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View Full Version : Hair-friendly fabrics other than silk and satin?



Renate
January 2nd, 2012, 11:03 AM
I'm thinking about buying a silk scarf instead of a pillowcase, but when I looked for prices I find they are too expensive. So I'm thinking, are there are other hair friendly fabrics?

Or maybe, any fabric works, but if has to be very smooth or something? :confused:

Rybe
January 2nd, 2012, 12:29 PM
First of all, a bit of clarification, because my inner fabric nerd is grinding its teeth:

Silk is a fiber (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk).

Satin is a weave. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Satin_weave_in_silk.jpg)

Silk satin will be very luxurious, silk dupioni, on the other hand, would make a TERRIBLE sleeping pillow. And you can have satin made out of almost any yarn (thread) you want, but it is most commonly done with polyester (a non breathing synthetic "plastic" yarn) or silk, though lately I've honestly seen a lot more silk charmeuse (a satin type weave) than satin, but satin tends to be a bit...sturdier and better for pillowcases. I made mine out of charmeuse...it wrinkles like mad.

I imagine anything that is smooth to the touch would be good for friction. A higher and higher thread count regular old cotton pillowcase would probably be better than a lower thread count one. Cotton sateen (a satin like weave) would probably also be a step up from regular old cotton, and I've seen those pillowcases about.

The benefit of silk over POLYESTER satin is it breaths. Polyester doesn't breath for crap. If this doesn't bother you, cheap poly satin is plentiful. It can also be cold, and ironically, can also be hot, since it'll reflect all of your heat right back at you once you've warmed it up with your face.

Pretty much if the fabric feels like it'll pick up pet hair it's probably bad for your hair, if it feels like it's nice and smooth and only static could get hair to stick to it, you're probably good, until you start dealing with breath-ability issues/heat/moisture etc. Rayon would also be a good fiber to investigate, but again you have to keep weave in mind. But a rayon silk would be great. Hope some of this babble helps...?

Oh, and if you're curious, this website consistently carries pretty cheap silk satin http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3724-AA.shtml?lnav=fabric_silk.html

neverever
January 2nd, 2012, 01:09 PM
Thank you Rybe :) I always feel annoying when I tell people that difference, but now I dont have to. Yay, and nice that I'm not alone in the besserwisser-fabric-world.... :p

Anyway, a silk pillowcase is good because the surface is smooth and the hair dont rubb against it. It's also good because its a natural material. That means its not made of oil and other stuff. And that means it dont makes the hair "static" like any other shiny unnatural fabric would. Like a satin pillowcase made of polyester.

I would suggest that you sleep on your regual pillowcase if you think one of silk is to expencive. And wear your hair in a braid or wrapp it in a scarf in the night and see how that works. ;)

Renate
January 2nd, 2012, 01:10 PM
First of all, a bit of clarification, because my inner fabric nerd is grinding its teeth:

Silk is a fiber (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk).

Satin is a weave. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Satin_weave_in_silk.jpg)

Silk satin will be very luxurious, silk dupioni, on the other hand, would make a TERRIBLE sleeping pillow. And you can have satin made out of almost any yarn (thread) you want, but it is most commonly done with polyester (a non breathing synthetic "plastic" yarn) or silk, though lately I've honestly seen a lot more silk charmeuse (a satin type weave) than satin, but satin tends to be a bit...sturdier and better for pillowcases. I made mine out of charmeuse...it wrinkles like mad.

I imagine anything that is smooth to the touch would be good for friction. A higher and higher thread count regular old cotton pillowcase would probably be better than a lower thread count one. Cotton sateen (a satin like weave) would probably also be a step up from regular old cotton, and I've seen those pillowcases about.

The benefit of silk over POLYESTER satin is it breaths. Polyester doesn't breath for crap. If this doesn't bother you, cheap poly satin is plentiful. It can also be cold, and ironically, can also be hot, since it'll reflect all of your heat right back at you once you've warmed it up with your face.

Pretty much if the fabric feels like it'll pick up pet hair it's probably bad for your hair, if it feels like it's nice and smooth and only static could get hair to stick to it, you're probably good, until you start dealing with breath-ability issues/heat/moisture etc. Rayon would also be a good fiber to investigate, but again you have to keep weave in mind. But a rayon silk would be great. Hope some of this babble helps...?

Oh, and if you're curious, this website consistently carries pretty cheap silk satin http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3724-AA.shtml?lnav=fabric_silk.html

Yay thank you :cheese:

I actually new there was a difference, I read on another thread, but I don't remember the exact words and I didn't know how to explain it or say it, English isn't my first language :shrug:

If silk wasn't so expensive I would totally buy a scarf and try it, if it makes no difference to my hair (it's possible, right?) than it wouldn't be a waste, I'd have a new scarf :D

How am I going to know if won't pick up pet hair? I can't trust my own judgement, I always underestimate things...

I plan on wearing the fabric wrapped over my head, won't the heat be bad for my hair?

Renate
January 2nd, 2012, 01:25 PM
Anyway, a silk pillowcase is good because the surface is smooth and the hair dont rubb against it. It's also good because its a natural material. That means its not made of oil and other stuff. And that means it dont makes the hair "static" like any other shiny unnatural fabric would. Like a satin pillowcase made of polyester.

I would suggest that you sleep on your regual pillowcase if you think one of silk is to expencive. And wear your hair in a braid or wrapp it in a scarf in the night and see how that works. ;)

I can't sleep on braids because it makes my ends frizzy, while all the rest is wavy. Besides, I like my hair straight. So I thought about wearing a caterpillar french braid, something like this:

http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/971/fakefrenchbraid.jpg

Wearing it like that, even without a silk or satin pillowcase my hair won't get damaged?

Jayce
January 2nd, 2012, 05:21 PM
I found my silk scarf at a local thrift store for only a couple dollars.

I once talked to a lady buying a silk wedding dresse with train at a thrift store. She was buying the dress for only $150, and was going to cut it apart to make christening clothes for her grandbabies, because the price per yard worked out so much cheaper.

missdelarocha
January 2nd, 2012, 05:36 PM
Daw that is such a cute hairstyle. I think silk satin pillow cases are cheaper than silk satin scarves, more-so if you make one yourself :].

HintOfMint
January 2nd, 2012, 06:41 PM
Echoing other's comments about satin as a weave, I also have polyester satin pillowcases and they work just fine. I'm sure silk satin is luxurious, but I'm perfectly happy with my synthetic fiber pillowcases. I've gotten mine for around 6 to 10 dollars.

isshevital
January 2nd, 2012, 08:28 PM
I found my silk scarf at a local thrift store for only a couple dollars.

Beat me to it! I imagine a silk scarf might be tricky to find, just because the thrift stores I frequent (mostly Goodwills and Salvation Armys) don't really have a section for accessory-type things. But I imagine a shirt or dress made of silk would be pretty easy to come by.

Diamond.Eyes
January 2nd, 2012, 08:39 PM
I made my own silk sleeping cap. The silk wasn't all that cheap, but it was a lot cheaper than buying an already made cap :p. If you are looking for a cheap alternative, I would try polyester satin and even some cotton weaves are quite smooth.

LaceyNg
January 2nd, 2012, 09:32 PM
thanks so much for linking that site, Rybe!

for 1 yard it'll be $8.29USD, and then $3.90USD for shipping to my zipcode. do you guys think 1 yard woul be enough to make a standard-sized pillowcase?

if not, i think i'd be better off just going to a thrift shop.

aisha.christine
January 2nd, 2012, 09:43 PM
thanks so much for linking that site, Rybe!

for 1 yard it'll be $8.29USD, and then $3.90USD for shipping to my zipcode. do you guys think 1 yard woul be enough to make a standard-sized pillowcase?

if not, i think i'd be better off just going to a thrift shop.

I think it would be wise to get 2 yards. Even if 1 is enough, it is suggested to get extra- just in case you accidentally mess up. Even 1.5 yards would be fine. Just a suggestion based on my experiences with sewing. :shrug:

LaceyNg
January 3rd, 2012, 08:43 AM
I think it would be wise to get 2 yards. Even if 1 is enough, it is suggested to get extra- just in case you accidentally mess up. Even 1.5 yards would be fine. Just a suggestion based on my experiences with sewing. :shrug:

gotcha. and thanks!

i think i'll probably check out a goodwill then, seems like it'd be better price-wise. :)

hollygolightly
October 29th, 2018, 07:26 PM
I can't sleep on braids because it makes my ends frizzy, while all the rest is wavy. Besides, I like my hair straight. So I thought about wearing a caterpillar french braid, something like this:

http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/971/fakefrenchbraid.jpg

Wearing it like that, even without a silk or satin pillowcase my hair won't get damaged?

i know this is a reaaaaally old thread, but since i was looking for information about polyester pillowcases i came across this and wanted to say that the best protective style for keeping straight hair is a really high bun, but not a cinnamon bun, just twist your hair in circle and secure it with a clip.

Hairkay
October 30th, 2018, 02:37 PM
I made my own silk sleeping cap. The silk wasn't all that cheap, but it was a lot cheaper than buying an already made cap :p. If you are looking for a cheap alternative, I would try polyester satin and even some cotton weaves are quite smooth.

The smooth cotton weaves are described as satinised cotton. I like getting it for my bedding. I have gotten used to wearing a satin bonnet for sleeping though but just in case it come off I've got the satinised cotton. I don't like the suffocating feeling of synthetics on my cheeks or the rest of my face.