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Clothing that Doubles as Skin Care? PH5 Designed SomeHeres How it Works
If the staple eye mask and constant praise of Laneige's cult-fave lip treatment are any indication, making your beauty work while you rest continues to grow in popularity. Now PH5 is taking beauty sleep to the next level: The New York City based brand just debuted a collection of sleepwear designed to hydrate and plump skin overnight while you get lost in dreams of bliss and good fortune.
PJ5 Sleepwear combines the science of a skin-loving serum with the softness of a pointelle knit. The star of the collection is HydraKNIT, a yarn infused with hyaluronic acid molecules that are released when the fabric rubs against the skin.
Founder Wei Lin isn't new to proving just how innovative yarn can be. She previously created a line of UV-reactive pieces that change color under the sun, as well as a collection of moisture-wicking activewear she swears by for marathon training. This brand is really a playground for us to see how far we can push the technicality, design, and innovation of knitwear, she told ishonest. It made sense for us to go into sleepwear, because knitwear is super stretchy and comfortable, whereas woven fabrics that are traditionally used in the category, like silk and cotton, don't have a lot of give. After a few weeks of brainstorming, we knew exactly how we could put this yarn to good use.
As we grow older, the levels of hyaluronic acid our skin naturally produces to keep our skin plump and dewy starts to decline. HydraKNIT releases these molecules back into the skin upon contact, forming an invisible water-filled barrier that locks in moisture. The result is skin that is noticeably smoother and softer.
For a few weeks, I alternated between two sets from the collectiona wonderfully bright fuchsia tank with matching shorts, and an oversized tee-and-shorts combo and was surprised not only by how easily the clothing moved with my body but how it felt against my skin. The material was silky-smooth and not stuffy at all, important for someone who tends to sweat easily. Needless to say, I was excited to slip into bed and see what would happen.
My skin is prone to dehydration and can become especially dry when sleeping in air-conditioning. Normally I wake up to the glow of my evening post-shower routine long gone, but after wearing the PJ5s, I noticed my skin not only looked the same as when I fell asleep, it felt slicker, as if I had sealed myself away in a moisture chamber for seven hours. Morning after morning, I could see the effect of the HydraKNIT on my skin with little to no effort on my part aside from putting the clothes on.
On top of the skin benefits, it's worth mentioning that there's something really fun about being able to mix and match your colorful sleepwear. PJ5 offers an extensive range: Four topsincluding a long-sleeve crew and tank toppair with matching bottoms in three colorways. There are also socks and eye masks, as well as traditional woven cotton pajamas. Creating a set that's customized to how you best rest was an important element of the collection, designer Zoe Champion explained.
We tried to really be specific about the pieces that we chose, that made sense for different types of people, so you have options for whatever you're looking for in sleepwear. A lot of people are still working from home or under some type of hybrid schedule, so it's nice that you can wear it to sleep but you can also wear it during the day, because it's super light and really breathable, said Champion. I basically live in an oversized T-shirt and shorts, and realizing I could wear it even on my Zoom calls and it would be doing good things for my skin was really exciting.
Over the past few months, I've tried to break the habit of staying in my bedtime clothes during the day, but I found myself making excuses when I was trying out PJ5. Not only are the sets comfortable, they're incredibly chic, so I was happy to flaunt them around the apartment. And unlike silk, I didn't have to build out a separate laundry routine. I just tossed them in the washer and they were as good as new, another element Champion was mindful of during the design process. The idea was to create a super-easy-to-care-for piece; it's not silk pajamas that you have to be really dainty with, she explained. The skin-boosting effects of each piece hold up for at least 40 washes.
With the return of the office commute and catching up with friends in the evening hours, our skin is experiencing increased levels of pollution and stress, making restorative nighttime beauty routines as important as ever. Thankfully, with these PH5 sets, keeping skin soft and supple is as simple as getting dressed for bed.