Have You Hugged Your Pillow Today?
The right pillow is essential for a comfortable and healthy night's sleep. Finding your perfect pillow comes down to your shape and size and the position in which you sleep. In picking the perfect pillow, you should consider fill, firmness, size, and shape.
Down Etc considers every detail in the manufacture of its pillows to ensure the luxurious sleep experience and return on investment for which Down Etc has become known in the hospitality industry. Details include 100% down-proof cotton ticking, double-stitching, and German cotton piping for strength and durability. Each of Down Etc’s pillows is shipped to you packaged in its own white cotton fabric bag with handles. These are great for when you want to travel with or store your pillows.
Fill Is What Goes Inside
Pillows with natural fill contain feathers, down, or a blend of the two, sourced from either geese or ducks. The feathers and down trap air to create a pillow that can support your head and neck and offer restorative sleep. Many luxury and boutique hotels have chosen Down Etc’s white or grey goose down and feather pillows as they provide the maximum level of comfort and luxury. It may help to understand the difference between down and feathers.
Down: Down clusters form the undercoat of waterfowl. They are very fine, soft filaments that are spherical with no quill. Down always wants to reinflate to its spherical shape, which creates loft and makes down one of the world’s best insulating materials. Down is lighter and fluffier than feathers and creates a soft, lightweight, but supremely warm, pillow in which to nestle.
Feathers: Feathers help waterfowl fly and stay warm and dry. Goose feathers are small with a quill spine running down the center and soft fibers radiating from the quill. Sometimes down is added to help keep loft. Feathers are firmer and heavier than down, offering a firmer pillow. Due to the curvature of the quill, over time, the feathers will align with one another, causing your pillow to flatten.
Fill power is a measure of the loft or "fluffiness" of a feather or down product that is loosely related to its insulating value. The higher the fill power the more air an ounce of the feather and down can trap and the more insulating ability an ounce of the down will have. The higher the fill power, the higher the quality, and the less feather and down required to achieve the desired level of warmth. Higher fill power feather and down results in lighter weight pillows.
Firmness Depends on Your Sleeping Position
How soft or firm your pillow feels depends on the filling. In a natural pillow, firmness depends on the ratio of feather to down as feathers are firmer and down is softer. The larger the down cluster, the softer the feel of the pillow. The position in which you sleep most often, your body shape and size, and personal preference, will determine which pillow will offer you the right balance of cushion and support.
Stomach sleepers
Look for a softer pillow that will gently support your neck without lifting your head too high, which can cause strain. Our White Goose Down pillows are the top choice of stomach sleepers.
Back sleepers
Look for a medium softness pillow as it will offer slightly more support than is needed for stomach sleepers. Try our 50/50 White Goose Down and Feather pillows
Side sleepers
Look for firmer pillows to support your neck and keep it better aligned with your spine. The breadth of your shoulders and the space they create between your head and the mattress will determine the level of firmness you need. A firm bottom pillow and a soft-top pillow might be a good choice. Our favorite among side sleepers and our best seller is our Rhapsody Wrap bed pillow.
Pillow Size, Too
Typical sizes for pillows include standard, queen, and king, which are rectangular, but vary in length, as well as the square Euro pillow. The size of your pillow is more than an aesthetic decision. Different size pillows serve different functions. While a standard size pillow might suffice for a back sleeper, if you sleep on your side or stomach, you might prefer a queen- or king-size pillow that will allow you to situate your arms and legs more comfortably. As we like to say, Hug It Like You Love It!®
Pillow Shape Options for Different Needs
Your preferred sleep position plays a role in the shape of the pillow you choose. For example, long pillows (such as king-size or body pillows) are generally better for side sleepers. You are probably familiar with square and rectangular pillows, but there are a variety of shapes with which you are probably less familiar, including cylinders, wedges, and even bendable forms like our V-Shaped Pillow. Each pillow shape is designed to meet a different need. You can try several options at home and relegate the wrong pillows to the guest bedroom, or you can contact the Pillow Butler® at Down Etc for assistance.
Alternatives to feathers and down such as Down Etc's Aquaplush® Hypoallergenic Polyester Pillows provide several benefits for those who prefer something other than down. They can offer the plushness, comfort, and warmth of down in a hypoallergenic product. Although they may be machine washable, we highly recommend dry cleaning. Alternatives are generally heavier, do not pack up as tightly, and may not hold their loft as long as down, but the Aquaplush® is filled with our custom blend of 100% hypoallergenic combed polyester fiber for a great plush feel that provides both softness and support.
Pillow Protectors, Always
Once you have invested the time and money to select and purchase the perfect pillows, protect your investment and your new pillows from mites, sweat, and spills with our zippered cotton pillow protectors. As you may have guessed, protective covers are mainly designed to keep stuff out. The oils from your body and the products you use on your hair all find their way onto your pillows. In addition, there are plenty of environmental elements like dust, mites, pet hair, and other allergens that find their way onto your pillows. Pillow protectors will protect your pillows from these contaminants and reduce the frequency of machine washing your pillows. We recommend protectors with zipper enclosures, preferably hidden zipper enclosures so the protection is invisible. It is much easier to strip off the pillow protector and throw it into your washing machine than it is to wash your pillows. You will increase the longevity and maintain the hygiene of your pillows.
Although keeping allergens, pollutants, and other particulates away from your pillows is probably your top priority, you might be interested to know that pillow protectors can also keep important things in. Feather and down pillows can lose some of their stuffing when you squeeze them, squish them, thrash around, and generally beat them up all night long. Even well-made products can suffer from long-term use. With protectors to cover your pillows, there is a much better chance of avoiding the damage to seams that can exacerbate leakage and ensuring the feather and down fill stays right where it belongs—inside your pillows. Down Etc’s Essential Cotton Pillow Protectors keep your pillows clean and fresh with a 235-thread-count, 100% cotton fabric beautifully constructed with an invisible zipper and teardrop pull.
