Many of you ask “What is the difference between silk and cotton and which is better?” The short answer; while both fabrics are produced naturally, they have vastly different benefits for your skin, hair and overall health. The long answer; keep reading!
The use of silk and cotton both date back thousands of years, making them some of the oldest fabrics ever worn. Cotton originates from the cotton plant while silk comes from fibres made from the cocoons of silk worms.
Silk is a much smoother material than cotton making it more luxurious and comfortable to sleep on than even the finest Egyptian cotton sheets. However, cotton is generally cheaper than silk and is much more accessible to purchase.
Sleeping on and wearing silk has many beauty benefits compared to cotton. One of the main reasons people seek out silk is its anti-aging properties. The smoothness of silk prevents your skin from tugging and stretching which produces wrinkles.
Silk is great for growing long, healthy and shiny hair. It glides over your hair seamlessly preventing split ends where as cotton can pull your hair causing hair breakages.
Cotton is a very absorbent material where as silk repels moisture so your skin can retain its natural oils and expensive skincare treatments. This is highly relevant when sleeping on silk pillowcases because your delicate facial skin needs to retain all of the natural moisture it can when it comes to aging which is further exasperated by dry skin.
The same goes for growing your hair because silk keeps all the natural oils in your hair where as cotton absorbs the moisture from your hair making it more brittle and losing some of its luscious shine.
Silk is more hypoallergenic than cotton because of the way the silk strands are tightly woven making it very difficult for dust mites and allergens to live in. This can be of huge benefit for people who suffer from eczema, asthma and hay fever.
Silk is temperature regulating, where cotton is not so much. Silk can cool you down in summer or retain your heat in winter, where as cotton lets heat out.
Silk is also more durable in the long run than cotton when cared for properly. Even though silk is a delicate fabric, if hand-washed or machine-washed meticulously following our care instructions (found here), silk can last a lifetime, making it a family heirloom. Cotton on the other hand is a much more low-maintenance fabric making it a good choice for those want a very minimal clothing and bedding care routine.
Overall, both cotton and silk have many different health and beauty benefits. There is no better or worse fabric as each has distinct purposes. Silk is better than cotton in some situations and cotton is better than silk in others. Personally, we would recommend sleeping on silk bedding for the many different health benefits which you can read about here. For day-to-day clothing, unless you suffer from allergies as discussed above, then cotton is cheaper, easier to care for and more accessible than silk. If you want to impress or have a formal occasion to attend, we would definitely recommend wearing that sleek, silk dress or suit. Shop our silk collection here.
