Recycling silk kimono into face masks: care guidelines

Once you have your mask, you want to keep it in good condition, right? Thankfully it's probably easier than you think.

Silk face masks drying in the sun

Basic care instructions

If you're feeling fancy

Turn outer layer to the inside (rectangle shape). Hand wash it with mild soap. Fabric softener is okay. Gently squeeze, but do not twist, to remove excess water. Gently pull to reshape, and hang to dry.

Easy, normal care

Turn outside layer to the inside (rectangle shape). Place in net bag and machine wash with like colors, normal cycle and normal soap. NO BLEACH. NO OXICLEAN. Liquid fabric softener is fine.

"Ain't nobody got time for that!" 

(I do not recommend this method, but I understand the sentiment)

Toss your mask in with the rest of your clothes. Normal soap, normal cycle. Dry in the dryer on low heat. Your mask will ball up and you will need to spend time ironing it. Even after treating the mask with color stop, some color may transfer on to your other clothes.

Avoid at all costs

Absolutely never apply bleach (dissolves fabric), OxiClean (dissolves fabric) or alcohol (color bleeds) to your silk mask.

Silk can be durable

Follow the recommended care guidelines to keep your mask looking and feeling good for a long time to come. I'll update this blog post when mine finally need to be replaced, to give you a ballpark for how long they last.