Do you love snuggling your pillow while you’re fast asleep? A high-quality pillow can mean the difference between comfortable, refreshing sleep and waking up even more tired than before. If you experience the latter more often than not, then it might be time to replace your pillow.
Down pillows are designed to conform to the shape of your head and shoulders, regardless of whether you’re in your most comfortable sleeping position or not. They are made of organic materials, hypoallergenic materials that allow proper airflow through the contents of the pillow without softening or hardening beyond regular comfort levels. What’s more is that down pillow are available in all sorts lofts to perfectly match your preferred pillow-density.
But what is a down pillow?
Down pillows differ from traditional pillows in the sense that they made of organic animal products, specifically feathers from the backs, wings, and chests of goose and ducks. Most manufacturers of down pillows will sell replacement feathers when they’ve become crumpled up after months of use. Down pillows come is a wide range of densities and sizes.
What types of down pillows are there?
Basically, there are two types of downs used to make down pillows: goose and duck downs. However, there are three types of down pillows listed below.
Goose Down Pillows
If you’re looking for the king of all down pillows, then you have to go with goose down. Goose down is naturally super-fine, soft, and offer a consistent texture. Although they are the priciest option, you can definitely feel a difference in quality compared to other pillow types like memory foam, microbead, and buckwheat pillows. Though Hungarian and Polish goose downs are traditional, you can find other high-quality goose downs from Canada and the US.
Duck Down Pillows
The second type of down pillow is pillows stuffed with duck down. Duck down is normally smaller than goose down but is extremely soft and great for resting your head on. Duck down pillows are for fans of down pillows that are looking for a cost-efficient pillow. However, due to their smaller size, duck downs do have a shorter lifespan so you need to keep replacing the stuffing in order to ensure that your pillows provide maximum comfort Since duck down is more sensitive than goose down, pillows stuffed with duck down are recommended for occasional use rather than daily or nightly use.
Goose and Duck Down Pillows
The third and final type of down pillow combines both goose and duck downs. Combined down pillows are oftentimes sold in softer or denser models than all-duck or all-goose down pillows. They’re the middle-path between pure-duck and pure-goose down pillows. Because this type of down pillow combines both duck and goose feathers, it’s fair to say that the pillows will begin to distort in shape and lose its comfiness after several months of use. This is unfair to the goose down since duck down tends to break up quicker than their goose counterparts.
Down Pillows Pros and Cons
If you’re still unsure of whether a down pillow is best for you, take a look at our list of pros and cons.
Pros