I first started using a buckwheat pillow about 10 years ago when I saw an "infomercial" about them on TV and then picked one up from the "As Seen On TV" section of my local Walgreens. The pillow I bought then was of poor quality but, even so, it made a world of difference in how well I slept. Some folks will try a buckwheat pillow and put their head on it and say "It's too hard" and then go back to their regular pillow. That's a mistake. Sure, a buckwheat pillow isn't soft (and a good sized one is pretty darned heavy), but that's what makes them work. A soft regular pillow can't provide the support that one of these does! What I usually do is make a dent in the pillow for my head and then wiggle my head around a bit to get it settled in. The buckwheat hulls move around and support my neck and head wonderfully. Now you may think that a firm regular pillow--or one of those "memory foam" pillows--would do the same and you're kind of right. The difference with those pillows is that, while they provide more support, they do not provide the air circulation that a buckwheat pillow does and, as a result, your head gets hot and uncomfortable. I don't quite understand how a buckwheat pillow promotes air circulation, but it does. The only warning about a buckwheat pillow is that once you get used to them, it's difficult to get a really good night's sleep on anything else. That's why I bought a smaller-sized one (the "Japanese size") for travel. Unfortunately, my 8 year old son has now decided it's going to be his, so I'll have to buy another one. The buckwheat pillows made by Beans72 are absolutely first-rate in every respect and the quick shipping means a better night's sleep is even more quickly at hand.
Eons ago, the pillow I slept with didn't matter.
However with a minor neck issue that reoccurs, some problems with my jaw and reoccurring migraines, my neck has become a hot spot of issues.
I have gone through the orthopedic pillows at $35-$50 a pop as well as inexpensive foam and feather pillows. Finally I had the opportunity to use a buckwheat pillow at a hotel in Japan. At the time, I thought it was the strangest thing. Felt like a pillow filled with little beads. The one I had was quite full as well and that makes it very hard.
My first purchased Buckwheat pillow was a cheap one advertised on TV and was quite empty, but it gave me a flavor of what one would be like. I decided since the experience was in the direction of goodness to bite the bullet and get this one.
So far, I like it.
This pillow is quite full. Not as full as the Japanese one, which is a good thing, because the fuller a pillow is, the harder it is. So if you don't like the hardness you can remove some of the buckwheat hulls and put them aside in a ziplock bag. I understand after you use the pillow a bit, the buckwheat wears down and you might want to return some.
Some points to ponder though:
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE:
Imagine you are sleeping on sand and under your pillow case is something you can shape. This is really the magic of a buckwheat pillow. It does not flex easy. You can shape a mound to support your neck, or a dishing out so you can sleep with your hands tucked up by your face.
NOISE:
When you move the pillow around with your ear on it, you can hear the grinding of the hulls on one another. It has never disturbed anyone sleeping with me, but I can hear it quite well.
TEMPERATURE:
If your head overheats, this pillow is cooler than a traditional foam or feather pillow and makes it nice to sleep with.
ODOR:
As I have allergies and often no sense of smell, I can't speak to any odor it might have. I thought one day I detected a slight odor, kind of a woody grass type of smell, but I'm not sure. I'm stating this as one reviewer complained about a strong odor. I don't feel it has a strong odor, but it might have a slight one.
SIZE:
For me the standard size worked best as I have a mix of Standard and Queen pillow cases. Each person might be unique here. If you use this for traveling, you might opt for a smaller size.
Buy Organic Buckwheat Pillow - Twin/ Standard Size (20" x 26") Now
I have 4 bulging discs in my neck and 4 bulging discs in my lower back, and until now I have never truly experienced a great night's sleep. And there are few things better in life than a good night's sleep, so it's important to find just the right pillow that will support and pamper your head and neck in just the right ways. Well, after a lifetime of looking I finally found the perfect pillow with all the right therapeutic properties! THANK YOU BEANS72!As most of you already know, most pillows are filled with feathers, fiberfill, or poly-foam; instead this hand crafted pillow is filled with hypoallergenic buckwheat hulls. During sleep the small buckwheat hulls shift inside the case to match the exact contour of your neck and head. The even support means no more cramps or muscle tension, both of which are known to contribute to more headaches and more stress.
Thank you once more for making my life bearable again!
PS: *PLEASE READ* I learned my lesson the hard way BEFORE I purchased my first QUALITY pillow from BEANS72.
I was really desperate from my back pain and wanted relief, I had heard about buckwheat pillows on TV and without doing any research I purchased a very cheap "As seen on TV" type pillow.
All I can tell you is that I have never been more disappointed in my entire life! The pillow had been shipped to the USA from over seas, the fabric was of poor quality, the zipper was of poor quality, the buckwheat hulls were of poor quality they were dirty and there were many small broken pieces, and then to make things even worse, the entire pillow had been FUMIGATED! Shame on me, I learned my lesson, I knew then and I know now that "You get what you pay for". When you buy cheap you get cheap...only worse when I think about it, can you imagine laying your face on a dirty, FUMIGATED pillow and breathing whatever it was fumigated with for 8 hours per night?
Thank you for this FORUM Amazon.
Jack Perry
Real Name without the badge.
Read Best Reviews of Organic Buckwheat Pillow - Twin/ Standard Size (20" x 26") Here
This is my first review, and can't wait to tell you how impressed I am at how MY SLEEP LIFE HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED BY THIS PILLOW!! I purchased mine from the Beans72 Website. First of all I was very excited to see such quality fabric and stitching, as well as how full the pillow was when it arrived! I decided to protect the pillow by placing a few zippered cotton pillowcases over it, which helped to soften the surface a bit too. At first, I thought it felt wonderfully supportive, and began sleeping on it immediately. Since the hulls in these pillows are all FLATTENED (most other brands are not I checked around), the sound they made was actually quite soft and soothing when I moved. It did not bother me or my husband at all. Neither of us noticed any scent that would be offensive.For the first week or so, I left the original amount of hulls in the pillow. Upon waking on my back each morning with the new pillow, I would notice that my neck would be sore. And when waking up on my side, my ears would often hurt. I also never really tried to adjust the pillow with my arms throughout the night, but formed my head into it when I first went to bed. I was beginning to get a bit frustrated with this pillow, and would go back to my original feather pillow periodically. I really WANTED this pillow to work!!! So, after the first week, I started experimenting each night with various amounts of hulls (measuring how much I was taking out with a measuring cup and ziplock bags and taking notes so I could remember what I did). I know this sounds like a lot of work, but IT WAS WORTH IT!! It took approximately one month of nightly trials and some tedious measuring/counting until I realized that the pillow needed to be quite flat for my neck/ears not to hurt (58 cups, exactly).
WHAT I LEARNED (and your experience my be different, of course): I found out that, because the pillow has such GOOD support, if the pillow is TOO HIGH, you WILL likely get sore ears while lying on your side, and a sore neck when lying on your back from the weight of your body pulling your head against the pillow (not right away, but while you're sleeping). If the pillow is TOO LOW, you will most likely be struggling for support and comfort throughout the night. (For those of you who love buckwheat hull pillows, you probably already know how important it is to adjust the amount of hulls to customize your pillow to fit your size and method of sleeping, but for those of you that have never slept on one before like me this is something I had to learn from experience. And I'm SO GLAD I did!) I found that the pillow needs to start out flat and at an appropriate height for sleeping on your back (with some of the pillow sitting up to or just under the top of your shoulders to create a wedge that will conform to your neck). Then when you turn to the side, you can grab the pillow and squish it so it becomes higher for sleeping on your side, just as one does with a normal soft pillow. (The difference is that your head STAYS PUT on a buckwheat hull pillow, whereas your head SINKS into a regular polyester or feather pillow). When the buckwheat pillow was too full, I could not adjust it with my arms, as it was too heavy for me, besides being too high all around. I did try to prove this to myself by pouring back some of the hulls into the pillow, and as soon as it got to the point where it was too high, my neck and ears would start hurting again. And when I took the hulls back out . . . VOILA PERFECT SLEEPING COMFORT!!!! IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR NOW, AND I STILL LOVE THIS PILLOW! At first, I found myself missing the fluffiness of my feather pillows, but after a few months of receiving the benefits of this pillow, going back to my old pillows felt weird, unsupportive, and inefficient for sleeping! I'll NEVER GO BACK!!
HERE ARE SOME EXTRA BENEFITS OF OWNING A BEANS72 BUCKWHEAT HULL STANDARD-SIZED PILLOW:
1) I found that once I get into position to sleep on this pillow, I only move a few times, if any, during the night, OFTEN, waking up in the same position I went to sleep in!! It's that good!!
2) After removing the right amount of the hulls, the pillow was lighter and easier to adjust/squish/cuddle with during the night!!
3) After removing the hulls, I was able to make a smaller travel pillow, with hulls to spare.
4) Even though I was able to make a travel pillow, I still take my standard-sized pillow along on trips in a tote. I usually set it on my lap, and use it as an arm rest/lap desk/calming weight while in the car. It actually helps me to sit up straighter and more comfortably!! It makes reading magazines and books much easier!! I use the travel pillow behind my head.
5) As soon as I adjusted the pillow to the correct height for me, my neck (which suffered whiplash years ago and was in pain often) literally became a non-issue for me!! No more pain!! Same with my back!
6) As others have mentioned, the pillow can be folded for sitting up to read or watch TV. In addition, I find that I can prop myself up in the side sleeping position and read just fine, as the pillow holds your head in place!
7) Also, as mentioned before, the pillow can be used as a weapon, if needed : ).
8) I found that if there is any part of the pillow pushing on my face that I don't like, I just take my fingers and indent that area, and, TA-DA, it disappears! No more morning wrinkles from fluffy pillows smushing your face!!
9) Since the hulls are FLATTENED, they do not settle very much or break apart when I remeasured after a year of daily use, I only had to add one cup, and there was VERY LITTLE BREAKAGE, just a bit more dust inside the pillow, which can be shaken out when cleaning.
10) Lastly (and this is the BEST PART for me, that is) after almost a year, my husband decided to try the pillow, and BAM unexpectedly besides him liking it there was LITTLE to NO SNORING!!! LITTLE to NO MOVEMENT!! He sleeps so sound and quietly now, I'm in heaven! No more waking up and jabbing him to stop snoring! He's got a pillow of his own now (58 cups of hulls works for him too)!!
Things to note:
1) I would not advise sleeping on your stomach with this pillow, as, with most pillows, it causes your lower back to sway and, eventually, hurt (unless you push most of the hulls to the side, so your head is not lifted too high). Ideally, you should push the pillow aside or in front of your head and set your face directly on the bed to sleep on your stomach, so that you're flat. Of course, it's best not to sleep on your tummy at all, if you can help it.
2) Although, there is no smell or allergens from the hulls when the pillow is covered/zipped, once you start removing/adding/measuring the hulls, there will be some dust, which, in my case, caused me to sneeze and get watery eyes. BUT, as soon as the pillow is zipped up and covered again, it all goes away.
3) If you go to sleep with your hair wet, as I do periodically, I would recommend putting a breathable waterproof cover over the pillow to protect the hulls from getting damp/wet. The only one I could find that was "breathable" AND "waterproof" was about $20.00 at Slumberland. It should last a long time, though, and keep me and my pillow happy : ). If you do not get a breathable one, I would suspect that your head would sweat, and that it wouldn't be good for the hulls to not have circulation.
4) For some people, I'm sure little or no adjustments will need to be made to their pillow, as their shoulders may be wider or their bed softer, and a higher/more full pillow will suit them fine. Maybe you will need to add even more hulls, as some of you have mentioned. I just wanted to let everyone know that adjusting and, sometimes, REALLY adjusting the amount of hulls in the pillow will help you to get the benefits out of this pillow if you haven't already. Especially, if your neck/ears are hurting. It is SOOOOOOO worth it! : )
5) I had tried the Tempurpedic Symphony pillow before this, but found it to be too high, and NOT adjustable. My neck hurt using this pillow, and my head would sweat. And since I sleep on my sides and back, I would have to wake up and flip the pillow to the appropriate side during the night to use it appropriately (one side is for side sleeping and the other side is for back sleeping) and it was too heavy to do that, which hurt my neck even more!! It also could not be manipulated/squished/cuddled really. Before that pillow, I had a feather pillow. And before that I had a polyester-fill pillow.
6) I also wanted to mention that of the two sizes of buckwheat hull pillows (Japanese or standard), I like the standard size, as I feel it is more adjustable to my needs while I'm sleeping/reading/watching TV, as there is more their for you to grab and to work/snuggle with, and it can be folded : ). But the smaller one works great too more air space around your head, and VERY PORTABLE.
Good luck with whatever you choose!
Want Organic Buckwheat Pillow - Twin/ Standard Size (20" x 26") Discount?
This pillow took a night or two to get used to. It does mold to your head and neck whether you sleep on your side or back. The pillow feels hard but with the molding to your body it is comfortable. My arms don't fall asleep or tingle like they do without it. I do like this pillow.Save 8% Off
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