After a hard day’s work, you come home and flop straight into bed. Then you sleep for 10 hours because life is hard and you deserve it. But wait. What about your hair? Did you put it up? Are you prepared to deal with the mess of knots it will be in the morning? These hours of rest are important for your health, but they can also be really bad for your hair if you don’t take care of it. Worry not, we’ll tell you how to wear your hair to bed for every hair type and mood.
Because, in the words of the immortal Fleabag, hair is everything.
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In general, there are four hair moods:
The style of your hair depends on the shape of your hair follicles. The actual three dimensional shape of the hair fiber translates into different hair styles. The more asymmetrical and circular your hair follicle is, the curlier your hair will be. This is all determined by genetics. Though you can change your style temporarily with heat and products, your hair type won’t really ever change permanently.
Hair types vary across ethnicities, from coarse, dark, and coily to bright yellow and stick straight. No matter what mood of hair you have, you should know how to take care of it. That includes knowing how to wear your hair to bed.
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There are a few things every person can do to take care of their hair at night regardless of hair mood. One of the main goals is to protect the follicles from all the ruffling and tumbling you do while you sleep. The natural movement you are bound to make as you sleep can damage your hair from all the friction and rubbing. Without proper protection, all that rubbing is going to leave you with split ends and frizzy follicles.
No matter what grows out of your head, all of these tricks will help you maintain your hair health while you sleep.
Certain fabrics, like cotton and polyester, can be super damaging for your hair. Instead of letting your follicles move with you, they snag and break your hair like a giant, nicely patterned velcro patch. Instead, opt for a silk or satin pillowcase. The slippery fabric is great for your hair, but it’s also great for your skin. So update your bedsheets and switch out the split ends for a shiny new pillowcase.
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Wet hair is significantly weaker than dry hair. If you wash your hair before bed and sleep on it wet, you’ll increase the chances of breakage.
To avoid this, make sure your hair is almost or completely dry before bed. If it can’t be helped, a shower cap might be a good option to protect those strands from excessive movement.
With scrunchies, braids, or buns, don’t think twice, it’s alright. But elastic hair ties are a big no. Tight hair ties in restrictive or snagging material can cause, you guessed it, breakage. Just like the wrong pillowcase material can contribute to damage, the wrong hair tie can negate the effect of your nighttime hairstyle by restricting movement too much at the securing place.
This is where things get specific. Each hair mood has different needs, and it follows that not all protective hairstyles work for every person. We’re referring to each hair mood here, not type, because if you’re anything like me, your hair has some days where it’s just not feeling up to it’s normal bouncy self. Assess your hair and then figure out how to wear your hair to bed based on its mood.
If you have straight, type one hair, you want to focus on keeping it shiny and detangled. This can be accomplished with a loose bun or braid secured with a non elastic hair tie (see tip #3). Before you go to sleep, get rid of any big knots and make sure your hair is fully dried so you don’t wake up with weird 90s crimping going on.
Not stick straight but not Shirley Temple curls either? We’ve got you covered. For wavy hair, a braid or two can maintain those loose waves and protect the follicles from rubbing against your pillow all night. If you want to accentuate the waves, try french or dutch pigtails for more defined waves in the morning.
Another option you can try is a high bun. The height will give you volume and the twist will leave you with soft curls in the morning. But avoid making the bun too tight, as this can be bad for your hair and scalp.
All my guys and gals who hate going to sleep because it just means you will wake up with smushed, oddly shaped rat tails instead of fresh bouncy curls, say “I”.
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To hang on to your curls for another night, try a loose braid with a scrunchie. Another great option is piling or the “pineapple” bun. Gather all your hair up on top of your head to maintain volume and make a loose bun with only one or two loops depending on how long your hair is.
If you have a nice silk or satin pillowcase, you can also opt for free flowing follicles and sleep with your hair loose. You might have to try a few different variations to see what works best for you.
No style will allow you to wake up with perfect curls the next day, but they do protect your hair follicles from overnight damage which will give you healthier, more defined curls in the long run.
This hair mood has a tendency to be drier than curly hair, so use the night time as an opportunity to deep condition. Apply a leave-in conditioner or your favorite hair serum and cover with a shower cap before you go to sleep.
If you’re not planning a spa treatment, you can do a number of other things such as the aforementioned “pineapple” bun, a silk hair wrap, bantu knots, braids and twists, or even sleeping with it loose on a silk pillowcase.
So while you’re catching up on that well deserved sleep, make sure your hair is not catching on your pillow and incurring preventable damage all the while. There’s plenty of things you can do to keep your hair straight and shiny, wavy and voluminous, defined and soft, and moisturized and frizz free.
Written by Christiana Sinacola
