When it comes to ageing well, most of us know the basics by now: SPF every day, a good retinol, plenty of water. But there’s a less glamorous contributor to the fine lines we’d rather not have – one that happens in the eight or so hours we’re supposed to be resting. If you’re a front or side sleeper, chances are you’ve woken up with a pillow crease bisecting your cheek like a topographical map. It fades, of course. But those creases – repeated night after night, year after year – can start to leave a more permanent impression. Which is precisely the thinking behind anti-wrinkle pillows.
Vogue’s top anti-wrinkle pillows at a glance:
Sleep & Glow Omnia Copper Skin Defense
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These are pillows engineered with specific cutouts, contoured shapes or raised supports designed to keep the face lifted away from direct compression. The logic is straightforward: if you can reduce the mechanical pressure and friction your skin is subjected to overnight, you can also slow the rate at which sleep lines become permanent ones.
“Pillow face and sleep wrinkles are a real phenomenon,” confirms consultant dermatologist Dr Ellie Rashid. “They result from continuous pressure, compression, stretching and pulling when the face is pressed into a pillow every night – particularly for those who sleep on their sides or stomachs.” So the problem that anti-wrinkle pillows are trying to solve is, at least, a genuine one. Where it gets more complicated is in the evidence for the solution. “I understand the concept – essentially keeping pressure off the face and discouraging compression on one side overnight,” says Dr Rashid. “But my honest opinion is that the evidence is limited and very small-scale.”
Maria Sotiriou, co-founder of SILKE London, approaches it from a slightly different angle. For her, the conversation is as much about what the pillow is made of as the shape it comes in. “I do believe pillowcases can contribute to wrinkles, particularly through repeated friction and compression during sleep,” she explains. “We now understand much more about sleep creasing and how nightly pressure – especially for side sleepers – can contribute to lines becoming more permanent as skin naturally loses collagen and elasticity with age.” The focus, she says, should be on protection and prevention: “reducing the daily wear that quietly accumulates over the years.”
