Month: July 2018

Silk vs Egyptian Cotton Sheets

If you have shopped for bedding, you probably already know about the top two contenders in the high-end bedding market: Mulberry silk and Egyptian cotton, as both are a big step-up from your regular cotton sheets. Sometimes it can be quite a difficult task choosing between the two. In this article, we will present you with a quick comparison between the two textiles that will hopefully help you in picking out a choice that is more suitable for your needs. For convenience purposes, we will refer to Mulberry silk simply as “silk” and Egyptian cotton as “cotton” in this article.

– Warmth Keeping:

What distinguishes a good sheet from a bad one is its ability to keep the temperature around your body at a comfortable level. This means being able to keep warm in the winter and keep cool in the summer. Mulberry silk is generally considered to be a great insulator while cotton is mediocre in this regard. This means that in the winter, body heat tends to escape more easily through an Egyptian cotton sheet while in the summer, the extra heat from outside will not be able to penetrate your silk sheets to get to you. Mulberry silk wins by a non-trivial margin here.

– Moisture Wicking:

Another aspect that may affect the comfort of sleep significantly is moisture wicking capabilities – nobody wants to sleep with a ton of sweat. Silk is one of the best moisture wicker in the market of textiles due to the structure of silk fiber having large hollow spaces in the middle. Cotton, while a decent moisture wicker at the beginning, quickly becomes inefficient when it has absorbed a certain amount of moisture. If you consider yourself a relatively sweaty person, sleeping on a silk sheet should be much more comfortable, especially if you use a very warm comforter.

– Material Weight & Smoothness:

The third major criteria for a good sheet is how it feels on your body and skin. Silk is known for it’s smoothness (“silky-smooth”) and lightness, and sleeping on silk is extremely comfortable. Cotton, while also quite light, is significantly coarser than silk in terms of surface smoothness, which is why sleeping on cotton tends to create wrinkles and broken hair.

– Health Benefits:

Aside from the obvious benefits that a good night’s sleep brings, sleeping in silk has a few additional perks that are beneficial to your bodily health. Most of these benefits comes from the fact that silk is a natural animal fiber and thus contains the essential amino acids a human body needs for various purposes such as skin repair and hair rejuvenation. Since silk is made by silk worms to protect them from outside harm during their cocoon phase, it also has the natural ability to expel unwanted substances such as bacteria, fungi and other insects (such as dust mites), making it naturally hypo-allergenic. Cotton, on the other hand, is a plant fiber and needs to be treated before it can be weaved as threads. It is not hypo-allergenic by nature, although you can wash a cotton sheet frequently to reduce potential accumulation of allergens.

– Source:

Mulberry silk is primarily cultivated in China, India and Japan, with China producing roughly 60%-70% of the world’s Mulberry silk each year. The best Mulberry silk comes from China and Japan. Egyptian cotton, like its name suggests, originates from Egypt where cotton plants grow well due to sufficient sunshine.

– Quality Measurement & Cost:

Silk fabric is sold by its momme weight which is measured in grams per square meter. Silk of 19 momme or above is considered to be high-end. The higher the momme weight is, the more dense and opaque the silk becomes. Cotton fabric is sold by its thread count, which is measured by number of threads per square inch. A cotton sheet with a thread count of 600+ is considered to be decent. Generally speaking, high-end silk is more expensive than high-end cotton, although as a long-term investment, silk is still very much a worthwhile choice.

Overall, Egyptian cotton sheets is the more economical choice of the two, and despite not offering as much comfort or as many perks, it is still very decent in terms of the comfort vs price ratio. Of course, if you are not overly concerned about the price and wants the absolute best, then Mulberry silk should definitely satisfy all your needs for a good bedding set.

How to Wash Silk Sheets

In ancient China, silk bedding was a status symbol and only available to the wealthy. Today, anybody can purchase this luscious fabric and enjoy the benefits of having silk sheets. Silk is a lightweight and breathable material that is also hypoallergenic, durable and perfect for both summer and winter months. High-quality silk sheets can be quite costly but will last for many years if cared for properly. Silk sheets should be washed by hand the first two to three times, but after that it is OK to launder them in a washing machine as long as you use the proper method.

Inspect the sheets for any stains and attempt to remove gently with warm water and a soft sponge. Do not scrub vigorously.

Set the washing machine to the delicate cycle and ensure that the water is lukewarm. Do not use the extra spin cycle; it is hard on silk fabric and can cause damage.

Add mild laundry detergent and fabric softener if desired. Use the amount recommended by the brand that you are using. Put the sheets in the washing machine for the set cycle time.

Hang sheets on a clothesline and allow to dry in an area out of direct sunlight, which can cause damage. Silk sheets can also be dried in the dryer on the lowest temperature setting.

Tips & Warnings
Silk sheets usually shrink slightly the first few times they are washed. This is normal and not cause for concern. Wash sheets separately from other laundry to prevent damage.
Do not use bleach on silk sheets.

Silk vs Wool Comforter

In the last few weeks, I have written several articles on the comparison between silk and various commonly seen textiles. This is going to be the last article in the series, and in this article I’m going to take a look at the various differences between silk and wool, and how these differences affect your purchase decisions.

One distinct difference between wool and other fibers I have mentioned before is that wool, like silk, is a completely natural animal fiber. As such, it shares a lot of similarities with silk in terms of chemical composition and fiber structures. Both wool and silk have high affinity with human skin and are suitable for most people.

So what are the differences between silk and wool?

– Warmth Keeping:

If you look at why wool and silk was there in the first place, you should have an idea of the basic difference between them: warmth keeping. Sheeps grow wool to keep themselves warm first and foremost, while silkworms make cocoons to shield themselves from harm during metamorphosis. These functions persist when wool and silk are cultivated and made into blankets and comforters.

Wool:

Wool is a great insulator of heat. The natural air pockets in wool help to efficiently keep the heat emanated by the human body inside and help people stay warm during cold weather. This is why sweaters are made of wool.

Silk:

Silk is also great in terms of insulation. However, most silk comforters and blankets don’t have the same density as their wool counterparts, meaning that they are not as good in terms of keeping warmth. However, due to the structure of silk fibers and most silk products being thinner, silk is better at facilitating air exchanges between the 2 sides of the comforter (more commonly known as breathing), which helps with venting excessive heat if required and keeping the temperature around the human body at a comfortable level.

– Comfort:

Weight:

Wool is quite light, but silk is still significantly lighter. Lighter comforter eases the difficulty of turning during sleep and promotes better blood flow throughout the night.

Touch:

Both wool and silk are soft to the touch. Silk, being thinner, feels more flowy while wool is more solid. It comes down to preference in this category.

Feel:

The word “silky smooth” perfectly describes how silk feels on the skin. Wool cloth feels a bit rougher due to the surface of wool fibers being scaly instead of smooth like silk fibers. Also, due to the structure of the wool fibers, it is easy for wool to fray on the surface, creating broken strands of wool fiber which may cause skin to itch.

– Hygiene:

Wool is not particularly resistant to any type of bacteria, mold or bugs because sheeps have skin for those. Silk, on the other hand, is naturally resistant to bacteria and mold, and repels most types household bugs because silkworms rely on these abilities to protect themselves. This not only means that silk tends to stay cleaner, but also that it keeps away some of the most common household allergens away from your bedroom.

– Maintenance:

Due to the factors listed in the Hygiene section, wool generally requires more care and maintenance in terms of cleaning, while silk is easier to clean. Both wool and silk require dry cleaning if you wish to clean them thoroughly. Lower momme weight silk tends to be more fragile than wool and doesn’t resist wear and tear as well, which is why we recommend silk equal to or above 19 momme.

Overall, both silk and wool are great textiles and worth getting. If you are more concerned about staying warm and overheating doesn’t bother you, wool is the more reasonable choice. If you wish to buy something that can be used throughout the year, that is lighter and more hygenic, then silk would be the better choice.

Silk vs Satin Pillowcases

As our brand gained more traction in the North American market, it seems that more and more people are writing to inquire about the difference between silk and satin (mostly on pillowcases). Indeed, when one searches for silk pillowcases on Google, Amazon or Ebay, the returned results often contain a large amount of satin, often at much lower prices. It’s no wonder that people want to know the reason behind the pricing difference, so we will attempt to explain the exact difference between silk and satin.

First of all, one should know that the so-called silk vs satin is, in fact, a false proposition – silk is a type of fabric, while satin is a weave, which means that there are in fact SATIN SILK, although it’s safe to say that 99% of the satin products sold on the market at low prices are *not* made with silk, but with polyester instead. So, instead of discussing silk vs satin, the question can be changed into the differences between Charmeuse silk and polyester satin, for which a proper comparison can be made.

So, what is the fundamental difference between silk and polyester? We believe the fundamental difference lies in the way these materials are produced. Silk is a naturally made animal protein fiber, whereas polyester is a industrially produced fiber made from petroleum. As such, silk offers significantly better affinity to skin due to similar chemical composition. Compared to silk’s smooth and light feel on the skin, polyester is hard, brittle and not very breathing at all.

The difference between naturally spun silk and factory-produced polyester extends beyond the simple contrast of feel and comfort. Silk is used by cosmetic surgeons and beauty salons around the world as THE material for facial beauty for its smoothness as well as the rich amount of nutrients contained in its fibers. The amino acids in silk fibers are essential to the human body and help replenish lost collagen in the skin, and the high moisture absorption rate of silk helps keep your skin at just the right humidity. The great insulation properties of silk help keep the temperature around your skin at an optimal level, providing not only comfort, but also the perfect environment for your skin to regenerate during sleep. Polyester, while also smooth, pales in comparison in this regard – although it is also somewhat effective in reducing morning hair and sleep wrinkles.

From a maintenance point of view, silk is a bit more difficult to wash due to it being more delicate and require more attention. However, silk is *hypoallergenic* and repels common household allergens including bacteria, mold, fungi, and dust mites alike, so you will most likely find less annoying substances on a silk sheet/pillowcase than a polyester one. If you are already suffering from allergies, the choice is really a no-brainer.

Lastly, we take a look at the cost. This is the one criterion for which polyester has a convincing victory. A polyester satin pillowcase costs roughtly 1/4 to 1/2 of a silk pillowcase of the same size, so if you are financially strained, getting a polyester satin pillowcases will help you get the sleep beauty routine started. Of course, when you are become more financially capable, our recommendation would be to get our Charmeuse silk pillowcase to receive full benefits high-end bedding has to offer.