HOW IS SILK MADE?
As I’m sure you know, silk is a 100% natural product.
The secret to its production is a tiny creature – the silkworm. These little creatures are bred and raised in captivity. They have no predators to defend against and are pampered throughout their lives, being feed solely on the leaves of mulberry trees.
As the silkworms prepare to transform into the next stage of their lives they spin a protective cocoon around themselves. The cocoons are made of essentially two elements; the fibre and sericin (the gum that glues it all together). The fibres that are created are fine and long and have had very little chemical exposure due to the charmed lives the worms live.
Generally, when unravelled, one cocoon produces between 1,000 and 2,000 feet of silk filament and to make one yard of silk approximately 2500-3000 cocoons are needed! Blimey, that’s a lot!
For the best anti-ageing properties, the fibres are woven with a charmeuse weave which creates a material that is incredibly soft, smooth and creates little to no friction.
WHAT ANTI-AGEING BENEFITS DOES SILK POSSESS?
Silk Helps Prevent Facial Creases - We spend about a third of our lives in bed! A high percentage of us sleep on our sides which can distort, scrunch and stretch the delicate skin on your face creating creases. Over the years, these creases and lines worsen and become permanent wrinkles. This is due to the skin becoming more fragile with age, as your collagen and elastin grow less resilient, meaning the skin takes more time to repair itself. Virtually everyone (99.9% of the population) sleeps on pillowcases made from cotton.
But, of course, the problem with cotton is that it does not slip, so the fabric continuously tugs at delicate parts of the face and neck. However, silk is woven closer together than cotton and other materials so it is much gentler on your skin. The smooth surface allows the skin to glide and alleviates friction. As such, your face rests comfortably without scrunching up your skin and creasing stops being a problem!
Silk Keeps Your Skin More Hydrated - Night time provides an awesome opportunity to care for your skin—especially replenishing and hydrating your facial skin. Many moisturisers and hair treatments are specially formulated for overnight use, and there is evidence that ingredients in skin care and hair products stay active longer during the dark, night hours.
Whilst cotton feels good against the skin and is comfortably cool it also had the ability to absorb many times (up to 27 times) its weight of a liquid. Conversely, silk does not do that. It is absorbent, yet its absorbency is only about 11%. That means it will absorb some sweat and face cream, yet not nearly as much as cotton.
The result is that your skin cells stay more hydrated, maintaining their plumpness and are less prone to wrinkling. In addition, a number of structures in the skin that support collagen (the stuff that keeps it supple and able to spring back into shape) require water to work effectively.
Silk Fibres Are Coated in Amino-Acids With Similar Properties To Your Skin - When silkworms create their cocoons they stick the fibres together with a glue called Sericin. This glue, Sericin, contains 18 amino-acids and has similar properties to your skin and hair – collagen, elastin and keratin.
Sericin’s is an antioxidant, it is antibacterial AND it has wound healing properties. As such it has been used by cosmetic companies for years. This water soluble protein is known for its moisture retentive qualities. Therefore, Sericin is able to further improve skin hydration as it acts as a thin film over your face, sealing in the moisture. What’s more, it’s been shown to replenish collagen, the substance that keeps skin elastic.
Silk is Naturally Hypoallergenic - Since silk is a high molecular form of protein, it has a strong affinity for bio-organisms and has the unusual characteristic of preventing the growth of micro-organisms and bacteria. The closely woven nature of silk makes it inhospitable for dust mites – properties that have proven to ease conditions such as eczema and asthma. Silk is fungi immune and does not contain harmful trace chemicals. Therefore, it is resistant to mould and deterioration.
SILK IS NOT A NEW ANTI-AGEING PHENOMENON!
We all know the blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe, for her contagious sex appeal throughout her career. It is no secret that throughout her years she continued to succeed in looking flawless, sexy and youthful. Did you ever wonder how she did it? Marilyn may have diamonds as her best friend but her other best friend was silk. Though Marilyn wore silk robes for her alluring and intimate images she swore by sleeping on silk sheets!HOW TO USE SILK FOR HOLISTIC ANTI-AGEING
- Sleeping on Sam’s Secrets Silk Pillowcases – Silk pillowcases feel wonderfully luxurious next to your skin and helps to promote restorative sleep, whilst reducing facial creasing, maintaining skin hydration and being hypoallergenic.
- Exfoliating with Sam’s Secrets Silk Cocoons – As we age, the cell regeneration of our skin slows down. As a consequence, skin cells accumulate on the surface and it starts to look matte and lacks radiance. Our Silk Cocoons have a textured surface which gently exfoliates leaving the surface of your skin renewed and feeling silky smooth as they release Sericin.
- Using a Sam’s Secrets Silk Eye Masks to enhance restorative sleep – Specifically created to help you to sleep more deeply and to boost energy levels for the morning. Our supersize design rests on your cheekbones and forehead rather than sitting on the eyes, this means it is especially comfortable and unrestrictive, whilst being effective at blocking out the light.
- Relaxing with lavender filled Sam’s Secrets Silk Eye Pillows – When placed across your eyes, nose and cheeks its soothing weight settles into the key acupressure points for clarity and calm, so it’s instantly reassuring and sleep inducing. They are great for a short rest, to decompress from your day, or a long nights sleep.
