Tempur Pillow Review
Tempur's material in pillow form, and the thing nobody warns you about is that it feels wrong for the first few minutes and then does not.
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Verdict
Tempur's material in pillow form, and the thing nobody warns you about is that it feels wrong for the first few minutes and then does not. The material responds to body heat, so a Tempur pillow is genuinely firmer when you lie down than it is ten minutes later.
Buy it if
You have tried one properly, for at least ten minutes, and you want that specific slow-moulding feel.
Avoid it if
You judged one by pressing it with your hand in a shop, or you sleep hot. Both will mislead you.
See the current Tempur offer
Tempur sells through its own stores, department stores and specialists. Prices vary.
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Tempur on Amazon UK
Widely listed. Tempur pillow naming is complex, so confirm the model and size.
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| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Material | Tempur's proprietary viscoelastic foam, denser than standard memory foam |
| Key behaviour | Softens in response to body heat over several minutes |
| Shapes | Several, including contoured and traditional profiles |
| Washability | The foam is not washable. Covers usually are. |
| Price position | Among the most expensive pillows sold in the UK |
The scores
A distinctive material at a high price, judged wrongly by almost everyone who tries one.
Expensive. You are paying for a material nobody else has.
Dense foam holds a set height extremely well.
Good once it has warmed and moulded, which takes several minutes.
The weakest point. Dense viscoelastic foam retains heat against your face.
The height can be changed after sleeping on it, which removes the guess.
High density material holds its shape longer than ordinary memory foam.
It feels firmer than it is for the first few minutes
Why people judge Tempur wrongly
Tempur's material softens in response to body heat. Press it with your hand in a shop and it feels dense and unyielding. Lie on it for ten minutes and it is a different pillow.
So the standard way people assess a pillow, squeezing it, produces exactly the wrong impression of this one.
That has two consequences. In a shop, lie down for a proper ten minutes rather than testing it by hand. At home, give it a fortnight, because the first two nights on a Tempur are not representative and a lot of people return one before it has had a chance.
It also means a cold bedroom changes the feel. Tempur is firmer in an unheated room in January than in a warm room in July, which is unusual among pillows and worth knowing if you sleep somewhere cold.
What makes Tempur different from memory foam
Almost every pillow sold as memory foam uses viscoelastic polyurethane foam. So does Tempur. The difference is density and formulation.
Memory foam density is measured in kilograms per cubic metre. Standard memory foam runs from around 16 to 80, with most comfort layers between 48 and 72. Tempur's material sits at the high end of that range and beyond, which is why it feels slower and denser and why it costs what it costs. Foam price is dominated by density.
That density is also why it lasts. Low density foam flattens within a few years; high density holds considerably longer.
The heat problem is the material, not the design
The same density that makes Tempur good makes it warm, and on a pillow that matters more than on a mattress because it sits directly against your face and neck.
Dense viscoelastic foam has small closed cells and very little air movement, and it softens in response to body heat, which means it is designed to hold warmth at the surface.
Two mitigations. Turn it over, which resets the cool side and is why cooling works better on pillows than mattresses. And change the pillowcase to cotton percale or lyocell, because a polyester case adds another insulating, moisture-holding layer on top.
If heat at the head is your main complaint, a loose natural fill or a latex pillow will serve you better than any dense foam, at any price.
A correction worth making
Commonly repeated, and wrong
Pillows are assessed by pressing them with a hand, and for a heat-responsive material that produces exactly the wrong impression. Tempur's foam softens in response to body heat over several minutes, so it feels dense and unyielding when squeezed and considerably softer after ten minutes of lying on it. The same property means it feels firmer in a cold bedroom than a warm one, which is unusual among pillows.
Should you buy it?
Yes if you have lain on one for a proper ten minutes and want that slow-moulding feel, which nothing else reproduces.
No if you sleep hot at the head, where a latex or loose natural fill pillow will serve you better. Give any Tempur a fortnight at home before judging it, and change the pillowcase.
Questions people ask
Why does a Tempur pillow feel so firm at first?
The material softens in response to body heat over several minutes. Pressing it with your hand gives exactly the wrong impression, and the first two nights at home are not representative. Give it a fortnight.
Do Tempur pillows sleep hot?
Yes, and on a pillow that matters more than on a mattress because it sits against your face. Dense viscoelastic foam has small closed cells and softens in response to body heat, so it holds warmth at the surface. Turn it over and change the pillowcase.