7 Of The Best Silk Pillowcases – Approved By Vogue Editors

Making the swap from regular cotton to a silk number can help improve hair and skin health – and extend the life of your hairstyle by an extra day, which is handy. In fact, speaking to Vogue, Crawford revealed that using silk pillowcases is her secret to making a blow-dry last for days. Just “put your hair in a loose bun overnight,” she said.

I can attest to the effectiveness of this easy trick, having tried it myself. Preserving even the softest of waves, sleeping on a silk pillowcase leaves next-day hair frizz-free and your style intact, helping to reduce the amount of time you spend in front of the mirror. “On a regular pillow case, which can be really abrasive, hair can quickly become tangled, knotty and damaged,” confirms hairstylist Syd Hayes. “I recommend these to all my clients to keep salon-glossy hair looking beautiful at home.” The fact that there is very little friction to contend with keeps breakage to a minimum, too.

Hairsylist Luke Hersheson confirms this. “I'm a kind of silk pillowcases,” he tells us. “I think they cause a lot less friction with the hair.”

Less well known, though, are the benefits that using a silky pillowcase offers your skin. Fiona Stewart, who is the co-founder of Slip, the brand that popularised the silk pillowcase, started the business after going on Roaccutane to treat the cystic acne she was suffering from at the time. “My skin was so dry and sensitive that I would wake up with crease marks on my skin,” she tells Vogue. Her dermatologist threw out a few solutions – one of which was sleeping on a silk pillowcase to help minimise the friction and dehydration caused by normal fabric pillowcases – and she decided to give it a go.

Read more: The Best Bed Frames

But despite searching high and low, she couldn’t find one to buy anywhere. “I ended up getting some silk fabric from the market, and draping it over my normal pillowcase,” she laughs. She saw results immediately – creases and dryness a thing of the past – and the seeds for her brand were sown. Now, Slip offers pillowcases made of 100 per cent mulberry silk. They help the skin to retain moisture (especially good for those with ultra-dry or sensitive skin), and reduce the creasing we tend to get with regular cotton pillowcases, which can lead to more fine lines in the long term.

Well, the higher the grade of silk, the more benefits you will see for both your skin and hair. Look to the silk grading system (where A is the highest grade and 6 is the highest quality), or momme (a high momme, like 22, is better quality silk), for an idea of what you’re getting. Besides that, it’s a matter of choosing the pillowcase you find most aesthetically pleasing.

The gold standard is 100 per cent Mulberry silk with a high momme weight (22–25 mm). Smooth, durable and incredibly gentle on both skin and hair, its naturally low-friction surface helps prevent frizz, tangles, fine-line creasing and moisture loss, so you wake up looking refreshed and radiant. Choose a tightly woven charmeuse finish for an ultra-sleek feel, and always opt for the highest momme you can find to ensure longevity and performance.

Cotton and linen pillowcases aren’t harmful, but are less helpful to skin and hair health. Their higher absorbency can pull moisture from the skin and hair, contributing to dryness, frizz and breakage. Their rougher fibre structure also increases friction, which may lead to sleep creases and hair damage. Silk’s smoother, low-friction surface helps reduce moisture loss and mechanical stress overnight.

Yes, a silk pillowcase can be worth the investment if you are focused on hair and skin health. While results vary by person and depend on factors like hair type and skincare routine, many people notice softer hair and smoother skin over time compared with cotton or linen cases.