When you buy a memory foam pillow or a memory foam mattress, one of the first things you might notice is a peculiar smell emanating from it. You might perceive it as a chemical smell, and your intuition would be right.

Generally, memory foam is made of a polymer called polyurethane. It’s a plastic material that molds and adapts to whatever shape is needed to maximize comfort. In our case, it’s one of the things that goes into making your custom pillow. Sleeping material like this is beneficial to your sleep as it's highly viscous—it’ll shape itself around you. This results in a soft, cloud-like feeling on your head and gives you good spine alignment when you sleep.

But! What about that smelly smell? Fair enough, let’s ask the question...

Is Memory foam toxic?

Simply: no. Memory foam mattresses or sleeping pillows you get right out of the box might first introduce itself with an unpleasant odor. This is resolved with time and ventilation. In a room where the air can vent out (i.e. air conditioning, open windows), the smell will go away naturally in three to seven days.

Further, certification program CetriPUR-US ensures that foams are certified to meet safety standards, and it’s the standards we abide by for our custom pillows. Of course, it’s true that some small percentage of memory foam users will suffer conditions like breakouts on skin and allergic reactions. If you fall into that group, make sure you buy from companies with robust trial and return programs.

What about Pluto pillows?

As all the foams that go into your custom pillow are CertiPUR-US certified, this means no ozone depleters, PBDEs, TDCPP, or TCEP flame retardants, mercury, lead or other heavy metals, formaldehyde, and phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. You can learn more here. Most of our customers report no scent from our custom pillows, and a few notice a very mild scent. It’ll go away quickly, usually within a few hours in a ventilated room.

If you’re ever worried about your pillow or you just don’t plain like it, we guarantee 100 nights free.