The Easiest Hack for Good Skin and Hair? Get Silk Pillowcases

Are you a hot, lazy person who wants better hair and a better face? Of course you are [chest bumps], and of course you arrived half an hour late to this chat because you slept in. That’s alright, baby. That’s why the latest pillowcase wellness trend is for you (and those sweet, sleepy peepers). 

Pillowcases have been popping off recently, and getting an upgrade from the sad, polyblend shams that defined most of our early twenties. “Silk pillowcases work wonders for all kinds of hair types and textures,” celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin told Refinery29, “as they keep the cuticle layer of the hair intact, and don’t cause the friction traditional pillowcases do." Unlike summertime sleep fabrics like linen, silk and satin are also more apt to help your skin retain moisture. Babes are even sleeping on copper-infused pillowcases now to support skin renewal. 

I am very into all of these ideas, personally, because fall is soon to arrive, which means that my skin and hair will soon become as dry, salty, and potentially crusty as some oven-baked pumpkin seeds. So, yum—but, also, no. Reaching for pillowcase ~treatments~ also feels like letting someone else do the work for me while I unconsciously drool, which is sick. Think about it: When you sleep, you are ideally resting those sweet cheeks on a pillow for at least six hours. That’s a lot of incubation time.   

Now, we’re not pillow doctors, and we’re not making any sweeping medical claims about these silky bois, but the following pillows and pillowcases offer some damn luxurious experiences for that sweet head of yours, whether they’re made of a honey-hued Mulberry silk, or infused with CBD; spritzed with calming sprays, or smooth enough to use as a horny slip-n-slide. 

Let’s get silky.  

I was today years old when I learned the exact difference between silk and satin, which is that the former is the product of a woven, natural fiber made by bugs from The Big Hungry Caterpillar, and that satin is a more affordable, blended pick composed of both natural and synthetic fibers (and can be machine washed, which is just more practical). Both will make you feel as if you’ve melted into a river of expensive French butter. 

The cult Blissy pillowcases are on sale 

The coolest kid at the dance is undoubtedly the Blissy silk pillowcase. People go bananas for this shit. “When my head hits the pillow, it feels like my entire body gives one collective exhale,” writes one reviewer, “The silk has just the right amount of slipperiness that it doesn’t tug on my hair, leave pillow lines on my cheeks, or trap heat throughout the night.” See? [Pours ice water over you.] The pillowcase is made of 100 percent pure mulberry silk, is hypoallergenic, and is not only on sale right now, but offering free shipping. Get in there!

They make vegan silk pillowcases, too

We see you, vegans. Take a break from gnawing on your Tofurky log and check out this pillowcase, because it’s a super popular blend that sells out damn fast on Amazon. “[It] uses 100% polyester charmeuse satin,” according to the brand, “which gives you all the softness and breathability of silk without hurting the silkworms.” Aw. 

These top-rated pillowcases are on super sale

Over in the satin section, we’ve got this set of two pillowcases with literally 200,000 shining ratings on Amazon. So, yeah. This is the one we take to the desert island. “All I know is I shower and style my hair at night,” wrote one reviewer, “and after sleeping on these, my hair looked freshly blown dry the next morning. I'm not exaggerating; [my] hair looked the exact same in the morning as it did after I styled it the night before.” 

If you are also a Californian with a soft-spot for crystal magic, this might be for you. Actually, though, actual science people have been swearing by the health benefits of copper for ages; it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These days, the kids are making copper-infused pillowcases, to which I say, LET’S RIDE. 

You’re copper-curious

Looking to dabble in the copper-infused arena, but don’t want to throw down for a super-pricey pillowcase? Real Nature makes a top-rated pillowcase that won’t break the bank. “Copper is supposed to be healthy,” writes one reviewer, “and the smoothness of this pillow is supposed to be gentle on the hair and skin. I don’t wake up with bed-head like with usual pillowcases! I have a perm and fragile hair so this helps.”  

Damn, this one comes with a two-year warranty

You did not come here to play, and neither did the Iluminage pillowcase. It’s usually sold out on Amazon, where one reviewer wrote, “Compared to a silk pillowcase this does seem to have a bit of an edge re: suppleness in skin. Not sure if that's just psychosomatic or because of the copper in this.” Color us copper, and très intrigued.  

This CBD pillow I tested is 25% off

I didn’t expect this to slam as well as it did, but it turns out that smushing my face into a CBD-infused pillowcase for eight hours does indeed have a calming effect on me. Hell yeah. Try gifting this to your CBD-sus parentals or friends for the holidays. (Again, no medical claims—the only doctorate I have is in Pauly Shore movies.) 

They make memory foam ones, too

Daaaamn. A big level up, if you enjoy a memory foam face plant—and who doesn’t?? If you run on Jerry Time, own a hacky sack, and already know you’re going to dig a CBD pillow, I would just reach straight for this guy. 

For the zillionth time, je suis not a doctor, but I think this might be one of the most tried and true players in our sleepytime lineup; I’ve been using herbs to ease my anxiety for years, and this bedtime spray is a blend of some of my favorites, like chamomile, vetiver, and lavender to crop dust over your pillowcase for a more relaxing wind-down. I do it all the time, and it’s created a kind of Pavlovian effect that always makes me look forward to bedtime, no matter how strong the Sunday scaries runneth. If you’re feeling crafty, you can totally make a version of this spray yourself by buying the essential oils and siphoning them into a spray bottle. But this is just easier, and takes less time (and money), and all the ingredients are from non-GMO plants, and include no sulphates, no petrolatum, no phthalates, and no synthetic colors. Real fall kitchen witch shit, baby. 

Whelp, night night. [Sucks thumb, hops on broomstick.]

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.