Journal

Silk Sleep Masks: Are They Actually Worth It?

You can buy a sleep mask for £3 from the chemist. You can also buy one for £50 or more. The question every gift buyer (and every sleep-deprived person standing in front of their phone at midnight) wants answered is: does the expensive one actually do anything the cheap one doesn't? The short answer is yes. But the long answer is more useful — because not all expensive sleep masks are worth it, and the reasons they work have nothing to do with luxury and everything to do with materials science. What a Sleep Mask Actually Needs to Do Before we talk about silk, let's talk about light. Even small amounts of it — the standby LED on a TV, a streetlight through curtains, your partner's phone screen — suppress melatonin production. Melatonin is the hormone that tells your body it's time for deep sleep. When light reaches your eyes (even through closed eyelids), your brain produces less of it. This is why some people sleep "fine" but never feel rested. They're getting hours but not quality. Light exposure during sleep keeps you cycling through lighter sleep stages rather than dropping into the deep, restorative phases where your body actually repairs itself. A sleep mask's primary job is total blackout. Everything else — comfort, material, aesthetics — is secondary to blocking every photon of light from reaching your eyes. If a mask leaks light around the nose, the sides, or the top, it's not doing its job regardless of what it's made from. Why Silk? (The Actual Science) Silk has properties that no synthetic material has successfully replicated: Temperature regulation. Silk is a natural thermoregulator — it warms in cold conditions and cools in warm ones. A silk mask against your eye area feels pleasantly cool without being cold. Synthetic materials (polyester satin, for example) trap heat against the skin, which is why you sometimes wake up sweaty under a cheap mask. Moisture management. Silk absorbs moisture without feeling damp, then releases it back into the air. This means it doesn't pull moisture from your skin the way cotton does. If you use night cream or eye cream, a cotton mask absorbs your products. A silk mask doesn't — your skincare stays on your face where it belongs. Friction reduction. Silk's smooth fibre structure creates significantly less friction against skin than cotton or synthetic alternatives. Less friction means fewer sleep creases on your face (those lines that take longer to fade as you age) and less pulling on the delicate under-eye skin. For hair, the same principle applies — silk doesn't rough up the hair cuticle the way cotton does, which reduces frizz and breakage. Hypoallergenic. Silk is naturally resistant to dust mites, mould, and fungus. For anyone with sensitive skin or allergies, this matters — especially for something pressed against your face for eight hours every night. What "Momme" Means (and Why It Matters) Momme (pronounced "mummy") is the unit used to measure silk weight — similar to thread count for cotton, but more meaningful. One momme equals 4.34 grams per square metre of fabric. Here's the practical breakdown: 16-19 momme — standard for most silk products. Perfectly acceptable. This is what you'll find in most mid-range silk sleep masks and pillowcases. It feels like silk, it behaves like silk, it is silk. For many people, this is genuinely enough. 22 momme — premium grade. Noticeably heavier, smoother, and more durable than lower momme weights. This is the highest grade commonly used in beauty and sleep products. The fabric drapes differently, feels more substantial against the skin, and lasts significantly longer because the denser weave resists wear. 25+ momme — exists but offers diminishing returns for sleep products. At this weight, silk becomes very heavy and loses some of its natural breathability. It's sometimes used in clothing but rarely in sleep accessories. Does the difference between 19 and 22 momme justify the price increase? Honestly, it depends on how much you value longevity and feel. 19 momme silk is genuinely good. 22 momme silk is noticeably better in your hands — and it'll last years longer before showing wear. For a gift, the difference matters: 22 momme feels immediately more luxurious, and the person receiving it will notice. Mulberry Silk vs "Just Silk" Not all silk comes from the same source. The two main types you'll encounter: Mulberry silk is produced by Bombyx mori silkworms fed exclusively on mulberry leaves. This controlled diet produces the longest, finest, most uniform silk fibres — up to 1,500 metres of continuous filament from a single cocoon. The result is silk that's smoother, stronger, and more lustrous than any other variety. When a product says "100% mulberry silk," it's specifying the highest quality source. Wild silk (tussah, eri, muga) comes from silkworms that eat a variety of leaves. The fibres are shorter, coarser, and less uniform. Wild silk has a more textured appearance and feel — which some people prefer in clothing, but for something touching your face all night, the smoothness of mulberry silk is meaningfully better. Then there's satin — which is not silk at all. Satin is a weave pattern, not a material. "Satin sleep masks" are usually made from polyester woven in a satin pattern. They look shiny like silk but don't have the temperature regulation, moisture management, or hypoallergenic properties. If a mask says "satin" instead of "silk," it's synthetic. What Makes a Good Silk Sleep Mask (Beyond the Silk) The silk matters, but it's not the only thing that determines whether a mask is worth your money: Padding and structure. A flat piece of silk tied around your head will block some light, but light leaks around the edges — particularly at the nose bridge and along the cheekbones. The best masks use internal padding (bamboo filling is common in premium masks) to create a gentle seal around the eye area without pressing on the eyelids. You want blackout, not compression. Strap design. Elastic bands leave marks on your face and pull your hair. Adjustable straps made from silk or soft fabric eliminate both problems. This is a detail that separates masks you endure from masks you enjoy. Coverage area. A mask that's too small lets light in. A mask that's too large bunches up uncomfortably. Look for masks designed with generous coverage — particularly below the eyes and along the nose — without excess material that shifts during sleep. For side sleepers: padding matters even more, because the mask compresses against the pillow on one side. Thin masks lose their seal when you sleep on your side. Padded masks maintain their shape and blackout regardless of position. The Drowsy Blue Belle The Drowsy Blue Belle Sleep Mask is built around everything above: 22 momme mulberry silk exterior, cloud-like bamboo padding for total blackout, and an adjustable strap designed to sit comfortably without pulling hair or leaving marks. Drowsy built their entire reputation on this one product — and it's won awards because the execution matches the promise. The bamboo padding creates a genuine seal around the eyes (side sleepers included), the silk stays cool against skin, and the 22 momme weight means it'll last years of nightly use without showing wear. It comes in six colours — Blue Belle (powder blue), Black Jade, Damask Rose, Lavender Haze, Midnight Blue, and Sunset Pink — which makes it an excellent luxury sleep mask gift because you can choose a colour that actually suits the person you're giving it to. Is It Worth the Money? Let's do the maths on a £50 silk sleep mask versus a £5 synthetic one: If the silk mask lasts three years (conservative for 22 momme mulberry silk) and you use it every night, that's roughly 1,095 uses. Cost per use: about 5p. The £5 synthetic mask might last six months before the elastic stretches and the fabric pills — maybe 180 uses at roughly 3p each, plus you buy three more over the same period totalling £20. The cost difference over three years is about £30. For that, you get better sleep quality (total blackout from proper padding), better skin (no moisture absorption, less friction), and something that genuinely feels luxurious against your face every single night. As a gift, the calculation is even simpler. A luxury sleep mask gift is something someone uses 365 times a year. It's not a candle that burns down or a box of chocolates that disappears. It's a nightly upgrade to something they do for a third of their life. That's a hard value proposition to beat. The Quick Guide Worth paying more for: 22 momme mulberry silk, padded construction for true blackout, adjustable (not elastic) strap, generous coverage around nose and eyes. Not worth paying more for: Momme counts above 25 (diminishing returns), branded packaging you'll throw away, "infused" silk (lavender-infused, etc. — the scent fades after two washes). Red flags: "Satin" instead of "silk" (it's polyester), no momme weight listed (they're hiding something), elastic straps (they stretch and leave marks), thin/flat construction (light will leak in). If you're buying for yourself, a 19 momme mulberry silk mask with good padding is genuinely excellent. If you're buying as a gift — go 22 momme. The person receiving it will feel the difference the moment they take it out of the box, and that moment is what makes a gift land. Browse our Travel Gifts for Mum collection for the Drowsy Blue Belle and other curated travel essentials — every gift arrives beautifully wrapped and ready to give.