Wrapping your hair up in a protective cap helps to extend the life of protective hairstyles, fight frizz, and retain moisture while you get your zzzzs in. Sleeping without one can dry your hair out, cause breakage, and force you to buy even more hydrating shampoos and moisturizing conditioners to reverse the damage.
Wearing a bonnet helps prevent friction while you sleep at night, therefore reducing the amount of frizz you wake up with. Having your hair protected alleviates stress and helps to prevent split ends.
All of your hair's natural oils, as well as styling products, are deposited onto the surface of your pillowcase, which are then transferred onto your skin. It's a recipe for breakouts, clogged pores and skin irritation. Hair bonnets are a great way to ensure that your pillows are kept clean and your skin is kept clear.
Purchase a Satin Pillowcase
If you typically forget your bonnet at bedtime, opt for a satin pillowcase. Friction from cotton or linen pillowcases rob your hair of moisture, leaving it dry and frizzy.
Use a scrunchie or tie made of silk or satin, instead. If you have unruly hair, style in a loose braid tied with a silk scrunchie before bed. Not only will the silk scrunchie prevent friction and subsequent breakage from affecting your strands, but it also likely won't create ridges in your hair after it's removed.
All hair types can benefit from this practice, whether you have tight curls or fine, straight hair. A nighttime bonnet can be useful to anyone, but there are a few universal rules you should follow, and there may be some differences in how you should wear it, depending on your goals and hair type.
Sleeping with long hair or hair unsecured can quickly become a bit of a hairy situation — matted strands, knots and frizz, it happens. And it makes for a bad hair day. Eventually, it will cause further damage and hair breakage as well. Hair care while you are sleeping matters.
You Can Wear it to Bed
Do you always wake up with a serious bed head going on? Putting on a shower cap before you hit the hay can actually prevent this from happening. It will keep your hair in one place while you sleep no matter how much you move around.
Hair Scarf or Bonnet
If your hair is damp, then you can wrap your strands in a silk or satin hair scarf or bonnet before going to bed. This will prevent any friction between your strands and pillowcase and will eliminate any added frizz in the process. In the morning, you can also use the scarf to style your strands.
A pressing question that often circulates is wearing a satin bonnet on wet hair. The truth is wearing soaking wet hair to bed with or without a satin bonnet is not recommended. However, partially dry hair under the bonnet keeps hair from frizzing, breaking, drying out, and building up bacteria.
"These textures allow hair to glide easily against the fabric to prevent friction which can cause breakage and split ends." Additionally, bonnets and headscarves help prevent moisture loss, which is critical in maintaining styles (like protective braids, locs, or a silk press).
While anyone can wear a hair bonnet, they're most often used to protect and strengthen those with curly, coily, or fine hair. We recommend wearing one of these beauty staples each night after applying your conditioner for ultimate hydration.
Retains Moisture on Your Hair
The best time to moisturize your hair is at night, before you go to sleep, when the temperature and environment is consistent. A satin hair bonnet will help keep that moisture on your hair where it belongs.
If your bonnet is too tight, your curls could be smushed against your scalp and become mis-shaped. If it's too big, your curls will fall and not be held up on top of your head. It can also slide off when sleeping if it's not snug enough against your hairline.
Sleeping on satin helps keep the curls' shape and style without causing kinks and bumps. It also keeps hair from getting frizzy and poofy. Yep, satin even helps keep your hair hydrated! Sleeping on cotton is known to dry out your hair from root to tips, satin helps keep it fresh.
It is best to sleep with your hair down if your hair length is short. This also lets the air flow freely through your hair, which makes you sleep more comfortably. On the other hand, if you have long hair, it is recommended to tie your hair loosely to prevent knots and breakage.
Generally, the health risks and ill-effects of sleeping with wet hair are negligible. However, based on the condition and texture of your hair and other issues [1] that you might be facing (such as dandruff and itching), you should wait till your hair is fully dry before sleeping.
However, it is important to protect your hair strands from friction while sleeping. This can be done by putting your hair back into a loose ponytail, loose braid or loose bun with silk or satin scrunchies — or by sleeping with hair in a satin or silk hair bonnet.
Luckily, making a DIY shower cap is very easy with just a grocery bag and bobby pins. Start by putting your hair up in a bun and tucking away any loose hair. Then put the bag over your head and twist it at the front. After securing the bag in place, you're ready to shower!
Some call it the "baggy method," others simply refer to it as "using a plastic cap." Some even opt for plastic wrap. The goal of the baggy method is to keep your hair moisturized and prevent breakage of delicate ends. If long hair is your ultimate aim, you may want to try this on a regular basis—at least once a week.
The plastic bag traps heat helping to re-activate the moisturizer. The trick is to use a small amount of your favorite moisturizer, seal with a natural oil, then put your baggy over your hair or ponytail. Your ends will thank you!
Whilst we know a high ponytail can cause damage, a high, loose bun is a much better option. There are a few methods to make a high bun. You can firstly, use the same method as a low bun, where you twist the hair around itself. This creates a rounder, neater bun.
Sleeping with wet hair could cause it to tangle more, particularly if you move a lot in your sleep and come morning, it could be difficult to comb through.” The horror doesn't end there. Travers also says that sleeping with damp hair may cause fungus to grow on your scalp.