Finally, I've found a hotel-style pillow that's cooling too - it's worth the splurge

As someone who makes sustainability a priority in my life, I'm no stranger to compromise. So, you can imagine my joy when I found out about Naturalmat's The Wool and Down Pillow: it's a blend of comfort, cooling fibres, and support that promises a dreamy night's sleep.

Wool is a staple of lots of the best cooling pillows, especially the natural varieties. If you've slept on one of these, you'll know that they're soft and also often ethically sound, but they're not quite the same as a down or feather pillow. That's why Naturalmat chose to create a supportive and cooling wool core for their pillow, which they encased in irresistibly soft duck down.

Pack in some organic credentials here and a 'handmade in the UK' there and you have yourself a very special pillow. It sounds perfect on paper, but what is it like in practice?

First impressions

If you're not already familiar with Naturalmat, it's a bedding company to behold. They've been making all-natural (hence the name) sleep products for over 25 years, from the fresh air of the Devon countryside. They have all the ticks for organic, B-corp, and local sourcing that you could dream of. What I particularly love is that it's not just a front either. You can often trip up brands that claim to care about the environment when you look at their packaging or instructions. Naturalmat are true to their ethics through and through. It's refreshing.

You'll see that The Wool and Down Pillow arrived in a reusable cotton drawstring bag. Naturalmat says "no plastics or other single-use materials are used at all. Your pillows make their way to you in their own protective drawstring bag which can then be reused as any number of things (we think they make amazing laundry bags!)" They do. The bag feels robust, it looks smart, and it hangs like an expensive laundry bag would in a luxury countryside cabin. I was impressed right from the outset with this.

Composition

It's really important to know what's going on inside your pillow as well as what it looks like. Given that this has a down layer, it's more delicate than lots of other wool pillows, so you can't just unzip it and pull out the filling. Instead, you have to trust Naturalmat and feel what the pillow is like from the outside.

If you were to take a knife to your pillow and split it open, you'd find that it has a hand-stuffed organic wool core. As I've mentioned, wool is the perfect filling for a cooling pillow, because it's a natural temperature regulator. The beauty of wool in particular is that it can be quite firm and supportive, especially in comparison with feathers and polyester. So, if you often get back, neck or shoulder pain, this could be your answer. 

Naturalmat explains this with a little more technical advice. They say "wool is an incredibly clever natural insulator that can keep you warm or cool when you need it to, thanks to tiny pockets of air within each wool fibre that provide both insulation and breathability. It is also naturally moisture-wicking and antimicrobial, which makes it particularly inhospitable to bed bugs and dust mites, and also provides far greater odour resistance compared to synthetic fibres."

The cherry on top of the wool credentials are that it's organic wool. It's also OEKO TEX 100 certified, which means that it hasn't been sprayed with any nasty chemicals. I think this is really underrated with most pillows because you spend 1/3 of your life asleep. If you've opted for a harsh, synthetic pillow, that means you spend 1/3 of your life breathing in a load of artificial chemicals. No, thank you.

The only downside of wool is that it doesn't have that same squish (the technical term is firmness) as a down pillow would. Naturalmat has anticipated this and created a cosy duck-down cover to snuggle around the wool. You get all the support and cooling structure of the wool, but when you press into the pillow there is an unmistakable down softness. I double-checked the down's origins and it's NOMITE, Downafresh, EDFA-certified duck down. This means that it's the best of the best, of course.

Even little extras, such as the case are thoughtfully crafted. The cover is 100% cotton cambric, which helps with the theme of natural, temperature-regulating properties. It's pretty perfect.

Who would it suit?

I always recommend this kind of pillow to hot sleepers, first and foremost. Wool is a brilliant temperature regulator and the Naturalmat doesn't falter. Both my mother and I found that it helped to keep our skin fresh throughout the night. Even though down can get a bit hot and cosy, the wool and cotton balanced it out really nicely.

The Naturalmat Wool and Down pillow is a lot softer than the other wool pillows that I've tested. I'd just come off sleeping on Putnam's and Woolroom's pillows, so I thought I knew what to expect, but this has a lot more cushioning around the head and neck. If you like being swaddled in your pillow, you'll love this.

Of course, it's also perfect for the eco-conscious. The wool, down, and cotton is all naturally sourced and it ticks off just about every sustainable credential in the book. You can sleep soundly on this one. 

What is it like to sleep on?

I've already given you a little insight into what this was like for me to sleep on. As soon as I gave the pillow a little push with my hand, I could feel that it was going to deliver that luxury hotel feeling. The first night that I slept on it, I was convinced that the pillow was more down than wool. And yet, unlike with down pillows, I didn't wake up too hot in the night. In fact, I was sleeping right through and waking up feeling fresh too. 

I'm normally a front or side sleeper, but the softness of this pillow makes it a firm favourite for back sleepers. So, I tried to adjust the way that I sleep. Remarkably, I found this was supportive in all the right places. It's pretty soft, so I didn't feel too much strain in my shoulders or neck, although I did need to roll onto my side after a few hours of reading, because my neck began to ache a little. Unless you're a front sleeper like me, you probably won't experience this.

Is it cooling?

I handed this over to my mother, who's a hot sleeper at the best of times. She's been trialling these out with me because she's going through menopause. I think it's really handy to have her insights, because sleep is simultaneously important and seemingly impossible around this time.

For me, a generically hot sleeper, I found the Naturalmat to be a little warmer than the other wool pillows that I tested, but it's still much cooler than the average pillow. If you normally wake up with a sheen of sweat, you're not going to wake up cold, but your skin will feel fresher and more like it's able to breathe.

My mother had pretty similar results to me, but a little more extreme. She said, "I always wake up in the night, but where I would normally be throwing everything off the bed, the Naturalmat didn't feel like a source of heat like my normal pillow. Don't get me wrong, I was still hot, but not in that unbearable, crazy state that I'm normally in. It's good."

What are the eco-credentials?

You'll have seen in the composition section that this scores highly for sustainability and environmental responsibility. The organic wool core is one of the best examples that I can give: it's chemical-free (protecting the ecosystem) and wool is a natural, biodegradable product too. 

Naturalmat is also based in Devon, which means that your pillow isn't packed with air miles. They source locally and have Soil Association certified from farms local to Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset. This means that the farmers are paid fairly and the wool is ethically harvested too.

There are lots of other big ticks for Naturalmat's eco-credentials: they're B-corp certified, Queen's Award winners and a Living Wage Employer. They get full marks here.

How does it compare?

I've mentioned another couple of wool pillows that I've slept on and I think you'll find it really helpful to know what happens when you remove 'The Down' from 'The Down and Wool Pillow'. It's actually a surprising amount. I've said that the down enhances the comfort factor of the pillow significantly: I sunk into The Down and Wool Pillow a lot more than I did the Woolroom Deluxe Washable Wool Pillow. However, I actually felt cooler and comfier on the Woolroom.

The beauty of the Woolroom is that the fill can be removed and added until you find the perfect firmness, so it's a pillow for all sleepers really. The cover is naturally cooling too (it's filled with wool) and so you end up with a really breathable pillow. Whilst it's not as soft as the Naturalmat, it's certainly much more cooling. You'll know better than me where you're willing to compromise, so the choice is yours. 

Should you buy it?

If you want the hotel pillow feeling, but without all the insulation, this is the perfect pillow. The down gives a soft sink-in feeling that you won't get on any other wool pillows, whilst the core keeps everything breathable and light. It's a perfect balance that feels like sleeping on proper luxury. 

How we test

At woman&home how we test pillows is a special process. You need to have at least two weeks of sleep in the bank to be able to tell whether a pillow makes any difference, so we double it and sleep on these pillows for a month. I track my sleep, so I look at the statistics for how deeply I've slept, how consistently, and I also check in with myself about comfort and cooling technology. I pass on the pillow to different sleepers to find out what they think. For example, my mum is going through menopause, so I tasked her with testing out the cooling features on each pillow. I also deep dive into the composition and comfort of the pillow, so you know everything you'd need before making the investment. If you still have questions, don't hesitate to send them over. I'm a proper sleep geek.