How to Choose a Bath Pillow
We make bath pillows, and this is the checklist we used when we designed ours. It covers your tub, the support you need, the material and how a pillow stays in place. Where it helps, we show how the Claesson Living Luxury Bath Pillow handles each point.
1. Your tub: standard, straight-back or soaking
A pillow has to suit the walls it sits between. In a standard tub the back is reclined and most pillows work. In a straight-back tub the back is nearly upright, so a thin pillow leaves your head tipped forward; you want enough thickness to fill that gap. In a soaking or freestanding tub the walls are curved and the rim is higher, so you need a pillow big enough to sit snugly and tall enough to reach your head.
Our pillow measures 24" x 20" x 8" (61 x 51 x 20 cm) and fits all tub types. It is the same size in every color.
Standard tub
The back is reclined. Most pillows work.
Straight-back tub
The back is nearly upright. You need thickness to fill the gap.
Soaking or freestanding tub
Curved walls and a higher rim. You need size and height.
Schematic side views, not to scale.
2. Support for head, neck and back
The top of the pillow should hold your head and neck, and the body of it should cushion your upper back. Two things decide that: depth and size. A thin or small pillow leaves gaps; a large, full one lets you settle in. At 8 inches deep and 24 inches high, ours reaches from your head down your back. It works as a bath headrest and as back support in one.
3. Volume that lasts
A pillow should stay full when you lean on it, bath after bath. Ours has an inner mesh cushion that gives it its volume without making it dense, so it feels plush and light at the same time.
4. Material and how fast it dries
A bath pillow gets wet, so what it is made of matters. Ours is 100% polyester, inside and outside. The mesh interior lets water drain out and air move through, so it dries quickly. The cover and the inner cushion are mold-resistant and waterproof, and both can be machine washed. Our care instructions explain how.
5. Staying in place without suction cups
Suction cups only grip smooth, clean, dry surfaces. We chose another route: size. The pillow is larger and heavier than a typical suction-cup pillow, in many tubs it wedges lightly between the sides, and when you lean back against it, it stays where it is. In our own use we have not needed anything more.
6. Checklist you can take with you
- Does it fit the width and the back angle of my tub?
- Does it reach from my head down my back?
- Does it stay full when I lean on it?
- Does it dry fast, and can I wash all of it?
- Does it stay put, with or without suction cups?
Where we landed
The Claesson Living Luxury Bath Pillow is the answer we came up with to that list. It also comes in a gift box, and it is suitable for outdoor use. Why we call it luxury.
View the Claesson Living Luxury Bath Pillow on Amazon →
