Pillow Talk: Here Are the Best Pillows for Beauty and Health

On average there are 8 hours a day, 56 hours a week and at least 2,912 hours a year that most people spend sleeping. An essential component of life, sleep plays a major part in good health and helps to keep our bodies functioning properly. According to U.S. News and World Report, sleep restores energy, drops blood pressure, increases blood supply, and promotes tissue growth and repair.

A proper pillow provides the necessary foundation to getting a good night’s rest and staying comfortable while doing so. Pillows not only assist in keeping proper spine alignment and relieving pressure on joints and muscles; they are also secret assets in maintaining youthful looks and beauty.

However, the position in which we sleep at night may work against maintaining our good looks. Forty-one percent of people catch their Zs in the most popular fetal sleep position, and the second favorite sleep position is side-sleeping at 15 percent. Both postures, which are side positions, have great health benefits and make you snore-proof.

The fetal position, where your limbs are close to the body, improves blood circulation in the body— and for the fetuses of expectant mothers. While regular side sleepers experience less acid reflux. But both of these common positions also have definite beauty detriments. Whether you lie on your side (with a straight body) or curl up in fetal form, both positions smash your facial skin against the pillow. This is one of the most common non-hereditary causes of both fine lines and wrinkles.

Related: Simple Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep

Let’s also consider the traditional, rectangular-shaped, down, polyester or microbead pillow. Whether you sleep with multiple pillows stacked high or just one, these old fashioned pillows can no longer cut the high stakes of helping you maintain your youthful look. Just as we upgrade our smartphones and computers every few years, many of our pillows, the most intimate part of our nightly journey, are sorely in need of a reboot.

Enter the new breed and next generation of beauty sleep aid: the ergonomically correct family of pillows. Some were developed by plastic surgeons and nurses, but all boast geometric or futuristic designs that resemble wrench-shaped, cloud-like, pillowy cushions. They all hug your head, leaving it suspended yet supported.

There are plenty to choose from with various price ranges, and all have subtle differences. So Vital Updates decided to rank and sort the best beauty pillows on the market that will contribute to your overall sleep health, wellness and beauty. This information will help you save money by explaining which pillows are worth the splurge.

Economical, Compact & Most Comfortable

About Face Wrinkle Prevention Memory Foam Pillow [$69]

The Wrinkle Prevention Memory Foam pillow has many of the familiar bells and whistles that the other ergonomically-designed pillows feature that lift and cradle your face as opposed to the traditional pillow face smash.

While it has a silky finish, it’s also a memory foam pillow. So for anyone who’s luxuriated by having your body sink into a memory foam mattress or mattress cover, can you imagine having this wonderful sensation cradling your face everyday?

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) advises individuals to “sleep on your back.” But if you can’t, won’t, or shape shift during your night’s rest, the Wrinkle Prevention Memory Foam Pillow might be the one for you.

Celebrity-Approved & Good for Travel

Nurse Jamie Beauty Bear Age Delay Pillow [$69] Memory Foam Version [$79]

The U-shape part of this pillow is for side sleepers, and the large cut out area is for back sleepers. Regardless of how you snooze, this sleep aid boasts wrinkle-fighting effects while you sleep, thanks to its silky, anti-wrinkle texture which cradles your face and neck all while providing lumbar support.

“The Beauty Bear is so soft,” says Khloe Kardashian, “and prevents wrinkles too.” And its satiny finish will not irritate or bother sensitive skin types. “[It] has a natural slip and tends not to absorb your natural lipids,” creator Jamie Sherrill of Nurse Jamie told Yahoo Travel. This helps skin to retain moisture and keep fine lines from embedding.  Sherrill is a skin beauty expert to the stars, registered nurse and owner of the Beauty Park Medical Spa in Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi. Her pillow has many celebrity fans including  entertainment correspondent Maria Menounos who says, “I’m obsessed with my Nurse Jamie Beauty Bear Pillow.”

If sleep time is also a fashion moment for you, the Beauty Bear Age Delay pillow also features different styles: the standard style, midnight gray, leopard print and, for international types, the Union Jack flag. The pillow, which was also featured in Kardashian’s Ultimate Gal Gift Guide, is a nice, compact size which makes it an easy and convenient accessory for travel. And press from Good Morning, America and Access Hollywood to magazine outlets Vogue, Marie Claire, InStyle and Harper’s Bazaar all have the utmost pillow praise for the Nurse Jamie Beauty Bear Pillow. The upgraded memory foam version, which comfortably conforms to your head, is available for an additional $10 dollars.

Best Price Range, Style & Variety

Save My Face Pillow The Original Anti-Wrinkle Pillowette [$25-$85]

The Save My Face brand inventor Linda May Randell has an impressive backstory. Randell spent 30 years in the entertainment business as an understudy to actress Suzanne Somers and was a featured dancer with the Los Angeles Ballet. So it’s no wonder that, in addition to the health benefits, Randall’s ergonomic pillows also feature a lot of pizzaz.

Save My Face boasts an expansive pillow line with a variety of styles and price ranges that can complement any pocket book. They come in two size ranges: La Petite Pillow and the fuller, fluffier Le Grande Breezes. Of the line’s least expensive pillows, the La Petite satin series come in chocolate, champagne and iridescent colors, starting at $25. The next price range, at $35, includes the satin pillow series with matching blockout mask, Zebra print, and Express Loop (which allows you to fold the pillow in half, making it ideal for travel). The higher price range, from $60-$85, includes ones specifically made for hot flashes and night sweats, for eyelashes, those made of 100% organic cotton, and a 5-piece Travel Buddy pillow kit.

Save My Face pillows are also recommended by doctors for postoperative care. Their unique design and filling provides comfort and reduces pain after facial surgery. “We find that Save My Face! Pillowette successfully protects delicate areas after facial surgeries,” says Board-Certified plastic surgeon Mark A. Clymer. “We give one to every facial surgery patient to protect their investment.”  If it’s good enough for plastic surgery patients, then it must be gentle enough for average sleepers seeking wrinkle-free faces.

Most Expensive, Plus-Size & Luxurious

Juverest Sleep Wrinkle Pillow [$159]

With its four cut outs and headrest indentation, this plus-sized pillow may look imposing at first glance, but this is the Cadillac Escalade of pillows, promising a high-end, luxurious sleep experience. Featured on CBS News, in USA Today and BuzzFeed, and developed by plastic surgeon Dr. Goesel Anson, MD FACS, the Juverest has special features whether you sleep on your back or your sides. And you don’t have to flip it to get the most out of it.

For back sleepers it offers neck support, head cradling, sloped neck-to-back transitions, and raised transitions to side-sleep panels. Side sleepers can benefit from lateral face and neck support, shoulder support cradling, graded steps that minimize facial contact, and raised edges to stop forward rotation, plus it’s angled for neck and chin comfort. “The only way to avoid certain wrinkles is to change the way you sleep,” says Goesel. “Using JuveRest is an easy and logical solution.”

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