Could Your Pillow Be Affecting Your Skin and Hair?

Did you know that we spend about a third of our lives asleep, with our faces in our pillows? Your pillow is something that appears harmless, but it could be messing with your skin and hair. If you're experiencing some nagging hair or skin problems, it's time to inspect your pillow.

Let's look at five ways that your pillow may be negatively affecting your looks and what you can do to improve the situation.

1. Clogging your pores

Pillows absorb more sweat, bacteria, hair products, oils, makeup, and drool than we realize. They accumulate these substances every night. And just because your pillow looks clean, it's not.

If you get 7-8 hours of sleep each night, your skin gets exposed to everything on your pillowcase for 210-240 hours a month! 

HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

Pillowcases get dirty very fast (after a night or two of use). , you're All the old dirt and microorganisms that come into contact with your face clog pores and stimulate inflammation, which leads to breakouts.

HOW TO REDUCE THIS RISK:

• Wash your pillowcase once a week.
• Shower before bed.
• In the middle of the week, turn the pillowcase inside out, so you're using the "cleaner" side.
• Replace your pillow every six months.
• Flip your pillow over every night and use the other side.

2. Accelerating the appearance of aging

Your pillow could be making you appear older than your age!

Recent studies show a link between sleeping on your stomach or side and developing wrinkles.

A June 2016 Oxford University study reported that when people sleep on their sides or their stomachs, the forces applied to the face by pillows can lead to the development of "sleep wrinkles" over time. 

TO LIMIT THIS RISK:

• Practice good skincare to enable your skin to resist the formation of sleep wrinkles. 
• Choose a pillow with raised sides- this helps you sleep on your back most of the time. 
• Use a satin pillowcase—satin doesn't pull against your skin and doesn't dry it out either.

3. It makes your night routine useless

If you wash, tone, apply serum and moisturizer, and head immediately to bed, you're wasting your money. Some of those products could still be on the skin surface and end up on the pillowcase.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? 

• Apply your facial products at least half an hour before bedtime.
• Use pillowcases made of materials that don't absorb your skin products, for example, silk and satin.

4. Causing irritation

If you experience red, itchy, irritated skin in the morning, your pillowcase, pillow, and detergent might be to blame.

TO ALLEVIATE REDNESS AND INFLAMMATION IN THE MORNING:

• Always cleanse your face before going to bed. 
• Use gentle or homemade laundry products which don't contain harsh synthetic fragrances and other toxic chemicals.
• Wash your pillowcase more often- 2-3 times a week or as needed.
• Choose pillows made of natural fabrics, such as kapok, silk, buckwheat, and millet.

5. Harming your hair.

Most pillowcases latch tightly onto your hair strands, pulling and pressing them as you sleep. This encourages breakage, split ends, and dry hair. 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Use a silk or satin pillowcase. These materials don't snag hair strands and absorb fewer of your hair's natural oils.
• Never go to bed with wet hair. Wet strands increase the friction between your hair and pillow. 

With love,

The Sole Toscana Beauty Team.