I've been thinking of making or buying a satin pillow lately, but I wanted to get some input from everyone here on whether they think they help or not. Is it worth the scoffing (all in fun) I will undoubtedly get from my husband "Princess has to have her special fancy pillow :D "? Do they help with hair breakage and split ends? Is silk better, or is there a certain grade of satin that works the best? Do you still braid your hair at night if you use a satin pillow or do you leave it down?

Sorry I have so many questions at once. Any input will be greatly appreciated.

One piece of advice....don't get the cheapo satin cases from Wally World. They are rougher than coarse muslin. If you are making your own, find a nice smooth satin that has a nice hand to it. Everyone who has one of LisaJaney's satin cases just raves about it.

I don't braid every night. I love wearing mine loose when I sleep but I like to protect it at least some of the time.

Thanks Carolyn!

I meant pillow *case*, of course, I just realized I wrote pillow throughout my whole post as if it were a throw pillow or something.

I also realized I may sound like my husband's a pain, but it's only because when he had long hair he did nothing to it and of course it looked beautiful. Grr. ;)

of course: those folks who do NOTHING yet their hair looks fabulous just make me.....wanna scream!!! With jealousy (and admiration, of course!)

I have been sleeping on satin for years, well before I was growing my hair long, because it "preserves" the hairstyle. I could sleep on satin and wouldn't look like Rod Stewart in the morning. It also helped my hair not get so greasy so fast, too! Now that I am hanging with the longhairs, I know that there are also the hair-SAVING properties as well.

I can't recommend satin highly enough; it's just wonderful. And it IS a kind of "princess pillowcase". I sewed one for each of my nieces (3 of them, ages 3 to 9) and my nephew (age 10) for Christmas. I gave them to the children at Thanksgiving time when we were all together. The girls, of course, got pinks and purples and such, and Davy got blues. Well, the girls squealed "oooh, PRINCESS pillowcases" and I thought, "Oh great, now Davy will think it's a sissy pillowcase and want NOTHING to do with it." I did have some flannel that I could have whipped up a flannel one for him, but NOTHING DOING. He LOVES that pillowcase and his momma says "He won't use anything BUT that because his hair is nice in the morning. It USED to be a veritable RAT's NEST in the mornings, but no more!"

HTH,

Hmm, it wouldn't be much harder to make 2 of them, I bet he and I would both benefit from it - me from having nicer hair and him from the whole sensory experience of having a "fancy" pillow. I never thought about that. Thanks LisaJaney!

I love mine! I've been using them for 2 years now atleast.

you can make them in a color to match your bedsheets and then they won't be soooo noticable.

If you make them yourself, try putting a zipper on them.

If not, then I recommend LisaJaneys (although I don't have one of hers, I heard they're GREAT) or www.tenderheaded.com has a good selection.

The Wally World ones ARE rough, but I use those for camping "back up" cases or infront of my regular pillow for something to lay my hair on while I am sleeping.

they really do cut down on hair tangles, shedded hairs, and help to shine the hair and keep it smooth- and braids stay lookin nice!

Totally of the thread topic, but Valerie I love that new Avatar! It's awesome!

Ok, about pillowcases I second (or is that third?) getting a good smooth fabric without fancy weaving (ie 3 dimensional patterning) Any of the satin or silk imitations will do nicely as long as they have a soft drape, tight weave and good hand. If you run your fingernails across it and it catches or feels rough, your hair will feel the same thing. It goes without saying that you will want to buy the fabric retail instead of "sight un-felt" across the net.

I wouldn't reccomend a zipper, but I am a restless sleeper who rearranges her pillows all night long, and in my experience zippers eat hair :) but that is just goofy me :rolleyes: If you have issues about getting the pillow to stay in the case you might try a pocket type opening instead of one at the end.

I love mine on down pillows. The down eliminates my head slipping off and it makes a nice snugglie pillow.

If you buy one premade, get that sucker out of the package and feel it :D I have seen ones (like the ones described from Wally World) that beat my fine sandpaper for rough, for the same price as nice smooth ones!

HTH a little

Hey there Laurel!

I've noticed that when I use a satin pillow case, my braid looks less hair-ball-ish in the mornings. Otherwise, with my tossing and turning (on a 320 stitch case) my braid gets reaaaaaallllllllllllllllllyyyyyy ratty looking (hence, hairballish) ;)

I have a Lisajaney pillow case and another brand. Lisa's is MUCH better than the store bought one.

hth

Absolutely, without question, one of the best and most fundamental MUSTs of caring for your hair.
I used the same two for ten years that a girlfriend made me. They were fire engine red, because that's the only color she could find. Not my sort of color scheme at all, so they looked plenty conspicuous the whole decade.
A month ago I made the switch to a silk one from www.tenderheaded.com ($12). I am completely in love with it, and have since ordered several more, and even just lay one case on the couch arm while I lounge in front of the TV, and spread my hair out on it and often scrutinize it for split ends, which I am then thrilled when I actually find one to snip.
I've never had a signature LJ one, but I'd be completely confident in her handiwork as well.
So nevermind him, go do this simple, simple thing for you hair. NOW! :D

Thank you everyone! :D

Now I'm determined to try it. The reason I brought this up is because I only have breakage and splits on the sides of my hair and I only sleep on my sides. I thought maybe a satin pillowcase would help, since I've heard them mentioned around here a bit. I'm going to do it! Thanks again.

All this talk of satin pillowcases is making me impatient....

Well now that I can afford one... I want one from LisaJaney! But I think I'll wait till I move back to Alaska in May. One less thing to pack! :)

Can't wait!

I have satin and silk pillowcases and I think they really have helped my hair. I also was getting some breakage on the sides of my head that I finally traced back to my tossing and turning at night on a cotton pillowcase. If you want to give a satin pillowcase a try without making a big investment in time and materials you can get a decent one at Sally Beauty for about $7 for standard size. I have one of these and it's much nicer than I expected and it's holding up pretty well. The colors aren't high fashion (pink, beige, and white), but it is a decent grade of satin (what they call "bridal satin") and not that crappy rough stuff many stores and catalogs try to call satin.

I agree with the ladies who have said to make sure you feel whatever you buy. This is not something to buy on Ebay. Don't ask me how I know that :oops:

I have a satin pillowcase from tenderheaded.com, and it's very nice. My hair still looks frightful when I get up in the morning, but I don't think it's due to the pillowcase. 8)

bunniee

Great topic! I've been wondering about these cases, myself.

I don't seem to have a whole lot of breakage on my hair - I actually don't notice any, but if it's at the side of my head where I sleep, then I could be missing it.

I don't have the problem of my hair being tangled and messy when I wake up... I know I toss and turn, but for some reason my hair stays relatively smooth all night.

The above is what you seem to be recommending the satin pillowcases for, so I'm wondering - if I don't seem to be having those problems, is a satin pillowcase an essential for my hair?

Wondering and a bit confused,

Rachel

Rachel - another benefit of sleeping on a satin pillowcase that I have noticed, is that I no longer wake up in the morning with those wrinkled pillowcase marks on my face :o .

Ooooh, that might convice me! :) I always have those marks on my face.

Rachel

Hey there Laurel!

I've noticed that when I use a satin pillow case, my braid looks less hair-ball-ish in the mornings. Otherwise, with my tossing and turning (on a 320 stitch case) my braid gets reaaaaaallllllllllllllllllyyyyyy ratty looking (hence, hairballish) ;)

hth

You are too funny! "Hairballish????? LMAO I love to make up words too. Sometimes you just gotta do that to get the meaning across :D

I've had one for about 6 months now. I purchased it at "Bed, Bath & Beyond". I've really felt and noticed a difference, especially in the amount of tangles in the morining.

My wife didn't want one, since she moves around a lot at night and was afraid her head would just slip off :) Our little boy steels my pillow whenever he's in bed with us!

http://pub6.picturehost.co.uk/1.5.03Asmall22.JPG

:D Hee, I can see already that I'm going to have to fight the cat for it at bedtime!

another benefit is that cotton can suck moisture from your hair, but the silk and satin cases allegedly don't.

does anyone get a sore neck from sleeping on a satin pillowcase though? my head slides around on it so much that i wake up and my neck hurts:(

My partner scoffed, he teased, he pulled faces at the cost...

Now he hates going away becuase he has to sleep on nasty rough cotton again :)

I usually wear my up restrained, even on satin, but it has made a huge difference to tangles and matts, I can really tell when I stay elsewhere. I have a cotton/polyester mix satin - sheets, covers and pillowcases - and never again will I sleep in anything else :)

I started with one pillowcase. Then two. Then four. I am toying with the idea of getting sheets as well. But I don't get a sore neck from it - then again, I sleep like a log, don't move around much at all. How about putting a satin case on one of those bean or buckwheat pillows? Maybe you won't slide around so much.

A big thank you to everyone! I made mine yesterday and slept on it last night. It was very nice! Even if it did nothing for my hair (though I'm sure it did, and will), it was very refreshing to sleep on something so "lush" feeling.

does anyone get a sore neck from sleeping on a satin pillowcase though? my head slides around on it so much that i wake up and my neck hurts:(

My head use to slide around on satin pillow cases. But a dear, DEAR friend made a half cotton, half satin pillow case for me! Maybe I learned to sleep on it, or maybe it is my contour pillows . .. but I don't chase my pillow every night! And my hair looks MUCH less "icky" in the mornings! :)

If you are considering satin, but are afraid of slipping and sliding, maybe buy/try one case. You don't have to buy all satin sheets just to allow your hair a luxury! ;)

does anyone get a sore neck from sleeping on a satin pillowcase though? my head slides around on it so much that i wake up and my neck hurts:(

Try a buckwheat pillow, I've got three small ones on my bed with LJ's satin cases and I love them. The pillows form to your head and maybe you won't slide around too much. If buckwheat is too weird for you, try a softer pillow where you'll sink more than slide.

If you are concerned about texture, and can sew a straight (or semi-striaght seem), many fabric stores (at least the ones in my area) usually have a large enough piece on the remnant table for a fairly good price.

--Cheryl

I haven't noticed any difference on the pillowcase I use. I have all types. I just leave my hair down. I have totally straight hair so maybe that's why tangles aren't too much of a problem.

My satin pillow case truly makes a difference. I really feel that it cuts down on the split ends and overall long term damage. I highly recommend satin pillow cases. I got some nice ones from Tenderheaded.com.

My LisaJaney Satin Pillowcases are here!!! Quick shipping!!!

They are beautiful... :love: ...a heavier weight than my old store-bought satin pillowcase.

What a great feeling to sleep on luxurious satin!!!

I second that about buckwheat pillows.

I get a sore neck if I sleep on a "regular" pillow- even with a cotton 'case, but satin makes it worse. :shock:

the buckwheat's are not only more comfortable, but they work GREAT with the satin pillow cases.

I bought some of LisaJaney's satin
pillow cases a while back and I
HAVE to say my hair was never
this soft and controlable before...

LisaJaney, your pillow cases are
the greatest and I am really
glad that you make these!
:D

Is there a website where I can look at these famous pillowcases? LisaJaney's, I mean! :D

Rachel

Never mind, I forgot to look on her profile.

Rachel

Rachel,
You can look on my profile, but the page of my site that has the HAIR stuff is on the Services page. I am too stupid to know how to re-name that page, or I would. I think the link in my profile is just going to take you to the main page of my site......

I may go change that, so that it takes a body to the proper page. The other pages have some really girly stuff on them....nothing the men would appreciate having to wade through!

Hugs,
Lisa

Well I'll be darned! I didn't know you had a website. Very cool!

Ok... I gave in... I ordered a satin pillow case from LisaJaney. I've been wanting to and they sound soooo nice.... I just hadn't got around to it...

But I placed my order tonight. I'll being going to my GM salon appointment next week, so I'll need something nice to lay my head on - ha ha

Kimberly