Good quality pillows: what to check before you buy

A good quality pillow keeps its height and shape for years rather than a few months. It uses fill and fabric you can verify, through certifications such as CertiPUR-US for foam or OEKO-TEX Standard 100 for textiles, and it has a cover you can take off and wash. It also has to match the way you sleep, which is why the "best" pillow differs from person to person. Price and thread count tell you less than any of those. Below is what to check, how the main fill types compare, and where Dosaze pillows fit (plus the cases where you'd be better off with something we don't make).

What good quality means in a pillow

The fill

Fill decides most of what you feel and how long the pillow lasts. Budget pillows are usually stuffed with loose polyester fiber, which feels plump in the store and then clumps and flattens under the weight of your head night after night. Better pillows use a fill that springs back: solid or shredded memory foam, latex, high fill power down, or buckwheat hulls.

Look for a product page that names the fill exactly. For down, that means a fill power number (higher means larger clusters that loft more) and ideally a fill weight. For foam, it means saying whether the foam is solid, shredded or gel-infused. A listing that just says "premium fill" is leaving out the detail that matters most.

Certifications you can check

Certifications are one of the few quality claims you can confirm yourself.

• CertiPUR-US applies to polyurethane foams, including memory foam. Certified foam is made without certain substances, such as PBDE flame retardants, mercury, lead and formaldehyde, and is tested for emissions.
• OEKO-TEX Standard 100 applies to textiles. The fabric is tested for harmful substances, and a genuine label carries a number you can look up on the OEKO-TEX website.
• For down, the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) covers animal welfare. For latex, GOLS covers organic content.

The cover

A zippered, removable cover that goes in the washing machine is a quiet sign of a better pillow. Most foam and latex cores can't be machine washed, so the cover is what keeps the pillow clean. Check the fabric too. Tightly woven or cooling fabrics hold up better and feel less clammy than a thin polyester shell.

How it holds up

You can test an old pillow in a few seconds. Fold a fiber or down pillow in half: if it stays folded instead of springing open, it has lost its loft. Press your palm into a foam pillow and lift it. The foam should recover fully, and dents that stay put mean the foam is breaking down. New memory foam may have a smell for the first few days. Airing it out usually clears it.

Pillow types compared

Which type suits you

Start with your sleep position, because it sets how high the pillow needs to be. Side sleepers need the most height to fill the gap between shoulder and ear and keep the neck level. Back sleepers usually do best with a medium height that supports the curve of the neck without pushing the chin forward. Stomach sleepers need a low, soft pillow, or the neck ends up bent back.

Then layer on the rest:

• If you switch positions through the night, an adjustable pillow lets you settle on a height that works for all of them.
• Hot sleepers tend to get on better with latex, buckwheat, or foam that has gel or ventilation, and worse with dense solid foam in a thick cover.
• People with dust or feather allergies often choose foam, latex or synthetic fills with a hypoallergenic cover.
• Down is hard to beat if you love scrunching and folding a pillow into shape and don't mind fluffing it every morning.

Buckwheat is the outlier. It gives firm, exact support and stays cool, but it is heavy and makes a rustling noise when you move, and some people never get used to that.

What the price actually buys

A higher price should get you denser or better-grade fill, a removable cover made from better fabric, third-party certifications, and a trial period long enough to tell whether the pillow suits you. It should not just get you a bigger logo. Brands across the market split along these lines: Coop Home Goods is known for shredded foam adjustable pillows, while companies such as Brooklinen and Parachute sell down pillows with stated fill types. Compare them on the specifics above rather than on adjectives.

A trial matters more for pillows than for most bedding, because it takes a week or two for your neck to adjust to a new height or shape. Dosaze pillows come with a 60-night sleep trial.

Where Dosaze fits, and where it doesn't

Every pillow in the Dosaze pillow collection uses CertiPUR-US certified memory foam, with a removable, washable cover. Within that, the options differ quite a bit.

The Dosaze Contoured Orthopedic Pillow is solid memory foam shaped to cradle the curve of the neck and promote spinal alignment. Its fabric is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified (label number SHHO 096690, so you can check it), naturally cooling and anti-microbial. It is designed for side, back and stomach sleepers. The contoured shape takes a few nights to get used to if you have always slept on a rectangular pillow.

If you want to set the height yourself, the Dosaze Adjustable Pillow is filled with cooling gel-infused memory foam that you can add or remove, and extra foam comes in the box. It is made in the USA, uses no polyester fill, has a hypoallergenic cover and is queen size (18" x 26"). For people who sleep hot, the Dosaze ThermaCool Adjustable Pillow pairs a ventilated gel core with adjustable cooling fill, for side, back and stomach sleepers.

Dosaze also makes a cooling wedge pillow for sleeping at an elevated angle and two travel pillows, though those solve different problems from an everyday bed pillow.

We don't make down, latex or buckwheat pillows. If you want the light, squashy sink of down, the springy push-back of latex or an all-natural fill, look elsewhere. And if being able to throw the whole pillow in the washing machine matters to you, foam won't do that. Only the covers wash.

Checklist before you buy

• The fill is named exactly, with fill power for down or foam type for foam.
• At least one certification you can look up, such as CertiPUR-US or OEKO-TEX Standard 100.
• A removable, machine-washable cover.
• A height that matches your main sleep position, or an adjustable fill if you aren't sure.
• A trial period of several weeks or more, so you can return it if your neck disagrees.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best quality pillow material?

There is no single best material, but memory foam, latex, high fill power down and buckwheat all hold their shape far longer than loose polyester fiber. Pick based on feel and temperature: latex and buckwheat run coolest, down is the softest and most moldable, and memory foam gives the steadiest support. Your sleep position matters as much as the material.

How long should a good quality pillow last?

Polyester fiber pillows tend to flatten within a year or two, while good foam, latex and well-cared-for down usually last noticeably longer. Rather than going by age, check the pillow: if a fiber pillow stays folded in half or foam keeps a dent after you press it, it is time to replace it.

Are expensive pillows worth it?

They are worth it when the extra cost buys better fill, a washable cover, verifiable certifications and a decent trial period. A pricier pillow that lasts several years can cost less over time than replacing a cheap one every year. A high price with vague details about the fill is not a sign of quality.

What does CertiPUR-US certified mean on a pillow?

It means the foam inside has been certified as made without certain substances, including PBDE flame retardants, mercury, lead and formaldehyde, and tested for emissions. It applies to the foam, not the cover fabric. For fabric, look for OEKO-TEX Standard 100, which has a label number you can check online.