PILLOW TALK

It’s our paradise and it’s our war zone… well, that’s for friggin’ sure! Although the former One Direction singer was certainly not referring to how something as simple as a pillow can make or break your skin in his hit song, “Pillow Talk”, I personally think there’s a Weird Al rendition waiting to happen. I would imagine it would go something like this:

 

*ahem* 

So we’ll piss off our skin cells 
In the place that absorbs oil
The place that takes a toil
Yeah, reckless behavior 
A place that is so pure, so dirty and raw
In the bed all night, bed all night, bed all night
Pore clogging in and wrinkling on
It’s our paradise and it’s our war zone

Eh? Eh?

Alright, enough of that. As lame as my humor can be, the amount of power a pillow has to hurt or help your skin isn’t a laughing matter. It’s actually pretty insane what something so simple and seemingly insignificant can do. So let’s dive in!

 

HOW YOUR PILLOW CAN BE A NIGHTMARE

 

Pimples, anyone? Face it. Pillows are actually super gross if you think about them. On this fluffy, scrumptious, heavenly sponge lurks old makeup, grease and oil from both your skin and hair, drool, bacteria, dirt, sweat… I could go on. My imagination is endless. Anything that’s ever on your face or scalp is transferred to that pillow where you place your pretty face for (hopefully) 8 hours every single night. Approximately 1/3 of your life. This is reason enough to TAKE. OFF. YOUR. MAKEUP. BEFORE. BED. (Gals, it’s not that hard). One night is all it takes to transfer unwanted gunk onto your pillowcase, but let’s be honest. We do not change our pillowcases every day. And you definitely don’t have to, but I’d be willing to bet that you should at least change it more than you’re doing right now. If I had it my way, I’d have all of my clients change their pillowcase once a week. If they’re prone to acne or have oily hair, then every three days at the very least. So, stop right here. Think about when you changed your pillowcase last. If it’s been over a week, quit reading this article and take 30 seconds to go change it.

I’ll wait.

 

Wrinkles. If you’re the type that’s spending hundreds of dollars each month on anti-aging services, expensive serums and creams, and is adamant enough to reapply sunscreen throughout the day because keeping your skin looking young as long as possible is important to you, then this is one you’ll want to pay attention to. If you’re a back sleeper, you won’t have to worry about this one as much as side or stomach sleepers. But for the rest of you, shoving your face into weird contorted positions for hours at a time just asks for an increase in wrinkles. There have been legitimate studies done that show that side and stomach sleepers can develop their own type of wrinkles over time. And those nasolabial folds? Yeah, the smile lines that go from your nose to the corners of your mouth? Those will just get deeper. You may want to try sleeping on your back instead. However, even you back sleepers have one thing to think about, and that’s pillow height. There is a belief that sleeping with your head raised too high increases horizontal neck wrinkles. And you know what they say… you show your age in your neck and your eyes.

 

Dry Skin. This is kind of a weird one. But if you sleep on cotton pillowcases, they may be drying your skin. Cotton absorbs moisture. It may not seem like a huge deal, but your skin is working hard while you sleep to turn over old skin cells and recover itself. And then the real kicker is that skin loses moisture on its own while you sleep. It doesn’t need any help from your pillowcase. A super easy solution for this is to swap out your cotton case for a silk or satin one. Plus, it makes you feel like Beyonce. More on that later!

 

SWEET DREAMS AND SWEETER SKIN

 

Decrease Under-Eye Bags. This is one of the coolest discoveries out there because it’s easy and it’s FREE. If you suffer from under-eye bags, sleep on your back with two pillows instead of one. That’s it! When you lay flat, fluid gathers under your eyes, making these bags look worse. Sleeping with your head propped up can reduce this fluid retention and help them look less” under-eye-baggy.”

 

Get Glowing Skin. Seriously! This is a trick I learned from blogger and esthetician, Renee Rouleau. She has this 3-minute trick she tells everyone to do, and all it requires is hanging your head upside down for 3 minutes. Blood rushes to your head, and the increased circulation helps your skin look glowing, vibrant, and radiant. The exact same principle can be applied while you sleep, but I would caution you against trying to sleep upside down. However, you can still liven up your skin again in the same way by sleeping on a single flat pillow so blood is able to return to the face.

 

Go Silk. Aside from feeling like Beyonce, swapping your pillowcase out for a silk or satin case is the cure for a range of skin and hair problems. First, silk isn’t absorbent the same way cotton is. Not only will that reduce the issue of moisture being drawn out of the skin, but it will also increase the effectiveness of your skin care products for the same reason… they won’t be absorbed from your skin! Silk also provides more slip and prevents as much friction and face crunching as your standard pillowcase does, reducing the number of wrinkles that could potentially be caused by your pillow.

 

Ready to try it? Upgrade to living like a queen and having skin like a dream by getting your silk pillowcase here!

xo,
Suz