How To Pick The Best Latex Mattress In 2024

How Is A Latex Mattress Made?

Before latex becomes tailored and manufactured into a luxury natural mattress, beautifully stitched and seamed, it begins as milky white-colored substance that around 10% of flowering plants from trees produce (also called angiosperms). The chemical make-up includes a complex emulsion of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, resins, and tannins. Once the milky substance is extracted from the flowering plant it thickens upon contact with air and takes on a gummy consistency. While most organic latex found in nature is a white color, it has also found to be yellow, orange, or even a reddish color. It has been synthetically created in labs by scientists, polymerizing a monomer like a styrene and emulsifying it with surfactants. This is all later blended using either a Dunlop or Talalay process to form the bulk of the end product you sleep on.

Why Buy A Latex Mattress?

How To Buy The Best Latex Mattress

Your first step on the path to owning a purchase worthy natural latex mattress is to determine your specific needs from the mattress. For example, do you need something specifically to target back pain? Do you need a mattress for your child? Do you share a bed with someone? Is your choice primarily dependent on budget? These are all questions that you should consider.

Once you have determined your needs, narrow down furthermore with information provided in this buying guide. For example, see which mattress offers the best support, comfort and material composition that you like.

When it comes to latex, ask yourself if you want to pay a little more for natural, or pay less for blended and synthetic options. Also, know the difference between the Dunlop and Talalay processing methods.

When reading through some of the guides on BetterSlumber.com, you may see bullet point headings which say “Best For.” Take note of these, as they are based on our experience and user ratings. However, please note that our advice is impartial and unbiased. It serves us no purpose to say one mattress is better than the other when rating for specific criteria.

Lastly, determine and evaluate the additional company benefits on offer by the company. For example, the length of warranty. The good companies that know their product is high-quality and legitimate will generally offer a minimum ten-year warranty. Sleep trial is also important. The longer, the better, as it can take some time to get used to your new mattress. Shipping is usually free, but some people may require white glove delivery (which often comes at an additional cost, but, is offered for free by a select few companies).

General Consumer Views

The general consensus and latex mattress reviews from consumers are significantly positive; many customers in today’s market actually prefer them over other types of material. They are known for their support, especially helpful for customers who suffer from back pain. A top rated latex foam mattress will be extremely durable and tend to have a longer life span than other types, such as a spring coil (innerspring). Also, they may be more expensive than other variants. However, overall, the overwhelming majority of customers rate these as the most comfortable mattress to get a good night’s sleep on.

Are Latex Mattresses Good For Back Pain?

Back pain is one of the main triggers for people changing their mattress. It’s usually when people begin to wake up with bad backs that they consider buying a new mattress.

If you are suffering from any type of back issues, especially lower back pain, a latex mattress could be your savior. The comfortable yet firm, responsive, and supportive nature of a latex mattress is a perfect choice for prevention and pain relief.

Most chiropractors and orthopedic specialists with good knowledge of mattresses recommend latex options.

Latex Mattresses and Sharing Couples

Some people will be buying a mattress to share with a partner. There are at least three important things to consider when sleeping in the same bed as someone else.
The first is size. Most people are restricted to the size of their new mattresses because of either room size, or existing bed size. If these restrictions don’t apply to you, buy the biggest you can afford. You won’t regret the extra cost.

Secondly, latex mattresses have the added benefit of better motion isolation in comparison to some other kinds, which is important for people who share a bed. We say some because they’re not as good as memory foam, but better than spring. A good motion isolation mattress means the other person will not be disturbed while one tosses and turns.

Lastly, let’s talk about sex. Generally, sex is a very physical activity which can get very bouncy and involve a lot of moving around. Latex is perfect for this, because it provides a somewhat springy and bouncy ability. We’d say it’s not quite as bouncy as an innerspring mattress, and not as restrictive as memory foam, but somewhere in between, which makes it ideal for sex.

One popular reason why people buy an organic latex mattress is because they’re viewed as being the healthy and “green” choice. This is because the mattresses are made up of naturally occurring substances, such as ethically sourced latex (from the sap of a rubber tree), cotton, and wool.

The hypoallergenic material is also pest resistant and has anti-microbial properties. Recently companies have begun marketing the latex foam mattress as the perfect answer to customers who have asthma, certain allergies, or any combination of the two.

Additionally, latex is odorless and gives off no foul smell (or off-gassing), which has become common in most memory foam mattresses for sale in today’s market.

Some Certifications To Look Out For

Anything that has undergone rigorous testing and is certified is a bonus because this ensures that added compliance and safety measures have been met to warrant the prestigious seal of approval. A good latex mattress, because they are deemed organic and eco-friendly, will generally come with numerous certifications. In particular you should look out for the following:

• Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS): Ensures the latex used is pure, offering healthy  and non-toxic sleep. 
• GOTS Certified Organic Cotton: Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) ensures the cotton is manufactured using the best practices in the environment and with social responsibility. 
• GOTS Certified Organic Wool: Like with the cotton, it ensures that any wool used is manufactured using the best practices.
• GreenGuard Gold Certified: Guarantees that your latex mattress isn’t emitting harmful chemicals into your home. 
• Oeko-Tex^® certification: Ensures that the textiles you’ll be sleeping on used in the mattress are the highest quality hypo allergenic materials available. 
• eco-INSTITUT: The mattress is tested for volatile organic compounds, which ensures content analysis, emissions testing, odour testing, toxicological and ecological evaluations.