Is a silk pillow better than a silk pillowcase? I swapped mine out and saw some impressive results

You might not have thought about investing in an actual silk pillow, because people still aren't talking about them as much as they are silk pillowcases. That's why I'm here to tell you that they deliver the luxury, hotel feel with facial-like results for your skin and hair. In short, they're a dream.

You'll have heard lots of good press around the best silk pillowcases and what they can do for your skin and hair, but I'm sure you won't have heard as much about their luxury sibling, the silk pillow. I hadn't either until I saw The Fine Bedding Company's Boutique Silk Pillow, but it has well and truly changed my life.

I'm a hot sleeper with curly (crazy) hair and combination skin, which makes finding the perfect cooling pillow a real challenge. However, after sleeping on a silk pillow, I think I've finally found my perfect pillow. And now I have to share it with you.

Who would the The Fine Bedding Company Silk Pillow suit?

The Fine Bedding Company's Boutique Silk Pillow markets itself as the "hotelier's choice" for its luxury feel and sumptuous loft. There's no escaping that this is a premium investment, but it's also practical too.

Silk is brilliant if you're focusing on your hair and skin health. Direct contact with silk can help to reduce friction and moisture loss, enhancing the beauty benefits more than a silk-blend pillow alone. That said, The Fine Bedding Company’s Boutique Silk Pillow has advanced Smartfil® technology and a soft cotton cover that still provides excellent breathability and comfort, ensuring a luxurious sleep experience even with a standard pillowcase.

The Fine Bedding Company says "many people associate silk with luxury but don’t realise its functional benefits. Silk helps to retain hydration, keeping skin and hair in better condition overnight. It’s also naturally hypoallergenic and resistant to dust mites, making it a fantastic option for allergy sufferers."

What's also special about The Fine Bedding Company’s Boutique Silk Pillow is that they've used silk and Smartfil® fibres, so it keeps its shape and support, which most silk pillows don't manage.

Unboxing the The Fine Bedding Company Silk Pillow

The Fine Bedding Company’s Boutique Silk Pillow comes in a neat storage bag. It's part-material, part-plastic, making it perfect for storing your old pillow or some bedding in. It's certainly not designed to be thrown away as some single-use packaging, which I think is important in this day and age.

When you pull it out of the bag, you'll see that the pillow outside is covered in classic, wide stripes. It looks like a really premium silk pillow - and it is.

Composition of the The Fine Bedding Company Silk Pillow

There are a few different aspects that make up The Fine Bedding Company’s Boutique Silk Pillow. The subtly striped cover is crafted from 100% cotton, which is great if you want a natural fibre that'll be moisture wicking and naturally cooling too. If you want to reap the rewards of silk, I'd recommend that you invest in a silk pillowcase to go on the outside of your pillow, but that's something to tackle later down the line.

The inside of the pillow is filled with silk and Smartfil® fibres, which delivers on the naturally cooling, hypoallergenic characteristics of silk. Thanks to The Fine Bedding's special blend, this holds its shape and support really well, especially in comparison to standard silk pillows.

What was the The Fine Bedding Company Silk Pillow like to sleep on?

I've mentioned already that I am a hot sleeper, with sensitive skin, and frizzy hair, so you can only begin to imagine how hopeful I was when I found the Fine Bedding Company’s Boutique Silk Pillow. I've been sleeping on it for a couple of weeks, alternating between using a cotton pillowcase and a silk pillowcase.

The first thing I noticed was just how soft this was to lie my head on. The pillow itself is really lofty and plump, but you get that wonderful, hotel-style sink-in feeling when lying on it.

I switch between lots of different positions when I sleep, but I found that I was more often on my back or side (instead of my front) with this one, just because it's more comfortable. I naturally do sleep more on my front, but that's not particularly healthy, so I was grateful for the prompt to change my sleeping pillow.

Throughout the night I can get quite hot, but I found that I was only waking up once or twice and I wasn't as unbearably hot as I sometimes can be. I expected a pillow that soft and lofty to be a bit clammy and insulating, but the silk and cotton cover did a wonderful, natural job at making sure I could get back to sleep when I woke up.

From a skin and hair perspective, I found better results when I used my silk pillowcase over my cotton one, but that's no surprise. Generally, my hair was a lot smoother (and less frizzed up and bed-heady) in the mornings and my skin actually wasn't as dry as it can be. So, if I can go off a few weeks of sleeping, this delivers on its promises.

To pressure test the cooling technology, I handed this over to my mum, who suffers from night sweats. She is the one who gave me my curly (I call it frizzy) hair and so I thought she would be a great person to test it. After her first night of sleeping on the pillow, she called me and the first thing she said was "did you say it's a pillow that luxury hotels use?" I wasn't sure which direction our conversation was going in, so I dragged out a hesitatnt "ye-es". Apparently she already knew that it was because her sleep was such a treat. I got a long string of sentences about how soft and comfy the pillow was. And, whilst it wasn't the most cooling pillow I've handed her, she said it still did some work towards keeping her skin feeling more refreshed when she woke up.

How does the The Fine Bedding Company Silk Pillow compare?

If you're on the hunt for a pillow that'll look after your hair, skin, and night sweats, this is the only one I've found that ticks all of the boxes (without you having to buy a silk pillowcase too). It's a luxury investment, but it also delivers on hotel-quality sleep, which I didn't think was something that you could buy until I came across the Fine Bedding Company.

On the other hand, if you already have a silk pillowcase to look after your hair and skin, you might find a cooler night's sleep on the Woolroom Deluxe Washable Wool Pillow. This is another luxury buy, but it has both mine and my mother's approval as the most effective pillow at helping you to regulate temperature through the night. It'll help you to get cool and then keep you there.

Should you buy the The Fine Bedding Company Silk Pillow?

If you want a pillow that covers your skincare, haircare, and cooling sleep needs, The Fine Bedding Company's is perfect. It delivers on the luxury hotel sleep experience and then some. In my opinion, it's worth the splurge.

How we test

At woman&home, we have a rigorous process for how we test pillows. I make notes on everything from what the packaging, storage, and cleaning of your pillow is like right through to the loft, feel, and whether it's cooling to sleep on. Every body and sleep style is different, which is why I hand the pillow around to lots of different testers so that I can make sure we're giving you a good idea of what the pillow is like to sleep on.

If you want to find out more, you can visit our dedicated page for how we test pillows.