I tried six kinds of Primark PJ’s to see which ones are the warmest according to science – you won’t believe the results

Nothing screams being cosy more than wearing a pair of pyjamas and getting all cosy at home.

And with the temperature dropping this week into minus figures, now is the perfect time to make sure your PJ’s are keeping you warm and toasty.

But how do you know which pyjamas are the warmest?

Whilst you may think something fluffy would be a lot warmer than a satin, it’s actually all about which fabrics retain the heat the best, not which ones emit it. 

Primark is a brand with hundreds of pyjamas to choose from, made from a variety of fabrics. 

Here, Deputy Fashion Editor Abby McHale has put seven different kinds of Primark PJ’s to the test, with the help of the Flir One Edge Pro thermal camera to detect which ones will actually keep you the warmest this winter.

With the purple areas of the thermal camera the part on the body that is retaining the most heat. 

SATIN:

Abby wearing the satin pyjamas

Don’t disregard satin pyjamas if you want to keep warm in the winter, they retain more heat than you think. 

Whilst on the thermal camera the yellow parts of the body are where you are hottest, this is actually also where most heat is being let out. 

So in this case, the pyjamas are letting quite a bit of heat out at the top compared to the bottoms.

However, after wearing them they were a lot warmer than I first anticipated, but a bit chilly when you first put them on as they take some time to warm up. 

JERSEY:

Abby wearing the jersey pyjamas

Jersey material is nice and soft and will be sure to make you feel extra comfortable when wearing them. 

One of the thinner fabrics I was interested to see how much heat this pair would retain.

As you can see on the camera the legs are retaining a fair bit of heat and although the top half is lighter it is still showing a deep orange. 

Overall these were definitely one of the more comfier pairs worn, but others did come out warmer overall. 

FLANNEL:

Abby wearing the flannel pyjamas

I was pleasantly surprised by these pyjamas.

Not thinking flannel would be particularly warm, they retained a lot more heat than I anticipated.

As you can see by the camera image there is a lot more purple around the middle than some of the others and pretty much all of the legs are purple. 

Whilst I wouldn’t say these are the snuggliest pyjamas to wear, they’re definitely a great option for those who want a thinner fabric but still want to be kept warm. 

VELOUR:

Abby in the velour pyjamas

Now these red velour pyjamas scream Christmas, however they were one of the worst fabrics when it came to retaining heat.

As you can see the majority of the body is yellow, meaning no heat was really being kept in. 

They also felt like the coldest when worn, with the fabric feeling almost slinky.

You would think they would keep you warmer, being a thicker material than some of the others tried, but sadly these ones are more for show than warmth. 

MICROFLEECE: 

Abby wearing the microfleece pyjamas

Microfleece is the thinnest type of fleece. 

When first putting these on they were by far the warmest, feeling super snuggly and soft as fleece pyjamas should do. 

Heat wise they did retain some heat but no more than the other thinner fabrics which surprised me. 

However, compared to regular fleece micro fleece is more of a breathable fabric so may be the reason why more heat is escaping – never the less at the time they felt very comfy and warm. 

FLEECE:

Abby wearing the fleece pyjamas

Primark’s regular fleece version was also very warm and you can see from the thermal camera it also retained more heat. 

In fact out of all the pyjamas tried in it definitely retained the most around the waist area.

The thickest of all the fabrics it doesn’t come as a surprise, however, it was still quite light around the top half of the body.

Overall it showed that the thicker the fabric doesn’t necessarily keep you the warmest.

Whilst fleece definitely will keep you nice and warm if you’re wanting a thinner pyjamas then the likes of flannel for example do a great job of retaining your body he

Fabulous’ Deputy Fashion Editor on why Primark PJs are so popular

ABBY McHale reveals why Primark is renowned for its nightwear section.

Taking over large sections of the stores it has everything from trend led satin styles, to fluffy Disney PJ’s and everything in between. 
Plus it means you can head to bed looking and feeling good without having to break the bank. 
It’s also a great place to bag yourself a pyjama dupe. 
Last year Primark had a great version of the Skims pyjamas and its latest dupe is that from Victoria’s Secret. 
The pink striped pyjamas are a great match for that of the American lingerie brand, I even have a pair myself. 
They’re lightweight, super comfortable and only a fraction of the price – what’s not to love.