Thank you Mayukori
for providing me with a product to review, free of charge.
These are my own honest opinions.

Let me start off by telling you a few interesting – albeit slightly disgusting – facts about your pillow:

• How long is the lifespan of a polyester pillow? Just 1 year! I have to admit I didn’t know that until recently and I’ve kept some of my pillows for way too long…
• What is the main cause of respiratory allergies? Dust mites are responsible for 70% of respiratory allergies.
• After 2 years of use, how much of your pillow’s weight is in fact dust mites and their waste? They make up for a staggering 10% of the weight of your pillow after 2 years. Considering that these bugs are so small we can’t even see them, their number has to be mind-blowing to reach such a proportion.
• What consequences can an unsupportive pillow have on your body? Headaches, insomnia, stress, fatigue, poor brain oxygenation, neck pain, back pain, etc. Yes, all these problems can be caused by a pillow that doesn’t provide adequate support to your spine!
• Which chemicals are often found in stuffing products? To comply with the industry’s requirement, a flame retardant compound is used to reduce the flammability of pillows and other bedding products. The flame retardant compound can lead to serious health problems.

As soon as I found out about how unhealthy a regular polyester pillow is, I decided to look for a better safer option. That’s when I discovered Mayukori.

Mayukori is a small Montreal-based company. They specialize in buckwheat hull products which they locally source. They offer pillows for adults and kids, eye pillows, nursing pillows, and Furoshiki bags. They are involved in every step of the way to ensure that the final products are of the highest quality, from the selection of a buckwheat producer, to fabric design and socioresponsible fabrication. Through a partnership with a work integration company in Montreal, Canada, their products are made by people who are having difficulty finding a job. It helps them learn a trade and develop a social network and more than 75% of the participants end up finding employment.

Why choose a buckwheat hull pillow? The 4 main benefits of buckwheat and buckwheat hulls are:

1. It’s ergonomic

The buckwheat hulls are firm enough to support your neck and spine yet they’ll move around the pillow just enough to follow the contours of your face and neck for optimal comfort. It is also said that the hulls gently massage you with every move and stimulate blood flow.

2. It’s hygienic

Because of all the small spaces around the buckwheat hulls, air circulation is excellent which means they’ll stay cool and fresh. The cellulose and lignin also help reduce humidity so no more sweaty pillow! Buckwheat hulls also contains tannin which is anti-dust mite and antibacterial. Of course, since it’s an entirely natural product, it doesn’t leach any chemicals.

3. It has many health benefits

Buckwheat is full of magnesium which promotes sleep and reduces stress, copper and phenolic acids which stimulate the immune system, rutin which is a muscle relaxant and has anti-inflammatory properties, as well as vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6 which promotes energy production. That’s what I call a well-rounded grain.

4. It’s ecological

Unlike polyester, buckwheat is natural, sustainable, compostable and renewable! It should last about 10 years. It is locally cultivated and the hulls are actually a product recycled from the production and shelling of buckwheat.

Now that we know the facts about buckwheat hulls, let me share with you my experience of the Alto Adult Pillow which I received for this review (with a cute Yoko pink and white cotton pillowcase). When I first opened the box, my first thought was that this pillow was much smaller than my former polyester pillow. I wondered why and found out that the smaller rectangular shape is actually better ergonomically. It provides better head and neck support because the stuffing can’t move around much so it doesn’t end up in corners or at the top of the pillow.

My second thought was ‘How cute is this pillow!’ Mayukori offers many different prints to fit your style and decor. They’re definitely not the kind of pillows you want to hide under your covers! They ever offer matching duvet covers if you want a coordinated look. I only wish they offered standard pillowcases instead of the ones that attach at the back. Not because I mind the knots or anything but because both ends of the pillow cover are left uncovered so I feel I need to wash it more often. To do so, I have to empty it from the buckwheat hulls and then fill it back (they are loose in the pillow cover). It’s a bit more work than if I could just wash the pillowcase weekly and the pillow cover once in a while.

Then I thought to myself ‘This might be a little too hard… my neck might get sore in the morning’. Well, it is not as soft as a polyester pillow but that’s the whole point. To provide adequate neck and spine support, it needs to be denser. Personally, after one night’s sleep on my Alto pillow, I will NEVER go back to a polyester pillow. It is so much more comfortable than you’d think. The buckwheat hulls adjust to the contours of your face and neck and you really can’t feel them. Mayukori purposefully choose a thicker fabric for that reason and it also dampens the sound.

Another benefit of buckwheat hull pillow is that they don’t absorb humidity and heat the way a regular pillow does. What that means is that even during warm summer nights, my pillow stayed fresh and comfortable. My husband actually commented on it and asked why his was soaked and mine wasn’t. I guess I’ll need to get him his own before he steals mine!

I also find the botanical scent of the buckwheat hulls very soothing. It’s not at all overpowering, in fact I don’t smell it all the time. I usually get delicate whiff of it when I first put my head down and then when I move the pillow around. It reminds me a little of the smell of the thermotherapeutic grain packs that you can get to relieve sore muscles.

Overall, I can’t say enough about this great buckwheat hull pillow! I absolutely want to get my hands on their nursing pillow and also get one of their child pillow for my daughter. They may be a bit more pricey than a polyester pillow but when you consider the comfort and health benefits that they have, they are definitely worth it. Plus, these will last 10 years, instead of just 1 year so it’s an investment worth making!

Buy It: Head over to Mayukori to see for yourself the buckwheat hull pillows and products they offer.

Connect: Don’t forget to like Mayukori on Facebook for all the latest news and promotions.

Rachel