Does Derila Pillow work? As a mom of three constantly chasing good sleep and relief from these annoying neck and upper cervical aches, I fell for it.
They paint this dreamy picture of a cloud-like, orthopedic, NASA-engineered pillow that promises to erase neck pain, and help you sleep better.
Spoiler alert: It was a terrible Purchase.
About Derila Pillow
Derila is advertised as a memory foam cervical neck pillow designed to support your head, neck, and shoulders in a natural position while you sleep. It claims to reduce muscle tension, improve sleep posture, and relieve neck and upper back pain.
I ordered mine from derila.com after seeing one too many ads. The price varies because they love dangling “limited-time” discounts, but I paid about $39.95 for one pillow. They market it like a luxury orthopedic miracle, but what arrived left a lot to be desired.
My experience using the Derila Pillow
First red flag: before the pillow even arrived, my inbox turned into a Derila shrine. Product emails. Upgrade offers. Cross-sells. “Exclusive deals.” It was exhausting. Every morning felt like waking up to an overexcited sales assistant peeking through my curtains.
Now, in all those videos and images, the Derila pillow comes rolled up like a plush little cinnamon roll in a sleek bag. Mine? Vacuum-packed in a sad, flat, lifeless rectangle. I waited for it to puff up like the memory foam it claimed to be. Spoiler alert: it never did.
It stayed this sad little deflated thing that looked like it belonged on a doll’s bed.
I didn’t waste time — I sent it back. But stubborn me thought, maybe I just got a bad one. So I ordered another one from their Amazon store because at least returns there are straightforward.
This time it arrived within days (unlike the 2-week wait from the official website). But to my disappointment, it was small, lacked any real support, and did nothing for my neck pain. It felt like sleeping on one of those airline pillows you grab in a last-minute panic before a red-eye flight.
I gave it a few nights, hoping my body would adjust. Nope. Neck still hurt. Sleep still restless. And to be honest, it made me miss my good ol’ standard pillow.
Is Derila Pillow a Scam?
Let’s be real. Is it a straight-up scam? Not exactly — you do receive a physical product. But is it grossly overhyped, misleadingly marketed, and way below expectations? Absolutely yes.
The way it’s portrayed online versus what you get in real life is a textbook example of false advertising. The overblown Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube video claims, coupled with suspiciously generic 5-star website reviews, make it feel scammy.
So while it’s not a complete scam in the sense of “take your money and disappear,” it definitely falls into the hype trap category. Proceed with caution.
How to Use Derila Pillow
In case you still end up with one (bless your adventurous heart), here’s how it’s supposed to be used:
- Place the Derila pillow on your bed with the curved dip facing up.
- The higher rounded edge should go under your neck, while your head rests in the dip.
- It claims to support the natural curve of your neck and keep your spine aligned while you sleep.
Did it work like that for me? Not really — because it was so flat and flimsy, I didn’t feel any noticeable support or alignment difference.
Pros
- Compact size makes it easy to travel with
- Soft fabric cover
Cons
- Vacuum-packed and didn’t puff up as promised
- Not suitable for anyone needing firm cervical support
- Annoying marketing emails that don’t stop
- Didn’t relieve my neck or upper cervical pain
Alternatives
So I did some digging on Amazon.com and found some awesome pillows for neck pain which also have positive reviews;
Sleep Doctor Approved Cervical Pillow
Cervical Neck Pillow for Neck Pain Relief
Ultra Pain Relief Cooling Pillow for Neck Support
Final Thoughts
Would I recommend Derila? Absolutely not. It’s one of those products that looks dreamy online but disappoints in real life. If you have genuine neck pain or poor sleep posture, don’t waste your coins or your hopes on it.
I wish I could say it was worth a shot — but for me, it was a flat, frustrating waste of time. Save yourself the trouble and invest in a pillow or the Moon Pod that’s actually designed with orthopedic integrity, not just clever Facebook ads.
All I can say is that it works for me. Maybe the cause of my pain was different from yours. My pain is gone except for those rare occasions when the pillow gets scooted out of position. I highly recommend it.
I have a compression at my C6-C7 vertebrae, which limits my neck mobility as well as causing me pain. On top of that, I also have sleep apnea which, after seeing the videos and reviews, it looked like the pillow was my answer. After carefully opening the double, vacuum sealed delivery bag, the pillow gratefully opened up to its full dimension. The fabric felt cool, and it was surprisingly firm. That night however, after a few hours, I tossed the pillow to the side as I was uncomfortable, and I reached for my smaller pillow. The second night was a bit better, but not by much. If you sleep face up, and don’t move around a lot at night, then this works. The curvature of the pillow does cradle your head – again, in the face up position. However, as soon as I rolled over to sleep on my side, I had to adjust the pillow. Plus, it mashed my ear. Where my ear fell, was particularly hard. Having to adjust the pillow to my position, every time I moved, did not make it a comfortable night at all. Worst yet, I am writing this review, 3 hours after waking up, and my neck still feels stiff and sore. BTW, be prepared to be bombarded with emails to upsell you on a daily basis.
Don’t know who Judith Davidson is, but she sure loves writing BRUTAL reviews. Judith, I hope you have a better month in October.
I recently got my Derila pillow directly from them as their website says to do, i.e., do not purchase it from Amazon or anywhere else and you may very well not get what you think you were purchasing. The price is very reasonable. It was packed amazingly well just as it said in their ad and did exactly what it said it would do. I sleep on my back most of the night, and it worked exactly how it said it would.
However, I was a bit concerned as my chiropractor has special pillows in 5 different sizes so I was wondering how one size could fit differently sized persons. Also, the ones they sell cost $100.
I thought it worked well for me, and I am only 5’4″ tall and weigh 145 lbs (most of the time, and also am in good shape).
However, and this is a bit however, I also use a C-PAP machine for my sleep apnea, which pretty much prevents me from sleeping on my side as it tends to leak more with the Derila pillow than with my regular pillow. Not a good thing.
I also let my wife use it for 2 nights. Her comment was that it seems it is designed for a larger person. She was not comfortable with it, but she also tends to slide down in bed as the night wears on. She will stay with her existing pillow.