Do silk pillowcases reduce shedding?

[sakuraemily]

I think they should because there will be less pull.
Is there anyone here who has tried silk pillowcases and found reduced hair shedding?
Also, what other benefits did you experience with the pillowcase?

[Kwantslonghair]

I am interested to know as well.

[sakuraemily]

I am interested to know as well.

I hope we get answers soon!:knitfrog:

[ravenreed]

I get fewer tangles which leads to fewer split ends, which means less frequent trims. A friend of mine has baby fine hair and was having trouble getting past shoulder length because her hair was breaking off. I recommended a silk or satin pillow case and she immediately had great results with her hair getting longer. So depending on how fragile your hair is, the results may be more or less spectacular.

As for shedding, my hair just sheds. Sheds, and sheds and sheds, regardless of the type of pillow case I use.

[jeanniet]

I agree with ravenreed--silk has a lot of benefits for hair, but I can't say that it reduces my shedding any. If your hair is delicate, then I'd say silk is definitely worthwhile because any reduction in tangling/breakage is going to mean that much less hair going off your head. Theoretically, it could reduce shedding if your hair sheds easily when manipulated. I just haven't seen that myself.

[Panth]

Shedding is not caused by pulling/plucking, it is because the hair follicle that produced that hair stopped being in its growth phase (anagen). That happens naturally but may also be promoted by stress (physical or mental), certain medication, etc.

What the silk pillowcase (or sleepcap) will do is a) reduce mechanical damage / physical wear, particularly of the outer canopy in the first foot of length which gets rubbed between your head and the pillow, and b) reduce tangles, thus reducing the mechanical damage caused when detangling. In my case, my sleepcap also stops DH's beard from attacking my hair, thus directly stopping it from being worn away.

[ladyfey]

I have been wearing a sleepcap and it is helping greatly with tangles and damage. I sleep in the same bed with my two kids and my hair is mid-calf. so even in a braid, the kids would end up on top of my hair and it was getting fried. It is more comfortable too, having it out of the way.

[LakeofGlass]

Silk or satin? I used to have satin pillowcases along with a sheet set, but all I kept doing is sliding around. I'm not sure if it works well with cotton. Satin is more of the weave, while silk is the thread. It is, however, commonly done with silk. So if you can get both, a satin pillow made of silk, I'm sure you'd be good to go. This article (http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-satin.htm)explains it almost the same way I'd read it elsewhere. I would say that having the glossy surface is what you're looking for, and in that case you should be fine as long as it's a satin weave, whether you find cotton or silk.

[chen bao jun]

It also helps you not to wake up with wrinkled skin (if you are old enough to have to worry about this).
What I did--
went to fabric store, bought 3/4 yard silk fabric (polyester satin also works), folded it over my pillow to make sure it would be the right size and sewed the long side and one short side. (I did this on a serger butthere you could use a sewing machine or even hand sew it). Then i hemmed around the top so the fabric wouldn't fray. Voila, $9.00 silk pillowcase.
There are also instructions on how to sew a pillowcase online.

[lydiajo]

[QUOTE=chen bao jun;2398262]It also helps you not to wake up with wrinkled skin (if you are old enough to have to worry about this).
/QUOTE]
Never thought about that aspect. Now I know what I'm doing on the weekend? 2 new pillow covers on the way.

[ravenreed]

I have both poly satin and silk charmeuse cases. I like both. The poly satin is more slippery, but I like the breathe-ability of the silk charmeuse more in the summer time, when it is hot. I got my silk pillow case from Dharma Trading (http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1384272-AA.shtml). It looks like the prices have gone up just a bit. Oh well, that is still a great price.

ETA: I dyed mine with Koolaid. It was fun, and although the color faded over time, it is still there despite many washings in hot water.

[Kwantslonghair]

Thanks for the info