With kids back to school this week, the distant memories of morning rushes and squabbles will soon be well and truly a reality again for families across the land. I have two daughters, and one of the biggest issues we have in the morning is the daily hair brushing, especially for my 8-year-old. I have no idea what she does to her hair in the ten hours that she is supposedly asleep, but I can only imagine that it involves being dragged through a hedge backwards, liberally rubbing her head on Velcro, then finishing the whole job off with a static-inducing fight with a balloon monster. Every single morning, without fail, and even after we have brushed her hair and got rid of every single knot before bed, she wakes up with knotty, tangled hair that is a total nightmare to sort out, made even worse by the time constraints on a busy school morning.
We have tried numerous detangling sprays, all of which have so far left an unpleasant coating on her hair that turns sticky after a short while. We have tried detangling hairbrushes, which to be fair do often make the whole job easier but still don’t completely solve the problem by any stretch, and especially when tangles are close to her scalp, we can still start the day off with tears from her and a panic from me as to whether I can unknot it quickly enough to get her to breakfast club and her sister to the train station by 8am!
Then someone suggested to me that trying a silk pillowcase might be worth a try. Silk is a natural fabric and contains amino acids, which helps to prevent friction, one of the big causes of tangling and knots, as well as reducing hair breakage. Being a natural fabric, silk also allows skin to breathe and also helps to regulate body heat, which is really important for warmer months, when overheating can disturb sleep and prevent proper rest. On top of all that, silk feels incredibly luxurious and looks fantastic, so is a fantastically decadent treat for adults as well as being something very practical for children.
This Is Silk very kindly sent a 100% pure silk pillowcase to try out, and I really was hoping it would be the answer to our morning woes. The pillowcases are available in a range of beautiful pastel shades, and my daughter chose pink to match her bedroom and because it is her favourite colour. When the pillowcase arrived, I have to say that I was totally blown away by the presentation – it arrived in a beautiful white gift box and it looked stunning. Because of the fabulous and luxurious presentation, it would make a super gift too, especially for Mother’s Day. The colour was a delightful pale pastel pink, just as the website promised it would be, and we were really impressed.
The pillowcase is a lovely, generous size – we have quite large, poufy pillows and it fitted them beautifully and looked fantastic on my daughter’s bed. She was delighted with it too and said it looked like a princess’s pillow; high praise indeed! She was really excited to try it out for the first time, and went to bed with high hopes for no knots and tangles the following morning.
We got up in the morning, and we were really impressed with the results; my daughter’s hair was almost entirely knot and tangle free, and her hair was shiny, glossy and manageable. I managed to get her hair brushed and ready for the day in about ten minutes, which is a massive improvement on previous mornings, which have taken as long as forty minutes for particularly knotty episodes. She has had the pillowcase on for almost a week now, and it has honestly made every morning so much easier – the first night wasn’t a fluke and her hair has stayed shiny and free of tangles every morning.
At £60, This is Silk’s silk pillowcases certainly aren’t the cheapest, but they are voted Indy/Best Best Buy in the Independent, and I can absolutely appreciate why. As well as being kind to hair and skin, feeling fabulous and revolutionising our stressful mornings, they are also easy to keep clean and fresh; I was really surprised that they are machine washable (within a mesh bag), although handwashing is recommended.
I would certainly recommend this silk pillowcase to anyone who is struggling with hair brushing issues in the morning. I also think it would make a fantastic gift for Mother’s Day, as well as just a really decadent treat for yourself.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £60 (with free UK mainland delivery)
For more information or to buy, visit thisissilk.com.
