Specifying a latex pillow

Latex pillows are sold as solid cores or as shredded pieces, in a range of firmness bands measured as ILD, and at heights that matter more than the firmness figure. Six questions produce the specification to read a listing against, including the blend percentage to look for.

How the specification is built

A latex listing gives a firmness number, a form and a height. The six questions below map your position and preferences onto each of those, and the result page explains how to read the blend percentage on a label.

One question is about latex exposure, and a history of reaction ends the check there, because that is a question for a clinician and not for a specification.

No answer is transmitted. They are kept in your browser only so this site can recall your specification, and you can delete them at will.

Six questions, mapped to the label

1. Have you ever reacted to natural rubber latex, such as gloves or balloons?

• No. No history of reaction means the specification can proceed on comfort alone.
• Not that I know of. Being unsure is common, and the result page explains what processing does to the proteins behind latex reactions.
• Yes. A history of reaction to latex is a question for a clinician before it is a question of firmness.

2. Do you like to bunch, fold or reshape your pillow?

• Yes, I push it around. Liking to reshape a pillow points to shredded latex, which moves; a solid core springs back to one shape.
• No, I want it to hold one shape. Wanting one shape points to a solid core, which is consistent all night.

3. Which position do you sleep in most?

• Side. Side sleeping needs a taller core and a firmer band so the head does not sink below the shoulder line.
• Back. Back sleeping suits a medium core height and a softer band that lets the head settle.
• Stomach. Stomach sleeping needs the lowest core available, soft enough to compress.

4. When you lie down, do you want to sink in or be pushed back? (only when you answer no, i want it to hold one shape)

• Sink in a little. Wanting to sink in moves the specification toward the softer end of the ILD range for your position.
• Be held up firmly. Wanting to be held up moves it toward the firmer end.

5. New latex has a rubbery smell at first. How much would that bother you?

• Hardly at all. If the smell hardly matters, the blend percentage can be chosen on feel and durability.
• A lot. Minding the smell makes the specification favour cores that are washed and aired well in manufacture, and a longer airing at home.

6. Do you sleep hot?

• Yes. Sleeping hot makes ventilation holes in a solid core, or the airflow in shredded latex, worth weighting.
• No. Not sleeping hot leaves ventilation as a detail rather than a deciding point.

The possible specifications

Shredded latex, for sleepers who reshape their pillow

Readers who push their pillow around, for whom a solid core's single shape would be a fight.

A tall, firmer solid latex core for side sleepers

Side sleepers who want one consistent shape, and need the height and the firmness to keep the neck level.

A medium, softer solid latex core for back sleepers

Back sleepers who want a solid core that lets the head settle without lifting the chin.

The lowest solid latex core, for stomach sleepers

Stomach sleepers, who need the thinnest core on sale and a band soft enough to compress.

Latex with the least smell: what to look for on the label

Readers who mind the smell of new latex, for whom how the core is processed matters as much as its firmness.

With a history of latex reaction, this is a conversation with a clinician, not a purchase

Readers who have reacted to natural rubber latex before. This site does not advise on allergy, and says so rather than specifying a pillow.