The Best Pillowcase for Hair and Skin: A UK Guide

You spend around a third of your life with your face and hair pressed against a pillowcase. It makes sense to give some thought to what that fabric is, how it behaves through the night, and how you look after it.

This guide is an honest one. No pillowcase will transform your hair or skin on its own, and we will not pretend otherwise. What the right fabric can do is give you a smoother, cooler, drier surface to rest on, which is a better starting point for everything else you do.

Why your pillowcase matters for hair and skin

Three things happen between your head and your pillow every night.

Movement

Most of us shift position many times while we sleep. Each turn drags hair and skin across the fabric. A rougher weave, or one that bobbles with age, creates more drag than a smooth one. If you wake with tangled lengths or pillow creases across your cheek, the surface you sleep on is part of the picture.

Heat and moisture

Warm sleepers know the feeling of turning the pillow to find the cool side. Heat and moisture build up where your head rests, particularly for anyone who night sweats. If that sounds familiar, our guide to why you feel so hot at night explains what is going on. A damp, warm pillowcase is not a pleasant place for freshly washed hair or a night-time skincare routine.

What builds up

Night creams, hair oils, natural skin oils and sweat all transfer to the fabric. Over a week, that adds up. This is less about the material and more about how often the pillowcase is changed.

What to look for in a pillowcase

When you are choosing a pillowcase with hair and skin in mind, these are the qualities worth weighing up.

• A smooth surface. Fabrics with a smooth, fine finish let hair and skin glide rather than catch.
• Breathability. A fabric that lets air move helps the surface stay cooler through the night.
• Moisture management. A fabric that moves moisture away from the skin keeps the surface drier.
• Easy care. A pillowcase you can wash often, at a normal temperature, without special handling, is one you will actually keep fresh.
• Gentle credentials. Look for independent testing such as OEKO-TEX Standard 100, which checks textiles for harmful substances.

Comparing common pillowcase fabrics

Every material has its strengths. This is a simple, fair view of the options most people in the UK are choosing between.

Fabric	Surface feel	Warmth	Care
Cotton percale	Crisp and matte	Breathable, cool to the touch	Easy, washes at higher temperatures
Cotton sateen	Smooth with a slight sheen	Can feel warmer than percale	Easy
Silk	Very smooth	Regulates temperature well	Delicate, often hand wash or a gentle cycle
Eucalyptus lyocell	Smooth, soft and fluid	Temperature-regulating, moves moisture away from the skin	Machine wash at 30 degrees, tumble dry low

Silk has long been the go-to for anyone thinking about hair and skin, and it is a lovely fabric. The trade-off is care. Many silk pillowcases need gentle washing, which can make changing them as often as you would like feel like a chore.

Where eucalyptus lyocell fits

Eucalyptus lyocell is the fabric we chose for The Sheets. It is made from the pulp of eucalyptus trees. The fibre has a naturally smooth surface, which gives the finished fabric a soft, fluid drape that sits somewhere between cotton and silk in feel.

For hair and skin, the qualities that matter are simple:

• The smooth surface lets hair and skin move across it easily as you turn.
• The structure of the fibre carries heat away from the body, so the pillow stays cooler for longer.
• It moves moisture away from the skin, keeping the surface drier through the night.
• It is gentle on skin, with no cooling treatments or finishes applied, and it is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified.
• It washes at 30 degrees and tumble dries on low, and it gets softer with every wash.

That last point matters more than it sounds. A pillowcase that is easy to wash is a pillowcase that gets washed. If you are weighing it up against other plant-based fabrics, our honest comparison of eucalyptus and bamboo sheets may help.

If you have sensitive or eczema-prone skin

Eczema UK, formerly the National Eczema Society, describes lyocell as an eczema-friendly fabric in its guidance on clothing, alongside cotton and silk. Its guidance is not an endorsement of Mossva.

Bedding is not a treatment. No pillowcase can cure, treat or prevent eczema or any other skin condition. If your skin is reacting, your GP or pharmacist is the right place to start.

For bedding, the practical habits are the ones that help most: choose soft, smooth fabrics, wash with a gentle, fragrance-free detergent, and change pillowcases often. Our guide to bedding for eczema and sensitive skin goes into this in more detail.

Simple overnight habits for hair and skin

• Change your pillowcase often. Once a week is a good baseline. If you use night creams or hair oils, or you tend to sleep warm, twice a week is kinder.
• Keep a spare pair. Having a fresh pair ready makes a midweek change effortless.
• Let skincare settle first. Give night creams a little time to absorb before your face meets the pillow.
• Tie long hair loosely. A soft, loose plait or a fabric scrunchie keeps lengths together without pulling.
• Keep the room cool. A cooler bedroom, a breathable duvet and light layers all reduce overnight heat at the pillow. Our guide to creating the perfect sleep environment covers the rest of the room.

Our eucalyptus lyocell pillowcases are sold as a pair for £30, in the standard UK 50 x 75cm size with an envelope closure, and four come with every full set of The Sheets.

You can see every size and component in our eucalyptus bedding sets.

Questions Dreamers ask

Is a eucalyptus pillowcase good for hair?

Eucalyptus lyocell has a smooth, soft surface that hair moves across easily as you turn in your sleep, and it stays cooler and drier than many fabrics. We describe what the fabric does rather than promise changes to your hair, because hair depends on far more than a pillowcase.

Is eucalyptus lyocell better than silk for skin?

Both are smooth and both regulate temperature well. The main practical difference is care. Eucalyptus lyocell machine washes at 30 degrees and tumble dries on low, which makes frequent changes easy. Choose the one that suits how you live.

How often should I change my pillowcase?

Once a week is a sensible baseline. If you use overnight skincare or hair oils, or you sleep warm, changing it twice a week keeps the surface fresher.

Can I buy the pillowcases on their own?

Yes. Our eucalyptus lyocell pillowcases are sold as a pair, and four are also included in every full set of The Sheets.

How do I wash eucalyptus lyocell pillowcases?

Machine wash cold at 30 degrees, tumble dry on a low heat, and avoid bleach. There is no need to iron, as the fabric relaxes and softens on its own.

Read next: eucalyptus lyocell bedding