Silk vs. Satin – Both Protect Hair From Breakage So What’s The Difference

My Crowning Jewel’s nighttime head wrap “Jewels” are made of the finest quality silk and satin-woven polyester. But what is polyester? What exactly is the difference between satin and silk?

Polyester is a man-made (synthetic) fiber or thread, that when woven, produces bolts of fabric. There are three ways in which fiber is woven into fabric: plain weave, twill weave and satin weave. These ways of weaving are distinguished by the direction in which the weaving takes place: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Of the three types of weaving, satin is the most expensive to manufacture because it is the most involved. Because we strive for excellence in design, all of our Night Jewels are finished with a satin weave.

Satin-woven polyester produces a fabric with beautiful drapability, enabling our head wraps to be shaped to the contours of the head. It is also wrinkle-resistant, allowing our Queendom Members to go from the bedroom to the boulevard! No one would ever guess it was slept in since the shiny side of the fabric is against the hair, enabling the hair to glide smoothly all night long, keeping hair moisturized, protecting the hair from breakage, and making our Queendom Members’ hairstyles last longer. The dull or matte side that is on the opposite side looks like a regular scarf. Except it isn’t “regular” at all, it’s a Crowning Jewel!

Satin woven polyester is long-wearing and easy to care for. Moreover, as satin is a weave, and not a fabric, other fibers can also have a satin weave. For example, when cotton fibers are woven with a satin weave the result is what is called sateen.

Whereas polyester is man-made, silk is a natural protein fiber that is produced by the larvae of the silk worm. The filament is reeled off and boiled to remove the stiff natural glue, and woven into fabrics noted for their soft luster, luxurious feel and strength. Because it is in short supply and labor intensive to produce, silk is expensive. Silk can have a plain weave, such as china silk or it can have a satin weave. Some of our Night Jewels are made with a silk satin. Unlike polyester, silk will wrinkle and should be hand laundered to be safe, while polyester can be machine washed and does not wrinkle as much.

Many of our Queendom Members prefer silk because of its exquisitely soft feel. Think of silk as the “Rolls Royce” of head wrap fabrics and polyester as the “Mercedes Benz.” Which “car” do you prefer?

For more on night jewels visit www.mycrowningjewel.com