Many people don’t realize it but caring for your hair at night is just as important as caring for it during the day. While you sleep, your hair is constantly exposed to friction from your pillowcase, which can lead to breakage and damage. This article will give you the best tips on how to properly protect your hair before bed to make it healthy and beautiful!
Best Bedtime Hair Tips
1. Moisturize
Keeping the hair moisturized at night is key to keeping your hair healthy. During the nighttime, your hair is very prone to drying out because of the moisture being absorbed from the pillowcase.
The best way to moisturize your hair is to apply a leave-in conditioner or a curl cream. Leave-in conditioners help the hair gain back the moisture it lost throughout the day and maintain it. You should also spray your hair with some water before going to bed, not until it is soaked, but just enough to hydrate it.
Oils are also great ways of sealing moisture into your hair. You can use oils by themselves or after applying a cream. When moisture is sealed into the hair, the hair strands remain strong and become less prone to breakage. Good oils for moisturizing include argan oil, jojoba oil, and olive oil.
You can also take advantage of the nighttime to use essential oils in order to promote hair growth. Great essential oils for hair growth include rosemary, lavender, and tea tree oil. Many people like to apply these oils around their edges at night, but you can use them anywhere you’d like!
When you apply moisture before going to bed you are sure to wake up with your hair looking and feeling revitalized.
2. Twist
Twists are very similar to braids, except they are done with two strands instead of three.
Twists are achieved by the curls of the hair wrapping around each other and keeping the twist in place. Twists are best done on coarser and curlier hair (3c-4c curl type) because looser and finer textures tend to unravel.
Before going to bed, twists are easy to do and will lock in any moisture in the hair through the night. To get the most out of the twists, apply a cream or leave-in conditioner to lock in additional moisture. In the morning, your hair will look voluminous and hydrated. You don’t need to do many twists for bedtime if you’re really sleepy, you could literally do 2-4 big ones and call it a night!
3. Silk or Satin Bonnet
Wearing a silk or satin bonnet is very important no matter what you choose to do with your hair at night. You want to avoid friction and dryness as much as possible while you’re sleeping, and covering your hair helps to accomplish that.
Bonnets are great for the hair because they are soft and do not cause friction. They also help hold moisture into the hair so that your hair stays moisturized all night long. Bonnets come in sizes from small to extra big, so no matter what your hairstyle is, you can find a bonnet that can cover it.
If you don’t like bonnets, then using a satin pillowcase will at least be easier on your hair because cotton pillowcases are rough and absorb the moisture that should be in your hair.
If you have really short hair or braids, another way to cover your hair at night is by wearing a durag. Durags are great for flat hair styles (cornrows, pixie cuts, etc.) because they flatten the hair and hold it in place throughout the night. Durags are usually made of satin material, so they hold in moisture and rid of the friction that could happen against your pillowcase.
4. Loosen the Hair
If you are wearing a tight hairstyle throughout the day, such as a ponytail or bun, then loosening your hair before you go to bed will help ease tension on the scalp and give it a much-needed break.
Constantly pulling on the hair ultimately damages the root which can lead to permanent hair loss called traction alopecia. It is a process that takes years, so usually people are unaware of how constant tugging affects the hair until it is too late.
One way to avoid the problem is by loosening the hair at night, instead of it being tightly pulled for 24 hours a day. If you do wear a bun or braids at night, make sure they are loose and not pulling on the scalp. Being intentional about giving your hair and scalp a break will help it to grow stronger and longer over time.
Is It Ok To Wear A Ponytail Before I Go To Bed?
Anything that requires the use of hair bands should be avoided for nighttime. The average person sleeps 8 hours a day, so extra pulling on the hair can cause problems over long periods of time. In order to avoid potential breakage, it is best to wrap your hair around itself into a loose bun, twist it, or loosely braid it before bed.
In Conclusion
Nighttime is a great way to take advantage of all the ways you can help your hair. Utilizing these hair tips will not only help you sleep better but will help you wake up ready to take on the day!
