out into the wild. Both silks are not widespread in the world, but all because of the cost of production and the high price of the finished material. However, vegans may well use bedding from these materials, which does not contradict their worldview.
How to take care of a silk pillowcase
Indeed, silk products, including bedding, require a unique attitude to themselves. Such a delicate pillowcase can be washed in a typewriter, but only in a gentle mode and without the use of stain removers and bleaching agents. It is best to hand-wash the pillowcase using mild detergents suitable for silk products. Squeezing such products, do not twist them, do not wring them in a typewriter or dry them in a tumble dryer. Ironing such products is also prohibited. It is best to dry bedding made of silk at room temperature and ventilate it regularly. Remember, improper care of silk will damage it.
Peace and quiet
Silk is good for a neurotic attitude towards sleep, when you can rest only on a certain side of the bed, a carefully selected pillow, and preferably in earplugs and a sleep mask. Besides the fact that the silk fabric is tactilely pleasant, it remains cool throughout the night, which is especially true in the summer, but not so cold as to freeze in the winter and finally, silk absorbs moisture up to thirty percent of its own weight, so sleep will be more comfortable if you sweat a lot at night. If you are attracted only by the relaxing properties of this fabric, then you can take pillowcases not from one hundred percent silk, but with an admixture of cotton up to 40% – you will not notice much difference.
