Keeping your house clean and free of irritants can be a never ending chore. There are so many places that dirt and grime can hide, and we might even be tempted to squeeze a little extra time between some of those ongoing tasks. One place where people might be tempted to cut corners is washing their sheets and pillow cases.
After all, you're just sleeping — how dirty can the bed really get?
Do you ever wonder how often you should change your pillow cases? Let's take a deep dive under the sheets and see what turns up.
Can Your Pillowcase Cause Acne?
Let's face it, your pillowcase gets up close and personal with some of your most sensitive skin. Making sure that your slumber takes place on freshly laundered materials can help fight off unwanted breakouts in the form of facial acne.
As dermatologist Lian Mack told InStyle, "dead skin cells, oil" and other irritants "can build up on the pillow's surface" in just "a few days." This is especially true for those of us who may spend time lounging in bed during our waking hours as well as catching some Z's at night. If you have a tendency to watch TV on your phone, get some work done on your laptop while lounging, or even just read in bed before falling asleep, you're putting extra work on your pillowcases. Every time we touch our pillows, we're transferring microscopic unmentionables that stay there until we return.
As Insider reports, our hair makes pillowcases even more prone to collecting oil. Hair is absorbent and has a tendency to capture dirt and scents. Just think about how well your hair holds the smell of your favorite shampoo or the smoke from a campfire. That absorbency means that there's plenty of unwanted debris to transfer onto your pillowcase as you toss and turn at night.
The end result can mean acne breakouts, especially for those with particularly sensitive skin. If you've noticed yourself having unwanted blemishes pop up, your pillowcase could be the culprit.
Irritants Can Stack Up in Pillowcases
In addition to skin problems, leaving your pillowcase too long between laundry sessions can also be an open invitation to household irritants like dust and pet dander. If you're aiming for sneeze-free days, you might need to turn your attention to how you're spending your nights.
The fibers of pillowcases make them particularly troublesome culprits when it comes to capturing these irritants and holding them fast. You might not be able to see the cumulation of these unwanted particles, but you'll certainly notice them when they start causing itchy eyes and the sniffles. Cut the potential off before it becomes a problem by making sure that you're laundering your pillowcases on a regular basis or upgrading to naturally hypoallergenic bamboo pillowcases.
How Often Should You Change Pillowcases?
As we've seen, it doesn't take long for pillowcases to become contaminated with oils from our skin and dust from our homes. Since we're spending hours at a time with our faces pressed against these pieces of cloth, they need to be laundered more frequently than, say, the throw pillows on the couch. Just how often is recommended?
A weekly laundering is going to be sufficient for most pillowcase problems. However, if you're particularly prone to acne or sweat — or drool — a lot in your sleep, then an even more frequent cleaning schedule may be needed to see the best results. For those who are trying to ward off persistent skin problems, laundering every two to three days may offer the relief they need.
Proper Laundering Gives the Best Results
Just tossing the pillowcases into the wash won't necessarily solve all the problems. It's important to make sure that your laundering habits are working toward the end goal of an irritant-free sleeping experience.
To meet that goal, avoid fabric softener. While it can be tempting to load up a washing machine load full of bedclothes with softener, the residue it leaves behind can be a source of pore irritation, creating the same kind of breakout issues that a dirty pillowcase can cause. Avoid using dryer sheets as they are another source of residual irritants that might not make the best choice for pillowcases. Using them could contribute to irritating sensitive skin.
Using a fragrance-free detergent might be the best choice for many people. Even if you aren't particularly sensitive to scented cleaners, there's a world of difference between the scent that lingers on a pair of pants that will hang in the closet for days before being worn and a pillowcase that's going to be touching your face for hours on end.
Provide your skin and nose with the best sleep conditions by ensuring that you're drifting off to dreamland on a freshly laundered pillowcase that's free of strong scents and irritants of all kinds.
Shop Beckham Hotel Collection's wide range of hypoallergenic and antibacterial pillowcases today.
