I Slept on Brooklinen’s Silk Pillowcase and Woke Up to Smooth Hair and Skin

We put Brooklinen's Mulberry Silk Pillowcase to the test after receiving a complimentary sample from the brand. Keep reading for our full product review. 

As someone who has struggled to fall and stay asleep since her early teenage years, it’s safe to say that I’m serious about all things bed-related, from my mattress to the pajamas I wear to my blue light exposure close to bedtime. One thing I’ve never considered, though? How a pillowcase might help me sleep better.

Enter the Brooklinen Mulberry Silk Pillowcase, which is buttery soft to the touch and promises to protect skin and hair while you sleep. While I was skeptical that a pillowcase could be the sleep (or skin or hair) game-changer I’d been looking for, I decided to give it a try.

Read on to find out how this pillowcase worked out. 

Design: Sleek, soft, and just a little bit slippery

Made of 100 percent pure Mulberry silk, the Brooklinen Mulberry Silk Pillowcase is, predictably, extremely soft. It glides right over your pillow, and a few minutes spent lying down on it is enough to lull the least tired among us to sleep. 

While it’s not as slippery as I’d imagined it would be when I read the words “silk pillowcase,” it is just a bit slippery. I had a few mornings where it was partially coming off of my pillow, but it wasn’t anything too extreme. 

From an aesthetic perspective, unless you plan to iron this pillowcase regularly, it does get very wrinkly—so if you like to style your bed just so (complete with all the fancy throw pillows), be sure to keep that in mind. 

Washing: Not the easiest 

On the list of things I’m willing to spend extra time and effort cleaning, I can’t exactly say pillowcases rank high on that list. The washing instructions for the Brooklinen Mulberry Silk Pillowcase suggest hand washing or dry cleaning it, and quite honestly, that’s a hefty ask for me—especially because I’m someone who likes to wash her pillowcases often due to the things that end up on it, like old makeup when I forget to wash my face once in a while or, you know, drool.

Another issue, which I touched on above, is how wrinkly this pillowcase gets. While it makes sense and is one of the main reasons why I don’t wear silk clothing, I am someone who likes her bed to look a certain way, and the wrinkles annoy me a bit. I could iron it, but who has the time when you’re dealing with a pillowcase? 

The difficulty of cleaning and care is the one thing that makes me prefer my regular old cotton pillowcases that get softer each time I throw them in the machine.

Results: You’ll get your money’s worth  

As mentioned above, I’m not a great sleeper, but pillowcases were never high on my priority list in terms of items that I thought would help me sleep better. But I was pleasantly surprised by exactly how much the Brooklinen Mulberry Silk Pillowcase made me look forward to getting into bed every night and how quickly I fell asleep when I laid down on it. I do have an extremely comfortable pillow, but this extra-soft, breathable pillowcase made of breathable yet insulating fabric took things to the next level.

In terms of what this pillowcase did for my hair and skin, I wouldn’t say the effect was a super dramatic one. But as someone prone to frizzy hair, I did notice that when I let my hair air dry after a shower and slept on it, I woke up with way less frizz than usual—so hey, that’s something, right?

As for my skin, there’s definitely nothing fun about waking up with pillow wrinkles on your face. While I’m not exactly going anywhere fancy these days, it is nice to wake up with a crease-free face every morning. 

Value: Not cheap, but worth it

At $59, there’s no way around it: The Brooklinen Mulberry Silk Pillowcase is very expensive. To give you some perspective, a set of two organic cotton “luxe” pillowcases, also from Brooklinen, retail at $39. However, its ability to help you fall asleep quicker and its hair and skin benefits make the pillowcase worth it despite the price tag.

Similar Options: This pillowcase stands out

Parachute Linen Pillowcase Set ($59 to $69): While I haven’t tried other silk pillowcases, I have tried a lot of different pillowcase fabrics in my life: Linen, cotton, organic cotton, jersey (back in college), the list goes on. While I’ve liked some better than others, I was disappointed with a set of linen pillowcases I got from Parachute, which had little holes in them after a few washes. Overall, the Brooklinen Mulberry Silk Pillowcase is by far the most comfortable pillowcase I’ve ever slept on—and it certainly doesn’t hurt that it has potential skin and hair benefits, too.