What Happens To Your Face When You Sleep On Silk?

Over the years, studies have shown that there are various benefits of sleeping on a silk pillowcase, with dermatologists widely touting the positive effects this natural fiber has on our skin. The tightly-woven fibers are said to keep moisture in our face, rather than stripping it out like other fabrics, increasing overall hydration and skin health.

In addition, silk causes less irritation when compared to synthetic blends and, being one of the most gentle fabric choices, it is more likely to conform to the face and less likely to cause sleep wrinkles. All thing considered, silk boasts some significant short term benefits that seemingly result in long term, lasting skin health, improved luminosity, and a reduction in wrinkles. It almost sounds to good to be true so, I set out to put my own silk pillowcase to the test.

With one week of my ongoing effort to uncover the best sleep habits for healthy skin under my belt, I have already learned that sleeping on white sheets has a positive impact and is worth the switch if you aren't already doing so.

However, even when I went dye-free, my fabric of choice was cotton. Come to think of it, I can't ever remember sleeping on anything other than cotton or fleece sheets (Ohio winters can be brutal, people), which meant slumbering on this silky alternative was going to be a true departure for my face. But I am all for any activity that significantly improves my beauty routine, especially when all I have to do is sleep — so with the many possible benefits in mind, I decided to test the waters.

Just like last week, I kept all all other aspects of my nighttime beauty routine the same, sticking with my very extensive "cleanse and go to bed" ritual for an aspect of control. After lathering up and switching out my pillowcase, I was ready to catch some zzz's and see if I truly could sleep my way to healthier, more hydrated skin. Here's hoping I wake up simply glowing.

Morning 1

Don't mind the fact that I look extremely tired. I was extremely tired because I basically had to be at work in the middle of the night — AKA 7AM, which I realize is a normal time for many people, but I am not a morning person, so stop judging me. My point being, the silk pillowcase was not to blame for my clear fatigue, it was merely a time of day I usually avoid being awake. I'm lucky I could manage a selfie.

On a positive note, my face was feeling super awesome already. Maybe it sounds like I drank the silk pillowcase Kool-Aid, but I can't help it. When I woke up and touched my face, I was truly shocked at how smoother it felt after just one night of non-cotton fabric sleeping. I can't wait to go back to bed tonight to see if these results continue.

Morning 2

Good morning! After yesterday's early morning conference call time, I woke up at a regular hour today and feel refreshed. Night number two on the silk pillowcase proved equally as beneficial, with my skin feeling, well, silky smooth and more even in tone.

I was also battling a blemish on my left cheek, a side I usually spend about half the night sleeping on, which seems to have been positively affected by my new choice in pillow covering. Normally when I get a blemish on the side of my face it can become cystic, but so far so good. Overnight, the acne spot did not become irritated or inflamed, which is always a huge morning mirror check relief.

Morning 3

Three days in and I am pretty certain I will be permanently switching out all of my cotton pillowcases for silk ones. Today, I really started to notice the hydrating benefits of sleeping on silk — my skin didn't feel as tight as it sometimes does in the morning, and it was a little brighter in appearance than normal, even before applying my moisturizer. Brighter, more hydrated skin and all I had to do was sleep — this is looking more and more like my kind of beauty routine.

Morning 4

Speaking of hydration, I noticed upon examination this morning that the moisture level in my skin was more even than it tends to be prior to applying face lotion. Sometimes when I wake up, and even throughout the day, I have areas of my face that are dry and other areas that are greasy. Half of a week in, and my skin seemed to be naturally evening itself out in terms of hydration level.

Morning 5

Chalk one up for the silk pillowcase good guys — my blemish was nearly non existent when I awoke this morning. Now, it isn't that I think this pillowcase has magical acne canceling super powers, but I can tell you that my blemish never became cystic or irritated and basically stayed a consistent size until retreating altogether in defeat.

My theory would be that the non-irritating fibers and the naturally even hydration made for overall healthier skin, which led to faster blemish reduction. Truly, I didn't even put any acne cream on the spot, so the silk definitely had a positive effect.

Morning 6

The silk pillowcase game is still so strong, my friends. While there were no new developments on the second to last morning of the experiment, I was still reaping all previously mentioned benefits.

Morning 7

Apparently, with the right tools, it only takes seven days to revitalize your skin. Silky smooth to the touch with improved hydration and zero blemish irritation — my face definitely felt the benefits of sleeping luxuriously this week.

If the conclusion isn't already clear, I urge you to strip your pillow of its current case and opt for a silk one. Throughout the week, I continued to see positive results and am garnering, what I believe to be, overall healthier skin with no negative side effects to speak of. I found truth to the notion that this natural, tightly-woven fiber helps keep the moisture in your skin, which improved my tone and made my face more naturally luminous and will likely help reduce wrinkles in the long term. Plus, hydrated skin is happy, healthy skin and that is what is most important.

Lastly, the blemish irritation that I regularly experience was significantly decreased, leading to healthier all around skin with fewer dark marks. All in all, in my non medical, yet self proclaimed expert opinion, the advertised benefits of silk completely hold up in real life and I would recommend anyone trade up to this easy, natural skincare option. Plus, a luxurious pillow case made from fancy fabric kind of makes you feel like Sleeping Beauty so, bonus points.

I'll be back next week with additional discussion on sleeping our way to better skin — right now I have to go wash my silk pillowcase in preparation for tonight's slumber.

Images: Katie Patton