9 Natural Hair Mistakes to Avoid While Sleeping
hair + beauty
October 13, 2014
Ashley
Everyone has a different natural hair regimen for night time. And there is no one right way to prep your natural hair for sleeping. However, there are a good handful of mistakes to avoid or at least chose doing less often in order to preserve the health of your hair to its fullest potential! Make the most of your 8 hours of sleep, and do your best to avoid these 9 natural hair don’ts!
1. Loose Ends
DON’T go to bed without covering your ends! Whether you tuck them into a bun, seal with your favorite go-to sealant and/or cover with a scarf, make sure your fragile ends are protected. This will help avoid split ends and prevent further damage to already damaged, brittle, or dry hair.
2. Loose Hair
DON’T go to bed with your hair completely out without braids, twists, a bun, and/or a satin bonnet. From time to time, this one can slide. But overall, it’s best to style your hair into a go-to night time style and/or cover with a bonnet. Sleeping with your hair entirely loose leaves your hair very prone to friction, breakage and tangles–and no one wants to spend even more time detangling.
3. Cotton Pillow
DON’T sleep with your hair directly touching your cotton pillow or sheets. Cotton quickly absorbs moisture and creates friction, leaving your natural hair not only dry, but frizzy. Instead, cover your hair with a silk bonnet or cover your pillow with a silky cover.
4. Manipulating Every Night
DON’T feel the need to do up your hair with highly manipulative styles every night. Think braids and twists. Of course it’s a good thing to twist up your hair at night to avoid tangles and make morning styling way easier…though, remember to be gentle. Instead of brushing, try finger detangling before twisting. Instead of two strand twists or braids, try one strand twists or a loose bun for less manipulation.
5. Elastic Bands
DON’T sleep with elastic bands in your hair. If you must, use a scrunchie instead. If you can get your hands on a silk or satin scrunchie, then even better! Elastic bands are rough on brittle strands that can easily get caught and/or break.
6. Dry Air
DON’T sleep in a room with exceedingly dry air. You may not realize it, but the dry air could be the culprit of your dry hair! This of course, is not absolutely necessary, but you may find that it helps to sleep near a humidifier close by so your thirsty strands can gently be replenished while you’re asleep.
7. Waiting to Gel in the Morning
DON’T wait to gel your hair in the morning. Instead, wash and gel before bed. If your hair is very dense and/or long, then diffuse until hair is 70% dry before leaving wet, gelled curls to set and dry overnight. Your natural movement while you sleep will help scrunch out the crunch, and this will make your morning routine much faster.
8. Tight Styling
DON’T night time style your hair in exceedingly tight styles. This can cause scalp discomfort and tension. Eventually, very tight styles can lead to breakage, hair loss, and can even negatively affect your hairline. If you need to twist tightly to manipulate your style/texture, then try leaving your roots a bit loose!
9. Sleeping with a Towel
DON’T sleep with your hair covered in a terrycloth towel. If you do, you are begging for frizz! If you must, use an old tee shirt or microfibre towel instead to leave your hair shafts smoother with very little to no frizz!
What is your go to night routine?
Dora Sobze is a PR executive, writer, and social media strategist by day — and freelance blogger by night. If you’re feeling crafty, hungry, stylish, or in need of natural hair tips, check out her blog latidoe.blogspot.com or  spinachblog.com for her latest spinach recipes. She’d love to chat with you on twitter! Follow her @la_ti_doe.