Why I Travel With My Own Silk Pillowcase
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As a filmmaker, I'm used to leaving home. But no matter where work takes me, I still like to bring a little piece of home with me.
There is something particular about working in film. You get used to moving between places. One day you're at home writing or editing; the next, you're traveling to a location, spending long hours on set, staying somewhere unfamiliar, or figuring out how to make a temporary space feel functional. It's part of what I love about filmmaking because you're constantly stepping into different worlds.
But the older I get, the more I've realized that moving between worlds doesn't mean leaving everything familiar behind. My skincare routine, the way I take care of my hair, and increasingly, the silk pillowcase I pack in my suitcase have all become small ways of maintaining a sense of normalcy wherever I am.
Filmmaking Doesn't Always Look Like the Movies
When people imagine filmmaking, they tend to picture the finished product: the screen, the premiere, the camera, and the beautiful locations. The less glamorous reality is that filmmaking can involve a lot of waiting, traveling, early mornings, long days, unfamiliar spaces, and figuring out how to function when your schedule isn't entirely your own.
As someone building a career in film and media, I'm becoming increasingly aware of how much of the work happens outside the actual frame. There's the preparation, writing, editing, traveling, and constant adjustment that comes with working in an industry where the environment around you can change from one day to the next. Learning how to take care of yourself through all of that has become just as important.
I've been traveling more recently, spending time with family, preparing for a move, and continuing to work on my creative projects through all of it. I've had plenty of nights where the room I'm sleeping in isn't my room, and that's made me think more seriously about the things I choose to bring with me.
Bringing a Piece of Home on the Road
I don't mean packing my entire bedroom. I mean bringing along the small things that make a temporary space feel a little more familiar.
For me, hair and skincare are part of that. I've become pretty intentional about what I use on my hair and skin, so when I'm traveling, I don't want my routine to completely disappear just because I'm sleeping somewhere else.
A silk pillowcase fits into that philosophy surprisingly well. It's small enough to pack, useful enough to actually bring, and gives me one familiar part of my nighttime routine regardless of where I am. There is something comforting about putting your own pillowcase on a hotel or guest-room pillow after spending the entire day somewhere unfamiliar. The room may be different, but at least one small part of it came with me.
Why Silk Became Part of My Routine
The appeal of silk for me is practical before it's luxurious. Silk has a naturally smooth surface, which is one reason silk pillowcases have become popular among people who want to minimize the friction their hair and skin experience while sleeping.
Good Housekeeping's current testing of silk pillowcases also points to the smooth feel of silk and its potential benefits for hair frizz and sleep creases, while noting its comfortable, temperature-regulating qualities.
I'm not expecting a pillowcase to replace a skincare routine or magically transform my hair overnight. I'm more interested in small choices that complement what I'm already doing. If I'm going to spend time taking care of my hair and skin before bed, I want my sleep environment to feel like an extension of that routine rather than something completely separate from it.
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The Promeed Silk Pillowcase
That's what initially made Promeed's 23mm 100% mulberry silk pillowcase stand out to me.
The 23mm weight is substantial without automatically pushing the product into the highest-priced end of the silk pillowcase market. There is also useful third-party validation behind it. Good Housekeeping currently recognizes Promeed's 23-momme silk pillowcase as its “Best Value” pick after testing it for factors including strength, durability, washability, and moisture management.
The brand also offers multiple sizes, including a Toddler/Travel size, which makes the product particularly interesting from a travel perspective. That's a detail I appreciate because I'm not interested in buying something beautiful that only works when I'm at home. If I'm going to incorporate something into my routine, I want it to work with the way I actually live, and right now, my life involves a lot of movement.
The Beauty of Having a Routine on Set
There is another reason this matters to me as a filmmaker. When you're working on a production, so much of your environment is outside your control. Your call time isn't yours, the location isn't yours, and the schedule can change. You may be spending hours under production lighting, moving between indoor and outdoor locations, wearing makeup, dealing with weather, or simply staying on your feet longer than you expected.
You learn to adapt because that's part of filmmaking. But I don't think adapting means abandoning your own routines. If anything, the routines you can maintain become more valuable when everything else around you is changing.
At the end of a long day, I still want to wash my face, take care of my hair, and get into bed feeling like myself. Bringing something familiar into an unfamiliar environment is one small way of making that possible.
Travel Changes Your Relationship With Home
I've been thinking about this a lot lately because my recent travels haven't really felt like traditional vacations. I've been spending time with family, preparing for a move, and trying to keep building my creative career at the same time.
There's a strange feeling that comes with being between places. You're technically somewhere, but you're also thinking about where you're going next. In some ways, that feeling reminds me of filmmaking because film is built around movement. You move between locations, scenes, and versions of a story before you ever reach the final cut.
Your life can feel similar when you're building something. One chapter can be ending while another hasn't fully started yet. During those periods, small pieces of familiarity can become grounding. For me, that's been my routine, and one of those routines now fits neatly inside my suitcase.
Why I Think It's Worth Bringing
A silk pillowcase isn't going to make a hotel room feel like home, replace good skincare, or make a twelve-hour production day feel like eight. What it can do is make one small part of the day feel familiar, and that's enough for me.
Promeed's 23mm silk pillowcase is particularly appealing because it combines the qualities I'm looking for in a silk pillowcase with a price point that Good Housekeeping found competitive enough to earn its Best Value designation.
And because Promeed offers a travel-size option, taking silk with you doesn't have to mean stuffing a full-size luxury bedding setup into your suitcase. It's something you can actually incorporate into the way you travel.
Take a Little Piece of Home With You
From long days on set to the next location, keep your hair and skincare routine consistent wherever filmmaking takes you with Promeed's 23mm mulberry silk pillowcase—a small piece of home that travels with you. Shop Promeed
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A Little Piece of Home, Wherever the Work Takes Me
That's ultimately what I like most about it.
As I continue building my career in film and media, I know there will be more locations, more travel, more long days, and more temporary spaces. That's part of the life I'm choosing. I want the movement, the stories that come from being somewhere different, and the opportunity to work on sets and create things that require me to step outside of my normal environment.
But I also don't think I have to give up every piece of familiarity to do that. Taking care of yourself can be as simple as maintaining the routines that make you feel like yourself, even when everything around you is changing.
For me, a silk pillowcase has become more than something that sits on my bed. It's a small piece of home that I can bring with me, whether I'm staying with family, traveling for work, or eventually spending long days on a production set.
And wherever filmmaking takes me next, I have a feeling it'll be coming along. Explore Promeed
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links, AIL may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products that fit the editorial and lifestyle context of our content.
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