Photo illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images
This column first appeared in Valerie Monroe’s Newsletter. How not to mess up your faceavailable for subscription on Substack.
As I write this, I am finding it difficult to maintain my usual positive attitude towards aging. He suffered a broken ankle and was kept in a cast for three weeks and was advised to rest. …Maybe this is a good time to answer some questions about pillows?
question: I often sleep on my side, and when I wake up in the morning, I sometimes see visible wrinkles on my pillow from “facial smoothing.” And you’re hesitant to try sleeping on your back for fear you’ll snore. Any advice?
answer: Dear reader, I have the same problem. I’m wondering about a silk pillowcase my publicist sent me years ago that I never used. It is said to reduce wrinkles on your face while you sleep. I like sleeping in crisp sheets, but I don’t like the crispy left cheek of my face in the morning. I thought that the effect of a silk pillowcase was like a “Princess and the Pea” situation, that is, something like a fairy tale. But HNTFUYF DermDiva Heidi Waldorf nixed that idea to me.
“Unfortunately, pressing your face into a pillow for eight hours each night can increase wrinkles and even reduce skin volume,” she says. “Sleep lines, literally wrinkles caused by the folding of the skin, remain for long periods of time. My patients are often amazed at my Kreskin-like ability to know which side they sleep on. I did.
“As a side sleeper myself, I wouldn’t recommend forcing my patients to sleep on their backs. Many people find it difficult to sleep well this way,” she continued.
A silk pillowcase comes to the rescue.
Reducing friction between the fabric and your face actually reduces wrinkles, Waldorf says. “My late mother always slept with a silk or satin pillowcase,” Waldorf said. “Back then, they were only available in white or cream colors, which required special care and didn’t last long.” Fortunately, companies like Slip have created a variety of silk pillowcases that are more durable and can be washed and dried. She said they make them in a variety of colors and sizes.
Choosing a pillow also reduces “face crushing,” Waldorf says. Her late grandmother always slept with a “necky” (a U-shaped pillow covered in silk) that kept her face slightly elevated even when sleeping on her side. There are now similar pillows like the Save My Face pillow and the enVy pillow that support the neck and head but are hollowed out in the middle. Waldorf uses a pillow that fits the shape of her face. (I think that’s the case with me too, but not enough to avoid leaving creases.)
In Japan, where I live part-time, pillows are commonly stuffed with buckwheat hulls (called buckwheat skin pillows), but I find them less comfortable than pillows. I don’t I feel like I have a bag of nuts under my face. On the other hand, pillows made of buckwheat husk are said to be less susceptible to dust mites and are more susceptible to mold growth on the head. You can read more about it here (and grab it if you feel like it).
Why not look on the bright side? — When you wake up in the morning with wrinkles on your face, at least you know you slept.
The first edition was published on February 27th.
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