To restore some of the shine and softness that's been lost, you can give your silk pillowcase a mild white vinegar bath. White vinegar helps to remove any residual soap in the fibres, and also restores lustre and softness to silk.
Softening Rough Silk After Washing
Gently run an iron over it on the "silk" setting while still slightly damp to soften it up.
If you decide on using the washer, set the machine to the gentle cycle, and place the silk pillowcase in a mesh laundry bag. This will protect it from snags or rough spots in the machine. Some detergents are simply too harsh for silk and will leave it feeling rough and scratchy.
If you find that the sheen of your silk clothing has lost its luster or shimmer and appears to have a white film or looks dull, the silk fibers may have become damaged due to improper cleaning or exposure to too much light or heat.
The first thing you need to know about how to dry silk pillowcases is that you should never put them in the dryer. The high heat of a dryer — even on a low setting — will destroy the silk's fiber.
Air drying
Most silk garments will become a lot softer once they have been worked and exercised. So, shaking it a few times while it's drying can help to speed this process up a bit. Also, you can pop it in the tumble dryer for a few minutes on a low temp. Give it a shake after this, and you'll notice a difference.
Place all silk items in a fine mesh laundry bag to help keep the silk from tearing or pilling. Wash silk in the delicate or gentle cycle in cool water. Temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit can damage your silk bedding.
Some silk items may lose color or get damaged in the machine. Don't wash silk and delicate fabric with heavy pieces of clothing like jeans. Using a delicates wash bag will protect your silks from any abrasive damage.
Silk cannot be tumble dried - True
This one's true - we would never recommend tumble drying silk, because heat can cause silk shrinkage. If you tumble dry your silk pillowcase, you could well find out later on that it will no longer fit over your pillow.
Add 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar for every gallon of lukewarm water in a sink, large wash bowl, or bucket. Mix well. Completely submerge the garment and swish it around to soak the fabric thoroughly. Remove it from the vinegar water, then rinse it several times in clean water.
True to the show's form, this cheap-sheet-softening-trick is unbelievably easy to execute, and you can treat every sheet set in your home with about $3 of materials: Simply throw your stiff sheets into the washer, along with one full cup of baking soda and ½ cup of vinegar, and run for one full cycle.
Use Fabric Softener
Simply add the recommended amount of fabric softener to your machine along with your regular detergent when washing, or you can even just use the softener by itself and run your sheets through a wash/dry cycle.
Do not wring or twist your silk garment while it is in the water, as silk gets weaker when wet, and the garment may lose shape. And do not soak silk in water for long periods of time, since this may cause eventual fading of the color.
DON'T use bleach or fabric softener when washing silk. DO wash your silk pillowcase at least once a week and if you're machine-washing, add it to an all-silk delicate load.
Don't put silk items in the dryer. Heat can damage delicate silk fibers. If the dryer is absolutely necessary to use only 'air' setting for 15 minutes or less with NO fabric sheets or dryer balls. Remove sheets before completely dry.
Rinse with cold running water. You may want to soften the shirt by soaking it in water and white vinegar (1/2 glass per 2 litres/67.6Oz of cold water) for 10 minutes and rinse it with cold running water.
Avoid the dryer
Lay wet silk clothing flat onto a clean, absorbent towel and roll it up in the towel to rid excess moisture. Unroll and repeat using a second dry towel, then lay flat on a drying rack or dry towel.
Most silk garments will say “dry clean only” on their care label. McCorkill says although sometimes you can handwash silk, dry cleaning “is the best way to retain the natural lustre and drape of the fabric.”
Similarly, silk can be handwashed, but doing so may change the lustre and drape of the fabric. If you have a silk garment made from particularly delicate silk, like chiffon or georgette, it's best to take it to a dry-cleaner as these fabrics are more likely to be affected by water.
Temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius) can damage silk significantly. It is best to wash all silk products in cold water. DON'T use bleach, which will harm the fabric and cause it to yellow. DON'T use fabric softener.
If you frequently sleep with wet hair, we suggest investing in a silk pillowcase. Silk doesn't retain moisture well, thereby allowing your hair to dry faster. More importantly, it's slick and produces less friction when compared with a cotton or flannel pillowcase.
Silk is naturally anti-microbial and doesn't harbor bacteria like cotton does. See the difference in a week.. Cotton soaks everything up. Silk doesn't act like a sponge with oils, lotions, creams so rest assured your evening skincare routine actually stays ON throughout the night.
“Whether it's cotton or silk, the pillowcase you sleep on at night doesn't influence your hair loss in any way,” Fox says. Outside of medical or hereditary causes, “the things we do that create hair loss are the things we do mechanically to our hair,” including heat styling and rough handling.