Contour Memory Foam Pillows

A contour memory foam pillow is a wave you sleep on

Picture a regular pillow, then pinch the long edges up and press the middle down. That's a contour pillow. The raised edge sits under your neck. The dip holds your head. The other edge, if there is one, gives you a second height when you turn the pillow around.

Nearly all of them are molded memory foam. The foam is poured into a mold so the wave is part of the foam itself, not sewn or stuffed into a cover. That's why a contour pillow keeps its shape night after night, and also why you can't fluff it, fold it or punch it into a different shape.

It's the same family as the cervical pillow. On this site, the difference is in the drawing: a contour pillow is a smooth wave, while a cervical pillow usually has a more defined cradle for the back of the head. Plenty of listings call one pillow both. The table goes by the stated shape.

Who a contour pillow suits

A contour memory foam pillow tends to work for people who:

• Sleep mostly on their back or their side
• Want the same height under their neck from bedtime to the alarm
• Like a pillow that pushes back gently instead of squashing flat
• Don't mind a pillow that's smaller than the pillowcase drawer suggests

It's a poor match for stomach sleepers, because a raised edge tips the head back when you lie face down. It's also a poor match for anyone who hugs, folds or bunches their pillow. You can't win a wrestling match with molded foam. (Dev has tried. The foam is undefeated.)

High edge, low edge: picking your height

Most contour pillows have two edges at different heights, so one pillow gives you two choices. Here's the rule:

• Back sleepers usually start on the lower edge. It fills the curve under the neck without pushing the chin toward the chest.
• Side sleepers usually start on the higher edge. It has to fill the gap from the ear to the outer edge of the shoulder.
• Combination sleepers start on the edge for the position they fall asleep in, then see how the night goes.

The maker's instructions win over this list. Some contour pillows are designed the other way round, or with one edge meant only for side sleeping. The insert or the listing will say.

Give each edge several nights. Molded foam feels firmer and more defined than a fiber pillow, and your neck needs a little time before you can judge the height fairly.

Your mattress changes the height you need

A pillow never works alone. It sits on a mattress, and the mattress decides how far your shoulder and hips sink before the pillow even matters.

On a soft mattress, a side sleeper's shoulder sinks deeper, so the gap between ear and mattress gets smaller. A lower edge may be enough. On a firm mattress, the shoulder stays up, the gap stays wide, and the taller edge or a larger maker size makes more sense. Add a thick topper and the same thing happens as with a soft mattress.

So if you're buying a contour pillow and a new mattress or topper in the same season, settle the mattress first. Then pick the pillow height for the bed you'll actually be sleeping on. I made beds for 22 years, and the pillow was always the last thing on, for a reason.

A first-week checklist

Use the first week to answer a few plain questions:

• Chin. Does it feel pushed toward your chest? The edge may be too tall.
• Head on your side. Does it tip down toward the mattress? The edge may be too low.
• Shoulder. Is your lower shoulder jammed under the pillow? Try sliding the pillow up a little.
• Morning position. Did you wake up with the pillow on the floor? Your night may be telling you something.

If the high edge fails, try the low edge before you give up. Then check the maker's return or trial terms on the listing.

What the table shows

The table lists pillows with a stated contour, wave or cervical shape. Each field appears only where the maker or the listing states it.

Shape: the drawing beats the title

We take the shape from the maker's drawing or product name — contour / wave, cervical cradle, or a mix. A shopping page's generic "shape" box sometimes calls a wave pillow "rectangular", so we don't rely on it. If a listing says "contour" in the title but shows a flat pillow, it doesn't make the list.

Loft: often two numbers

Loft is height, in inches. A contour pillow can have three numbers: the high edge, the low edge and the dip. Makers usually give one or two. When only one is listed, it's normally the tallest edge. Compare like with like: the high edge of one pillow against the high edge of another.

Fill: molded, gel or adjustable

The fill column names the foam as the maker describes it. The common versions:

• Molded memory foam. One solid piece. The classic contour pillow.
• Gel memory foam. Memory foam with gel mixed in or layered on. Makers often pair it with a cooling claim.
• Layered or adjustable. A contour top over removable foam sheets, so you can lower the whole pillow.

Shredded foam can't hold a defined wave on its own, so shredded pillows mostly sit on the shredded memory foam pillows page instead. For more on the foam itself, see memory foam pillows.

Firmness: the maker's own word

There's no shared firmness scale for pillows. The table shows the maker's word and never ranks by it. A contour pillow listed as "medium" may still feel firmer than a fiber pillow called "firm", because the shape doesn't give way the same way.

Cooling: only when the maker says how

Solid foam doesn't breathe like fiber or feathers do, and plenty of listings answer that with a cooling claim. The table shows cooling only when the maker explains the method: gel in the foam, ventilation holes, a cooling cover fabric or a phase-change layer. A cooling label with no explanation doesn't count. For the full picture, see cooling pillows and gel pillows.

Certifications: as stated, nothing more

CertiPUR-US is a program for flexible polyurethane foam: accredited labs test foam samples for certain chemicals, heavy metals and emissions, plus baseline physical performance. It applies to the foam, not the cover. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 applies to textiles, usually the cover. The table shows either one only when the maker names it for that pillow.

Sleep position and health wording

The sleep position column shows the positions the maker names. When a listing uses health words such as "neck support" or "pain relief", the table quotes them as the maker's wording. A contour pillow is a shape. It isn't a treatment, and we don't pick or rank pillows by what they claim to relieve.

Contour variations worth knowing

Within the wave shape there are a few designs:

• Classic two-edge wave. High edge, low edge, a dip in between. One pillow, two heights.
• Single-edge contour. One raised neck edge sloping down to a flat back. One height.
• Wave with side cutouts. Hollows near the ends for a shoulder or arm when you lie on your side. Related: shoulder pillows, pillows with an arm hole.
• Butterfly contour. A wave in the middle with raised wings at the ends. See butterfly pillows.
• Contour travel pillow. A smaller wave-shaped foam pillow for planes and cars. See memory foam travel pillows.

All of them sit under the wider ergonomic pillows family.

Sizes and the pillowcase problem

A standard bed pillow is 20 x 26 inches, and the US labeling rules use that size as their example for a standard pillowcase. Contour pillows often come in their own sizes, frequently smaller, sometimes sold as small, medium and large. A bigger size usually means a taller edge.

Here's where people go wrong. They put a contour pillow into a standard pillowcase, the case slides around, the fabric fills the dip, and the wave disappears. Many contour pillows come with a fitted zip cover for exactly this reason. Before you buy, check the stated dimensions and whether the maker sells replacement covers. A spare cover means one is on the pillow while the other is in the wash.

Care: the cover goes in the washer, the foam stays out

Read the care tag first. On most contour memory foam pillows the cover is removable and washable, and the foam core is spot clean only. Foam holds water and takes a long time to dry, so soaking it is a bad idea unless the maker says otherwise.

If the listing says "machine wash" and nothing else, it usually means the cover. The care column shows the stated care, and the how to wash pillows guide covers the details. New foam can also have a smell straight out of the packaging. If the maker gives airing-out instructions, follow them.

Housekeeping rule: wash the cover on the schedule you'd wash a pillowcase. The foam will thank you by not needing it.

Who should skip a contour pillow

A plain pillow is the better buy if:

• You sleep on your stomach
• You like to fold, scrunch or hug your pillow
• You run hot and the listing gives no cooling method
• You want a pillow that fits any standard pillowcase in the house

In those cases, look at adjustable pillows, down alternative pillows or thin pillows instead.

Related pages

The pillows section sorts everything by sleep position and fill. For ranked lists, see best contour pillows. For setup, read how to use a cervical pillow; the same steps work for a wave. And if you're not sure where to start, the pillow quiz asks how you sleep.