Does your pillowcase really matter?

[Suze334]

I'm thinking of buying a silk or satin (which?) pillow case for my hair to rest on. Does it really make a difference or it it hype?

[FrannyG]

I was skeptical too, but I have to say that there really has been a difference for me since using satin pillowcases.

[SimplyViki]

With my new satin pillowcase (LisaJaney makes them and sells them at tlc-pads.com!) I get less tangles, and can even sleep with my hair loose if I want to (I don't usually, though, cause I don't like getting strangled from various directions with my hair, LOL) and not have to spend too long detangling it in the morning. I was skeptical for a long time, but I finally caved and bought one, and I'm glad I did.

[chopandchange]

I do not think it would make a difference for me, because it's not the surface I'm lying on that causes tangles, it's just the strands of hair tangling themselves around each other due to me moving around. They would do that no matter what surface I was lying on.

I can see how it would be gentler and softer on the hair in general for it to be on a smooth surface. But I don't think it matters that much to me personally. My main defence against nightly tangles is plaiting my hair.

[ravenreed]

I find it matters as well. I bought both satin and silk pillowcases. I like the satin better for not messing up my hair, but like the breathe-ability of the silk better overall. I bought a fairly inexpensive silk pillowcase at Dharma Trading (online store) and then did an experimental koolaid dyeing. (It worked but it is blotchy, however it still looks cool so I consider it a successful experiment for my pillowcase.)

[janeytilllie]

Using a satin pillowcase has improved my hair alot. When I used a cotton pillowcase my hair would tangle badly. Since using a satin pillowcase my hair never gets tangles

[spidermom]

I can't remember if it made a difference for my hair or not, but I really like the way they feel cool at night. When I wake up, I move the pillowcase so that I'm resting my face against a place that feels cool, then I go back to sleep.

The regular cotton pillowcases never felt a fraction as cool.

[Carolyn]

Well silk is a fiber and satin is a weave so it's an apples and oranges thing. Satin is smooth due to the type of weave. The theory is that since satin is slippery, hair will glide over it and not tangle so much. Satin can be made of polyester or actetate, neither of which is a breathable fiber. My head sweats a lot at night so I need a pillowcase with some absorbancy. LisaJaney cases are great BTW. El Cheapo satin cases can be horrid. I got one at WM and it was awful. It went to Goodwill. I think a rough pillowcase could tangle finer type hair. Coarser hair would probably be immune to that to a degree.

[Chromis]

I braid at night and still find that a smooth pillow case helps a great deal. My hair is less frizzy on the crown and I get few nape tangles.

[IcarusBride]

I'm not an expert and I don't have extremely long hair, but for me Satin pillowcases are WORSE. I have a set of satin sheets and pillowcases but I stopped using them because they create tons of STATIC. My hair is BSL and I sleep with it loose every single day and wear it up during the daytime. I don't really buy into the damage-by-pillow-while-sleeping idea, but I do think that wearing your hair in a braid at night is probably a good idea when you hit the longer lengths, simply because it's easier to manage. At that length rolling over on your hair and ripping it out might be more feasible than it is at my length. Also, I think the fact of if you sleep alone or with a significant other has a lot to do with it too. I sleep alone (unless you count my kitty who sneaks in sometimes!) so, as I said, I leave it down which is most comfortable for me.