100% Latex and Cotton Pillow, 12 cm, Hypoallergenic, Antibacterial, Mite-resistant, Breathable Pillow - by Neoplano

Many years ago, I had a memory foam pillow that I loved. Since I moved places and had to left my pillow behind, I had been looking for something that would offer me the same comfort. I was tired of waking up with stiff neck or pain every single morning, cranky and feeling tired for the whole day.In my search, I tried another memory foam pillow, but it was too hard. I tried buckwheat, but it changed its shape during the night, leaving my neck unsupported and feeling too hard at the same time. I bought a seemingly soft contoured memory foam pillow, but woke up with stiff neck all the same, no matter which contoured side I used. I stole my boyfriend's duck down super luxurious pillow for a night, and still woke up stiff. A new mattress didn't make any difference either. I was on the verge of giving up. I started thinking that the problem was on me and I was doomed to feel stiff in the mornings forever.Looking for scientific studies about the relationship between neck pain and pillow, I found an indication that latex pillows seemingly had been evaluated as the best choice by people who, like me, sleep on their sides. So I started searching for a latex pillow that wouldn't be so hard (as my memory foam pillow) nor too thick (I am a somewhat small woman, around 1.60m). This latex pillow appeared in the top of my search in Amazon and had good reviews, so I decided to try it out.This morning, after I don't know how many months of bad nights, I am thrilled to say that I finally - finally! - had an amazing rest. I surely hope this was not some kind of outlier and that I finally have found a pillow for my hard-to-please neck.Bonus points for Neoplano, the company that produces the pillow and sells them directly via Amazon, for their excellent customer service!One side note worth mentioning: the pillow has some smell, but that surely fades away. I slept on it right away and got used to the smell quickly, didn't bother me at all during the night. Other people might want to let it rest for a few days before using it if they are sensitive to strong odors.UPDATE: After a few nights, I realized that the pillow is unfortunately still a bit too thick for me. It is of excellent quality and perfect firmness that doesn't feel hard when laying down, but it still kept my neck slightly misaligned when laying on my side - probably because my mattress sinks under my shoulder as well. So, for smallish people with soft mattresses, this might still not be THE pillow. Everyone else will likely be super happy with it. I wished Neoplano would make these in 10cm thickness!

OK, I'm fussy, especially when it comes to where my head resides for 8 hours a day.I have tried pretty much all types of pillows up to the age of about 37 and had varying degrees of discomfort with traditional pillows including more recently, memory foam ones which take ages to sink into then tend to be very hard in the compacted section.Then about 6-7 years ago I bought a latex one from MACRO and it was perfect. Expensive (£35) but perfect. Unfortunately this is now falling apart so I tried to find one with identical properties but not all latex pillows are the same. The latex texture, depth and even the perforations make a huge difference. I tried some of the "puffier" latex pillows such as the Healthbeds but couldn't get on with them and the Dunlopillows were lumpy (I understand they have recently changed the material they are made from and are now much harder and lumpier than they were prior to 2011).These Neoplano's however are perfect for me being a medium/hard material (so you sink in a little way but they don't "drown" you), not too deep (I went for the 12 cm deep one which is great for an 5'8" average built bloke, a larger side sleeper might want the 14cm deep one) and because of the perforations / holes in the central sleeping area, they have a very even feel when you roll over. They are also one of the lower cost pillows on Amazon, even when you have taken the carriage into account (and delivery was also very prompt taking approximately 5 days from Italy).The right pillow is a very personal thing but these are the perfect pillow for me - highly recommended.

I spent a long time reading the reviews before purchasing this pillow. Many years ago, when ergonomics was a pretty new word in our general vocabulary, I bought a low pillow from a specialist shop. It was firm and hurt my ears for a week or so but I gradually got used to it and loved it. After a few years it was time to get another but the shop had gone, and I never found a replacement that was as comfortable. My latest has been one of the expensive memory foam, high pillows. I've never really liked it and found it too hot. I have a bad back (intermittently) which a chiropractor usually puts right, but recently it's been nagging me most of the time, which made me wonder if my pillow was bad for my sleeping posture - hence the search. The first night I used the Neoplano I kept waking with neck ache (not usually something I suffer from), and I wondered if I'd make a bad mistake. It still ached in the morning but gradually wore off and hasn't happened again. Also, the nagging ache of my back has disappeared. I got the 12 cm pillow and for me it's perfect. It still surprises me that it feels soft and yet is quite firm and supportive. I think I've found the replacement for my first love.I would have preferred it to have a removable, washable cover. Instead I put on two pillowcases.The smell that some have mentioned is mild and soon dissipates.