In this blog post we’ll explore this question in-depth: Is a silk pillowcase for natural hair, specifically?
Some of us have left our waves, curls, and coils alone. We don’t use chemical relaxers to straighten our hair. We let it be the shape that it wants to be naturally! Hair that isn’t chemically relaxed is often called natural hair. With people who have natural hair, I’ve been asked the “Is a silk pillowcase for natural hair?” question a time or two. The short answer is yes — but only if it’s a real silk pillowcase. More on that later.
There are two reasons why silk pillowcases are indeed for natural hair.
Reason #1: Natural hair, be it waves, curls, kinks or coils, is more fragile than straight hair.
The more curl, kink or coil to your hair, the more fragile it is. The more S shapes or loops in it, the more gentle and kind you need to be with it. A real silk pillowcase has the best slip and slide and glide of any natural fabric. It allows the hair to move freely against its surface instead of grabbing the hair or tugging it. Every other natural fabric like cotton has some grip to it and therefore has some drag or pull on the hair as it moves across its surface.
Reason #2: Natural hair is dry.
If you have an oily scalp like I do, this might be hard to believe. I mean, I can only go one day between shampoos and when I was younger, I had to shampoo daily. It was only nearest to my scalp that my hair was oily. The more curly and kinky and coiled your hair is, the drier the hair itself is. We need to maintain moisture. Real, pure silk is non-absorbent. This is the reason why I suggest using one for skin care too – your night time skincare products remain productive when you sleep on a real, pure silk pillowcase. Cotton pillowcases are highly absorbent. That’s why towels are made out of cotton. They wick moisture away from the skin.
Now for that note on real silk pillowcases…
Many so-called “silk pillowcases” actually have some cotton or even some polyester silently blended into them to cut costs. Real, pure silk is very expensive. If the price of the so-called “silk pillowcase” you are looking at in a big store looks too good to be true, I bet you’re right. Always buy your silk pillowcase from a dedicated silk pillowcase retailer — not from a business that sells everything under the sun. If you buy your pillowcase from a business that deals specifically in silk pillowcases, you can have peace of mind and be confident that you’re getting the real deal.
So, to recap, use a real silk pillowcase for natural hair. Your silk pillowcase is good for natural hair because it protects fragile hair better than any other fabric out there. And silk is non-absorbent so you can maintain moisture that is much needed for natural hair.
