Pillow Cover vs Pillowcase vs Pillow Protector: Do You Need All Three?

A pillowcase is a slip on fabric layer. A pillow cover fully encloses the pillow with a zipper and is nice enough to sleep on. A protector is a utility barrier that goes underneath. The names overlap between brands, so check the materials, closure and care instructions.

The three things, defined

Pillowcase. Open on one end, matches your sheets, comes off and goes in the wash every week with them. It gets changed most often because it takes the most of you: skin, oils, sweat, hair product.

Pillow protector. A zippered case that fully encloses the pillow under the pillowcase. Protectors range from a plain cotton case to waterproof laminates, and the waterproof ones tend to crinkle, hold heat and feel like sleeping on a mattress bag, which is why people take them off and forget them.

Pillow cover. Also a zippered case, but made from fabric nice enough to sleep on directly. It closes fully and gives you a removable, washable layer around the pillow. Some people sleep directly on it; others add a pillowcase. That's the category our Organic Cotton Sateen Pillow Cover is in.

Why it matters more for a kapok pillow

A filled kapok pillow stays dry and never goes in the washing machine, so the cover is your washable layer. It handles the routine laundering while the kapok inside stays light and lofty. I went through the whole routine in How to Clean a Kapok Pillow.

What to look for in a cover

Full closure. A cover that closes with an envelope flap is a pillowcase with ambitions. You want a zipper that runs the length of a side and closes completely.

A hidden zipper. The zipper should sit inside a fabric flap so the teeth never touch your face or catch on the pillowcase over it. Ours is hidden under a placket for exactly that reason.

Breathable fabric. Cotton over cotton. Cotton breathes and moves moisture away from your skin. If the cover is going to be the sleeping surface, sateen or percale cotton is what you want, and I compared those two in Sateen vs Percale.

A real fit. A cover for a 20 by 30 inch queen pillow should be a 20 by 30 inch cover, not a "fits most." Loose covers bunch, tight covers flatten the loft you just adjusted. Ours are cut to each of our four sizes: standard, queen, king and body.

Certification on the fabric. If you're going to sleep on it directly for a third of your life, it's worth knowing how the cotton was grown and processed. Our covers are organic cotton sateen and have been manufactured in accordance with GOTS (certified by Oregon Tilth, license GOTS-10229). The shell around every MAREA pillow is the same GOTS certified fabric. I explain what that label covers in What Does GOTS Certified Mean?

Do you still need a pillowcase?

Only if you want one. Plenty of people put a pillowcase over the cover so the whole bed matches and so there's a layer to swap mid week. Plenty of others sleep straight on the sateen and wash the cover instead. Both work. If you also need a waterproof layer, a protector made for that job slips on underneath.

The coming soon MAREA organic cotton sateen sheet set includes slip on pillowcases: one Standard case with Twin, two Queen cases with Queen, and two King cases with King.

How often to wash each

Pillowcase: weekly with the sheets. Cover: every two to four weeks, more in summer, or weekly if it's your sleeping surface. Pillow shell: spot clean as needed and keep the fill dry. Follow the care label and our care guide. A second cover makes all of this painless, because there's always a clean one to zip on while the other dries. The schedule for the rest of the bed, sheets and duvet cover included, is in How Often Should You Wash Your Sheets?

The setup we use

Kapok pillow in its zippered shell, our organic cotton sateen cover over that, and a cotton pillowcase over that when we want the bed to match. Three layers, and only the outer two ever see a washing machine. A cover added to a pillow order is discounted at checkout, and the terms are on the FAQ page. If you want the rest of the bed to match the pillow, here's how I make a bed feel like a good hotel, and here's the story behind our sheets.

Anthony
Founder, MAREA Sleep

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