Proper Pillow and Alternatives on Amazon US

Proper Pillow isn't on Amazon US right now

Here's the plain version. At our last check, Proper Pillow products weren't available on Amazon US. We searched the brand name four ways (Proper Pillow, ProperPillow, Proper Pillows, PROPER PILLOW) and ran several more name searches across a few pages each. No listing from this brand came up.

That's all we know about availability, and I won't stretch it. We don't know why the brand isn't there. It could be a choice, a pause or something else. When people ask whether Proper Pillow was discontinued or is still in business, our honest answer is: we couldn't confirm this.

What this page does instead is useful, I hope. It lists bed pillows from other makers that are on Amazon US, chosen by matching the type and the specs their listings state. If Proper Pillow listings return, they'll show here first at our next weekly check.

What we could confirm about the brand

We keep brand facts only when a published source supports them. For Proper Pillow there are two:

• The designer. Sleep Review reported in November 2013 that the Proper Pillow was designed by San Diego chiropractor Dr. Rick Loos.
• A trademark record. A PROPER PILLOW registration for sleeping pillows, filed in 2009 by Proper Pillow of Las Vegas, was cancelled in 2023.

That's the whole list. We don't have the pillow's specs: no fill, no loft, no sizes, no firmness. So we can't tell you how a given alternative compares to the original in shape or feel, and I won't pretend we can.

A cancelled trademark registration is a record in the trademark office's files. It isn't a statement that the company closed, and we don't treat it as one.

How the alternatives were picked

The alternatives above are bed pillows from other brands, ordered by how many specs their makers or listings state, with no popularity ranking and no paid placement.

Bed pillows are the closest type, because that's what Proper Pillow made. Ordering by stated specs means the pillows at the top are the ones you can judge best from the listing alone: fill, size, firmness, sleep position, cover and care, often loft and certifications too. When you're replacing a pillow you can't buy again, that's exactly the information you need.

What the order doesn't mean: it isn't a ranking of which pillow is best, and it isn't a claim that the first one feels like a Proper Pillow. We don't have the original's specs, so nothing here is matched to its shape. Treat the list as a well-labeled shelf, not a recommendation in order. Read across it for the fields you care about, usually height and sleep position, and let those choose.

The list also changes. We check Amazon US weekly, and pillows that go out of stock drop off while others take their place.

The pillow menu: height first

At the downtown hotel where I ran housekeeping for 22 years, the front desk kept a pillow menu for guests. I kept notes on the requests that came up to my floors. Most people didn't ask for softer or firmer. They asked for higher or flatter.

That stuck with me, and it's the best advice I can give someone replacing a pillow they liked. Start with height (loft is the word on listings), then your sleep position, then firmness, and only then the fill. If you remember your old pillow as "supportive", what you probably remember is the height.

Reading the alternatives

The table above lists each pillow's stated fields. Here's what the alternatives have in common and where they differ.

Fill: four kinds in this list

• Down and feather: the APSMILE Hotel Collection and the Pacific Coast goose feather and down pillows
• Down: the Canadian Down & Feather Company Hutterite goose down pillow
• Down alternative / polyester fiber: the Beckham Hotel Collection and the Ella Jayne gel fiber pillows
• Foam and latex: the Nestl and QUTOOL shredded memory foam pillows, the LOFE molded foam pillow, the Purple Harmony (Talalay latex) and the Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-Cloud Dual Cooling

The LOFE buckwheat neck roll is the odd one out: a small cylinder filled with buckwheat hulls, listed for back sleepers. It's a roll, not a full bed pillow.

Loft: stated on only a few

Loft is how tall the pillow is. It's the most useful number on a pillow listing, and most listings skip it. Among the alternatives, these state one:

• Beckham Hotel Collection: 8 inches
• Purple Harmony: 6.5 inches
• TEMPUR-Cloud Dual Cooling: 6.4 inches
• LOFE adjustable foam pillow: up to 4.8 inches

Fiber and down pillows compress when you lie on them, so their stated loft is the height before your head lands. Foam and latex hold closer to their stated height.

Adjustable fill: the safe bet when you're not sure

Three alternatives say you can change the height: the Nestl and QUTOOL shredded memory foam pillows and the LOFE adjustable pillow. The LOFE buckwheat roll is adjustable too.

Here's my one opinion for this page. If you don't know what height you need, buy a pillow with adjustable fill, and check that the listing says the fill can be added or removed. It's the honest answer to "I liked my old pillow but I don't know why". You set the height yourself, a handful at a time, until it's right.

Firmness and sleep position

The firm pillows are the APSMILE, Nestl, Canadian Down & Feather, Ella Jayne, QUTOOL and LOFE buckwheat roll. Medium-firm: Pacific Coast, Beckham and the LOFE adjustable. Medium: Purple Harmony. Soft / plush: the TEMPUR-Cloud Dual Cooling.

Four alternatives name side sleepers on the listing: APSMILE, the Ella Jayne pillows, Purple Harmony and the LOFE adjustable. Most of the rest are listed for combination / all positions. The buckwheat roll is listed for back sleepers.

Size and pack count

Sizes run standard, queen and king. The Ella Jayne king pillows give 20 x 36 inches and the queens 20 x 30. The Beckham queen gives 20 x 28. Several come in 2-packs, and two Ella Jayne listings in 4-packs. If you're replacing one pillow, a 2-pack is either a spare or a gift for whoever shares the bed.

Cooling, certifications and care, as stated

Some listings explain how they cool: gel layers on the TEMPUR-Cloud, a bamboo viscose cover on the Nestl, an "ice-silky" side on the QUTOOL, a gel grid and aerated latex on the Purple Harmony. We show cooling only when the listing explains how.

CertiPUR-US appears on the foam pillows that state it: Nestl, QUTOOL, LOFE adjustable and TEMPUR-Cloud. OEKO-TEX appears on several, each as the listing words it. The down pillows that state responsibly sourced down are marked too.

Care splits two ways. Some say the whole pillow is machine-washable (APSMILE, Pacific Coast, Ella Jayne). Others say only the cover is (TEMPUR-Cloud, Purple Harmony). Read the care tag before the price tag. A pillow you can wash whole is a pillow that stays fresh longer.

Health wording

A few alternatives use health words in their titles, such as "Neck Pain Relief" on the APSMILE and the LOFE adjustable, and "Cervical Roll to Relieve Tension" on the LOFE buckwheat roll. Those are the makers' words, quoted as written. We don't claim any pillow relieves pain.

How to choose a replacement

1. Think about height first. Taller for side sleeping, lower for back sleeping, lowest for stomach sleeping.
2. Match your position. Pick a pillow whose listing names it, or one listed for all positions.
3. Choose firmness. Firmer holds the height; softer lets your head sink.
4. Then the fill. Down and feather squish and reshape, fiber is easy to wash, foam and latex hold their shape.
5. Read the care line. Whole-pillow washable or cover only.

If you'd like a quicker start, our pillow quiz asks about position and preferences and points you to a type. For a full list built around side sleepers, see best pillows for side sleepers.

Giving a replacement pillow a fair trial

A new pillow almost always feels wrong the first night. Your neck has a habit, and the habit is your old pillow. That doesn't mean the new one is the wrong choice. It means you need a few nights before you decide.

Here's how I'd run it, the way I'd run any change at the hotel:

• Try one position for several nights. Don't flip, fold or stack it on night one.
• Change one thing at a time. If the pillow is adjustable, take out a handful of fill, then sleep on it before taking out more.
• Keep the old pillow for now. If you still have it, it's your comparison, even if it's flat.
• Check the return terms first. Read them on the listing before you buy, so you know how long the trial can be.

Down and feather pillows also need fluffing for a day or two after they come out of the package, because they ship compressed. Foam pillows can have a smell when they're first unwrapped; airing them in a room with an open window is the usual advice, and the maker's insert may say how long.

Keeping the new one clean

Housekeeping rule: the pillowcase gets washed every week, the pillow far less often. That only works if there's a pillow protector between them. A zippered protector keeps the pillow itself clean and saves you washing a foam or latex pillow that can't go in the machine.

For pillows the listing calls machine-washable, wash two at a time so the drum stays balanced, and dry them all the way through. A damp pillow put back on the bed is a problem you'll smell before you see. Our guide on how to wash pillows covers the steps by fill.

The archive at home has one shelf just for pillow protectors. It's labeled. Of course it is.

Who should skip these alternatives

• You want the original Proper Pillow and nothing else; these are other makers' pillows
• You sleep mostly on your stomach; most of these are tall or firm, so try thin pillows
• You want a shaped neck pillow sold by body size; see cervical pillows

Dev once asked me which pillow on the hotel menu was most popular. I told him the one guests didn't have to ask for. He wrote that down. I'm not sure what for.

Tuck it in.