Wow!  Can you believe everything that has happened since I wrote my last pillow review??  Goodness...

OK, you're going to get two at once today because I slipped up and didn't write one last month.

We're starting with the Natura Aloe Dream Mate.  The pillow is filled with granulated (a Natura term for a very fine grind - finest I've seen) latex that is 60% natural and 40% synthetic.  This results in a very soft and plyable "down-like" feel - however it does make the pillow heavier then down.

Like the Dream Mate, this pillow features a small amount of natural wool quilting in the cover.  The cover fabric is a 50/50 blend of natural cotton and viscose fiber made from the aloe vera plant.  It should be pointed out here that the viscose process is a chemical process, however due to the great differences in the aloe fiber, the process is not as involved as it would be for something like bamboo - just a for instance.

As always, the pillow was tested in the Standard Size, with a resting loft of approximately 7 inches.  The pillow is well tailored with a surged seam enclosing the cover around the fill.  There is no zipper to access the inner filling.  The pillow is not machine washable or dryable, however it can be hand washed.  The pillow is available in Standard, Queen and King sizes with all sizes packaged in display boxes.

Since the bulk of the review I would write for this pillow has already been covered in my review of the Dream Mate pillow, I will focus on the key differences between the Aloe Dream Mate and the plain Dream Mate.

First, the aloe/cotton blend fabric gives this pillow a much softer outward feel.  In fact, the fabric is likely the softest pillow fabric I have seen (just FYI, Natura also makes toppers and comforters from this same fabric).  This, in my opinion, gives this pillow a clear "leg up" on its standard brother.

However, this was not the biggest difference I noticed.  In fact, the thing that really set this pillow apart for me is something that is not advertised by Natura at all, nor does any information about it appear even on the package. 

What surpised me is that the air around the pillow while I was laying on it both before and more pronounced upon waking up seemed incredibly fresh.  We're talking clear mountain air morning fresh here - and this is the only pillow I have ever had that experience with.

Natura will tell you that the moisturizing properties of the aloe fiber will filter through your pillow case and moisturize your face while you sleep.  Being a guy, I really didn't notice that so much.  For me, it was all about the fresh air!

Now, the healing and medicinal properties of aloe have been documented throughout human history, so I am not going to bring them up here.  What I will say is that the clearity and freshness of the air I was breathing while sleeping on this pillow was exceptionally refreshing.  Don't know if this will work for everyone, but it sure did for me!

That's it for this one - be back in a few with the next review!