What If I Don't Like the Pillow?

While most people love their new buckwheat pillow after the first night, some people need 2-3 nights to get used to it. We suggest that you give the pillow a solid try for at least a week and if it's not working for you, make some changes and try again. Here are some things you can try:

• One way to fluff the pillow is to pick it up on the far edge (where the top of your head would be) so the hulls fall to the bottom edge, then lay it down. You'll have more of a roll for your neck when you lay down.
• Another way to fluff your pillow is to push the left and right sides together, making a fatter pillow that will squoosh down when you lay down. 
• If you still wake up with a sore neck, your pillow may be too tall. We tend to recommend a pillow that's slightly fuller than you need so that it's easier to go down in size if you need to. Take out half a pound (about 5 1/3 cups) and try again to see if that helps. 
• When laying on your side, move your eyes from the top to the bottom (forehead to chin) repeatedly and see if your eyes are moving pretty much horizontal to the room. When your eyes move horizontal to the room, your head is level. Use this as a gauge to test the height of your pillow. You might want your head on a slight incline, for example. Compare this to your previously favourite pillow. 
• If your ear hurts when you lay down, poke an indent where your ear is so that it has a pocket to rest in.
• If your jaw hurts, after you lay down dig a small groove in the pillow under your jaw so it's not pressing against the pillow. 
• If your shoulder hurts when you wake up, you may want a thicker pillow. If you don't have spare hulls, you can purchase some from us, or try putting something underneath your pillow like a thin pillow or a folded towel.
• If the hulls are too noisy, put a second pillow case on it to further dampen the sound.
• If the pillow is too hard, use a thin, flat pillow (one made for back or stomach sleeping or an old, beat up pillow) that's roughly the thickness of a folded bath towel, and place it on top of your Kuseno Buckwheat Hull Pillow inside your pillow case. You may need to reduce the height of the pillow by removing hulls. This will add softness while keeping the moldability of your buckwheat pillow.
• Putting a flat, thin pillow or a folded towel inside your pillow case underneath your buckwheat pillow has the strange effect of making the pillow feel softer. 
• A larger pillow, filled to the same height, will feel softer because the hulls have more room to move. For example, a 16 x 22 pillow with 5.5 pounds of hulls (our most popular size and weight) is roughly 2 7/8" thick. An 18 x 24 pillow with 7 pounds of hulls is the same height but you'll sink in a little lower.