Silk vs Satin Pillowcase For Hair

Let us say you are getting eight to nine hours of sleep every night. However, whenever you wake up, you looked worse compared when you slept for a couple of hours. Here is the reason why getting a sufficient amount of sleep is not the key point to a beauty rest, rather where your head sleeps on may possibly harm your hair, your skin, and even your long eyelashes.

Although there are thousands of different brands of beauty products off in the market, helping you achieve your Korean-dewy and glass look skin, still having a soft and smooth pillowcase is the top recommendation by experts.

Therefore, you are wondering which type of pillowcase is good for your hair, is it pillowcase made from silk or satin?

Silk is a natural protein fiber that came from silkworms, whereas satin is a fabric weave and usually made from other fibers such as polyester, silk, nylon, rayon, and cotton. Despite the fact that it is more pricey than satin, silk is softer and smoother and a natural protein, therefore it provides more benefits such as good thermal insulators and naturally hypoallergenic.

While you are on the verge of discussion about the best types of pillowcases, silk and satin always come up. You may be asking many women lying on a silk or satin pillowcase if these could really help to eliminate frizz and kinky on your hair. Thus that is only a small portion of the benefits these products may bring.

Therefore, for today, I am here to discuss with you the difference between satin and silk, their benefits, which is better for your hair, and the top recommendation for satin and silk pillowcases.

Related Post: 5 Best Pillowcases For Damaged Hair

How pillowcase can affect your hair and skin

After a long tiring day at work or at school, most probably bedtime is your most-awaited part of your day. However, before you catch some zzz's, try to look and observe at your pillows.

While most of us believe that just having a good pillow and a fresh pillowcase is the road to a good night's sleep, we often neglected to consider the damage it may cause to your hair and skin, if the fabric used in your pillowcase is not that good.

Therefore, if you did not know that, oops, my sincere apologies, I did not mean to ruin your not so mutual relationship with your cotton pillowcase. You thought that you two are in good terms, but in reality, your pillow is sucking you, just like a tick sucking blood on a dog.

Aww, sorry to say that, but that is the reality. Here are the top five reasons on how your pillowcase is backstabbing you so you can see the problem, and how you should address this right away.

Related Post: 7 Best Pillowcases For Wavy Hair

It makes your hair frizzy

Who has not yet experienced a bed head whenever you wake up in the morning? It is safe to say that we all have. Do you want to know why does this happen? Well, the main culprit to your bedhead is your inappropriate choice of a pillowcase.

We all know that the cotton pillowcase is much cheaper than satin and silk pillowcases; however, a pillowcase made from cotton makes your hair tangled and frizzy.

Instead of being loyal with your cotton pillowcases, try to shift to either silk or satin, and let your hair glide around your pillowcases to have a gorgeous, smooth, and silky hair when you woke up in bed.

It can cause skin wrinkles

While you are spending lots of money buying anti-aging creams or having skin therapy sessions with your trusted dermatologist, why don't you try first upgrading your pillowcases?

Indeed, anti-aging creams are awesome to your late-night beauty regimens; however, applying your anti-aging cream all over your face every night will be worthless if you are not resting in proper and right pillowcases.

Aside from the annoying bedhead that your cotton pillowcases pester you, later on, this may lead to facial wrinkles if not replaced immediately.

Do you want to know the mechanism behind the cotton pillowcases? Well, here is my finding. The coarse fabric of the cotton pillowcases, when touched on your skin, can pull and trigger your facial tissues and make it crease, which further leads to unwanted facial lines or the so-called wrinkles.

Rather than achieving the wrinkle-free look effect of your anti-aging cream, hence these cotton pillowcases give you a look you are not aspiring. So, what are you waiting for? Switch now to something smoother like silk or satin, which is less harsh on your skin and will not crease your face.

It makes your hair brittle

Who hates to see scattered loose strands of hair in a pillow after you woke up? If so, your hair might be prone to breakage, so can you guess what has caused this disturbing hair fall out?

One of the reasons might be the wrong choice for a pillowcase. Lying on a rough cotton pillowcase can cause your hair to become brittle and later on, leaving your hair dull and weak.

Luckily, there is a simple and alternative way on how to resolve this problem before consulting with a dermatologist. Replace your rough cotton pillowcase to something more smooth and soft like a satin or silk pillowcase. This will prevent your hair from further damage and make your hair move freely and will not break off easily.

It makes your hair dry

Did you know that a cotton pillowcase could actually absorb a generous amount of moisture from your hair, leaving it dry as the desert? Most probably, you will rush to any hair parlor to get some hot oil or any type of hair treatments that will ease the dryness and frizziness that happened to your hair, well, sorry to say that it will not work.

Fortunately, there is one thing that can save your precious locks, and that is the silk pillowcases. The wonders of this type of fabric can lock in moisture not only for your face but for your hair as well, leaving your hair hydrated and amazing when the morning comes.

It makes your skin dehydrated

Not only making your face wrinkled, hence, but cotton pillowcases can also leave your skin effortlessly dry by the time you woke up. Well, this is good for people who have an oily-type of the skin; however, for those who have a normal skin type, this could be baneful.

This consistent dryness routine can actually make your skin look dull and older by causing more facial lines and wrinkles over time. To prevent this further from happening, dress your pillow into silk pillowcases.

As we know that silk pillowcases came from natural protein fibers, therefore it contains natural amino acids comparable to those you find in a facial moisturizer, keeping your skin soft and smooth through the night. Believe me, you will wake up with a boost of glowing and healthy-looking skin.

Therefore, you already know how inappropriate choice of pillowcases could affect your hair and skin status. Now, it is up to you whether you will keep your pillowcases or you will replace it with pillowcases made from silk or satin.

As we move along, later on, you will know the benefits of using silk and satin pillowcases, their differences, and the perfect choice of pillowcase for different types of hair.

For now, you will know the reason why a cotton pillowcase is not advisable material when it comes to your pillowcases; despite cotton is a great starting material for bath towels, T-shirts, and many other popular cotton-made products.

Drawbacks of cotton pillowcases

Despite its wide range of variety of use, from making perfect workout gears and bath towels, still, cotton fabrics are an inappropriate choice for pillowcases.

 Here are the reasons why cotton makes your hair a #badhairday

Cotton makes your hair tangled

Because of its rough texture, cotton fibers prevent your hair from sliding around easily, thus making your hair tangled and knotted when you get off the bed in the morning. As a result, messy and tangled hair consumes a longer time to brush, and style and harsh brushing can pull some of your hair strands leading to breakage and hair loss.

Cotton makes your hair weaker

Due to the constant rubbing of your hair against rough cotton fibers of your pillowcases, this can further lead your hair to break off easily and can make your hair thinner.

Cotton makes your hair kinky and frizzy

If you are sleeping with your wet hair, stop this wrong practice ASAP. This is because sleeping with wet hair at night can create more tension and friction to your pillowcases, leading to messy and frizzy hair. Therefore, to save you from this agony, it is important to dry your hair first before you hit the hay.

Cotton can incredibly dry your hair

As we discussed a while ago that cotton could absorb moisture from your hair, thus this leaves your hair dehydrated, coarse, and prone to split ends.

Aside from your hair, sleeping in a cotton pillowcase can also affect your skin. You might not know that cotton pillowcases can contribute to why your skin breaks out with so many zits all over your face!

Here are the reasons how cotton pillowcases can affect your healthy-looking skin:

It leaves your skin dry

Just like what it does to your hair, the cotton pillowcase can dry your skin as it absorbs moisture and some facial oil leaving your skin dry in the morning. Later on, this dryness on your skin can make your skin look old and form some fine lines.

Cotton pillowcases can cause acne

As we know that lying on a rough cotton pillowcase is harsh to your skin, therefore sliding your face side to side to your pillowcase can cause tension and friction. If your skin is prone to acne, too much friction can cause lesions that can open up and spread the bacteria all over your pillowcase, which causes your pimples.

Therefore, what can we get from here? That cotton pillowcases brought nothing but just a pain in the ass. Just like what you do when you want to break up and move on fast with your ex-beau, you burn all your memories with him.

This time, try to do this with your cotton pillowcases; you take them out and burn 'em. Then you replace them with either silk or satin pillowcase.

Have you ever wondered why I always blabber about these two types of pillowcases? Well, you will get to know what's the big deal with these two below:

Perks of using silk or satin pillowcase

When talking about pillowcases, these two never failed to pop up in the discussion. Hence, it is not surprising that silk and satin are among the softest, smoothest, and most luxurious types of fabrics used in pillowcases.

Aside from their appealing appearances, these fabrics also come with many other benefits that could help you to have a good night's worth of sleep. Check it out:

It can lessen wrinkles and facial lines

Silk and satin pillowcases can make your skin move flawlessly without friction, unlike pillowcases with grainy and coarse fabrics, such as cotton and wool. As we have talked about earlier that friction can cause creases, facial folds, and wrinkles around your eyes, on your forehead, and on your chin while you are asleep.

In addition to that, silk and satin pillowcases can keep your eyebrows and eyelashes more intact (especially when you had an eyelashes extension) as you move your face side to side on your pillow.

It makes your hair shinier

Your hair withstands a lot while you are sleeping. Moving side to side, your pillowcase can pull off some of your hair strands that can make your hair more prone to damage and split ends. Thus, this further can dry your hair, and later on, it can make your hair dull and lifeless. Oops, not anymore.

Thanks for the emergence of silk and satin pillowcases that can save your hair from being tangled and frizzy. This is because silk and satin can resist the friction that your hair has experienced when rubbed against a rough pillowcase, this saves your hair from looking dull, and hence it makes your hair even shinier.

Moreover, resting your head on a silk and satin pillowcase can maintain your hairstyle looked good and fresh when you wake up in the morning.

It keeps your eyebrows and eyelashes intact

For those people who love to sleep facing down on their pillows, have you seen some fallout eyelashes on your pillowcase when you wake up? Hmm, this is a common cause for people who are still using a cotton pillowcase.

Well, why don't you try to shift to more something smooth and soft, like a silk or a satin pillowcase? These types of pillowcases can keep and maintain your fragile eyelashes from falling out, thus giving more protection to your lashes and brows.

This is because of the silky material that glides easily to your skin, rather than rubbing against it, which causes you to loosen your lashes.

Tip: If you are wearing an eyelash extension, try to use a satin pillowcase, as this can help to lengthen the quality of your eyelash extensions and gives extra protection.

It can boost one's complexion

Indeed, applying facial creams, toners, and facial elixirs daily can boost your complexion; however, nothing of these works, if you do not rest on a proper pillowcase.

While cotton pillowcase can make your skin dry overnight, well, this makes it more convincing on why you should change your pillowcase to satin and silk pillowcase.

With satin and silk pillowcases, your skin may be able to breathe, which helps in minimizing pores, leaving your skin supple and firm.

At last, you already know the benefits of using satin and silk pillowcases and the way it affects your hair and skin conditions.

However, these two fabrics are different from each other. The one is natural, while the other one is man-made. Can you tell which is which? Therefore, to understand this further, here is a quick table I made for a comparison of the two.

Difference between silk and satin

These two types of fabrics always come across when we are talking about pillowcases. People often ask a question like, "What's the difference between these two fabrics?" therefore, to start answering your question, here is a table I made for a quick comparison:

Let's go a bit deeper into how silk differentiates from satin by enumerating the qualities of these smooth and soft fabrics, and we will choose which fabric is the best per criterion, so that, later on, we can make a good judgment on which is better between the two.

Breathability

Silk

Silk is a fabric made from 100% silkworm secretions, therefore it safe to say that it is natural and organic. These sheets are breathable and can keep you both warm and cool during winter and summer.

Satin

If made from natural materials such as bamboo, cotton, silk, or Tencel, satin sheets can be breathable. Unfortunately, satin sheets are usually made from polyester and rayon. These man-made fabrics can cause breathability problems and may cause sweating underneath.

However, if you made satin sheets out of either silk or cotton, therefore satin sheets are breathable.

What is important to know here is that satin sheets can be breathable if you have chosen materials where air can easily pass through like silk and cotton. In addition, be mindful of the synthetic fabrics out in the market, if breathability is your main concern.

Best: SILK

Care

Silk

You can only wash silk by hand. However, you must be careful when handling and washing silk sheets. Use only cold water when washing and dry in a warm, not humid place. NEVER EVER, wash silk pillowcases in washing machines or drying them in a dryer.

Satin

Washing this type of fabric depends on the materials they are made out. If the materials used came from silk or bamboo, you need to wash them carefully by hand. If your satin sheets are made from polyester, this will be easier by tossing them inside a washer and drying them in a dryer.

Best: SATIN

Comfort

Silk

Known as the most luxurious and the most comfortable fabric of all kinds, silk sheets are also popular for being extremely smooth and soft. As you can notice on its fabric that the threads are all flat, this makes an easy glide on your skin with no sweat.

Satin

Commonly used for special occasions, satin sheets are well known to be sexy. Their sleek and shiny appearance makes them look very engaging and comfortable for certain situations. Furthermore, you may find these satin sheets to be slippery and skin catching.

Best: SILK

Durability

Silk

Given that they are a very fragile and durable material, silk sheets can extend their half-life, if properly maintained. In addition to this, silk fabric also possessed an antibacterial property, and it is hypoallergenic. On the other hand, silk sheets might become thinner and prone to wear and tear if not maintained properly. Therefore, we can say that silk sheets are very delicate materials and need extra care for handling.

Satin

These sheets are more durable compared to silk sheets. This is because of the specificity in the type of weaving methods you will use. Thus complex weaving can make the fabric stronger and harder to break and tear.

Best: SATIN

Price

Silk

Silk is very expensive, and it demands a lot of time and effort to make. In fact, to make silk sheets, you will need thousands of silkworms to produce good quality sheets. Even though they are pricey, it will be all worth it because of the benefits it might give for your hair and skin.

Satin

The price will depend on the materials that they will use to make a satin sheet. If it is made from synthetic fibers such as polyester, of course, they will be cheaper. However, if it is made from silk, they are at the same price as regular silk sheets.

Best: SATIN

To make a quick recap of the best pick for each criterion, here is a table below:

CRITERIA	SILK	SATIN
Breathability	√
Care		√
Comfort	√
Durability		√
Price		√

The differences between silk and satin

Therefore, the award for the best pick of fabric material between silk and satin goes to….

Silk

Generally, silk sheets are a perfect choice for your health and skin needs. It is also the best choice when your only concern is comfortability. However, the price for a silk sheet will worth a pretty penny.

Satin

Satin sheets are very flexible. You can find the best buy fit for your needs. If you want a cheaper satin sheet, you can choose a rayon or polyester. Nonetheless, your satin sheets will not be as breathable as silk sheets, if not made from silk or cotton.

Bottom line: In terms of comfortability and its appealing appearance, silk will be the best choice for this one. However, if you are looking for a cheaper, yet very durable fabric material, satin is the perfect choice for your needs.

Moreover, satin sheets are very easy to wash and handle. They can go to either machine or hand-washed, therefore making more popular than silk sheets. However, the final choice is still up to you, whether which type of fabric will satisfy your needs.

We are talking and talking about how good silk and satin for your hair and skin. Though we have different hairstyles, some have curly hair while others have straight hair. Otherwise, I will show you which fabric is the right choice for your hair.

Silk vs. Satin pillowcase: Which is better for your hair?

According to hair experts, soft and silk pillowcase will make your hair glide easily on your pillow, which can lessen hair damage. In addition to this, silk can lengthen your locks and can keep your Brazilian blowout last longer. This is because of its ability to lock in moisture and natural oil from your hair that keeps it soft, shiny, smooth, and silky.

On the other hand, the satin pillowcase can give you the same benefit your silk pillowcase can provide. However, silk will be the best fabric of all, because of its natural source that provides a softer and smoother surface for your pillowcase.

Silk vs. satin for curly hair

If you have naturally curly hair, sleeping on a silk pillowcase is the perfect choice for your curls. This is because silk pillowcase can prevent your curly hair from getting frizzy and sticky while maintaining your hair's natural oils, which your curly hair needs more, compared to straight hair. Therefore, a silk pillowcase can make your curly hair more manageable and always ready to go.

On the other hand, satin can also help in maintaining the natural moisture of your curly hair. This is because of its "non-absorbent" ability that can help to reduce frizzy, which is a common problem encountered by people with curly hair.

Silk vs. satin for straight hair

A very popular way to keep your hair straight overnight is by wrapping your hair in silk. This is because silk can reduce the amount of friction against your hair as you move your hair side to side throughout the night.

However, if you cannot afford to buy silk, you can go with its cheaper alternative, which is satin. Just make sure that you choose and look carefully for synthetic fibers that may harm your hair.

Finally, we are done with all the discussions about satin and silk pillowcases. Hopefully, this article enlightened you about the differences between silk and satin pillowcases and their benefits.

If you have made up your mind to throw away and burn your cotton pillowcases, and just invest in a pair of either silk or satin pillowcases. Here are my top recommendations below:

Top-rated and highly recommended pillowcases

Here are the well-reviewed and top-rated brands of pillowcases available on Amazon for a perfect choice of silk pillowcases.

Top 5 Silk Pillowcases

Top 5 Satin Pillowcases

P.S.

I hope you know that you supposed to wash pillowcases once in a while to keep them clean and fresh. If you don't know how to wash silk or satin pillowcases (as most people), check my other post on this topic:

Also read:

• Latex vs. Memory Foam 
• How To Wash Pillows By Hand

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