Besides needing a new mattress, I’ve been finding it near impossible to find a pillow that suits me. Last year I bought a returnable pillow but the loft was so high (5") that it hurt my neck. I didn’t realize that returning pillows was very, very expensive! (Just mentioning that in case you ever buy a pillow that asks you to pay the return shipping costs - but they did let me donate to charity). A pillow with a 3" loft was not high enough. So at least I know to look for a 4" loft, though I haven’t seen them.
More recently, I bought an affordable pillow with shredded memory foam inside. The benefit is that you can take some foam out and shape it. Well, I cannot figure out how to shape the foam! And when I take some out, it makes a huge mess. I’m also realizing as I search for mattresses that I don’t even like memory foam. I think latex would be better.
I don’t want to take it back, but I would love some advice on how to choose a pillow that doesn’t actually hurt.
I wish there were a pillow that simply molded to the curve of your neck . Instead, every pillow I try is either so high it pushes my chin forward or is so low that it doesn’t fill in the back of my neck.
Also, I have an old pillow that I used to like but it’s too big and high - I just realized that it’s probably latex. I’m wondering if I should just trim it to see if I can shape it the way I want it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Janet
Hi again Janet!
While this site is mainly concerned with mattresses, there is a pillow thread here that you may find interesting/useful.
To quote Phoenix:
[quote]Once you have an idea of the “general” type of pillow you may “need” (which is usually determined by a combination of your body shape, sleeping positions, and the type of mattress you have), then the “feel” of a pillow takes over and the choices become much more subjective in terms of firmness, breathability, coolness, “scrunchability”, stability, motion restriction, and all kinds of other weird and wonderful preferences that people have.
Pillows are fairly easy to get close (based on needs and the general characteristics of different materials) … but really really difficult to get “perfect” (based on unique preferences). Because pillows can be so directly felt and we sleep so close to it with our face … “perfect” is a lot more important (at least for me) and also changes over time so that’s a journey that sometimes seems to be ongoing.[/quote]
Your idea of trimming an already existing pillow is really interesting! It would be a great way to get the exact pillow you want. If you decide to go that route, definitely do keep us posted as to how you go about it and what you ultimately find from that experience.
This really comes down to trial and error and, as you’ve already mentioned, adjusting the fill of the foam inside the pillow. I’m hoping you’re able to get some good insights from the previously mentioned pillow thread to help!
NikkiTMU
Thank you, Nikki! I poured out a lot more of the filling from the pillow and OMG - it 3/4 filled a medium/large sized box!!! Then I stuffed a bunch back in. It was better but not good enough - so, as you said, trial and error. I still have a HUGE amount of foam to stuff back in. It might take a week to get it right, but then I’ll have a good pillow in a week, which would be fantastic. So I will keep on trying. I’m hesitant to take a pair of scissors to the latex pillow, but it’s too high for me as is, so why not?
I’ll let you know if I’m able to cut out my perfect pillow with scissors. 
Thanks again for your help!
Janet