Sleeping on long hair can kinda suck sometimes. It gets stuck in your armpit, you roll over and somehow get caught on it, and it ends up in your mouth. Time to throw it up in a bun on the top of your head and forget about it, right? Wrong. If you’ve fallen into this trap, don’t worry, you’re not a bad person. Here are some alternative options to maintain your hair health as you sleep!
Before we get into styles that you can sleep on to keep your hair out of the way, we have to talk about sleeping on wet hair vs. dry hair. When your hair is wet, it becomes pliable. As your hair dries, it sets into place. If you go to sleep on wet hair without putting it into a protective style first, it will form to the shape of your pillow and you’re going to wake up with an interesting look (AKA: Bad Hair Day). Additionally, DRY hair is very elastic. It will stretch well, and snap back into shape easily. WET hair loses 60%-80% of it’s elasticity, which makes it much more susceptible to breakage. For these reasons, you definitely want to avoid putting wet hair in a tight bun on the top of your hair before bed. The tighter the bun, the less moisture can escape at night, sometimes even causing hair to mildew! This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t sleep on damp hair, but you do need to be careful and consider what you want your hair to look like in the morning.
Onwards to the actual styles you can use at night to keep your hair out of the way or to give yourself an easy style!
1. The Braid or Twist
Starting with my personal favorite, putting your hair into almost any type of braid is a really great option for a protective, out-of-the-way sleep style. Braids are a great tool for styling damp or dry hair, giving damp hair a Taylor-Swift-Fearless-Era wave. Braids also keep long hair out of the way and contained for most of the night.
Experiment! Braids can have drastically different results. Try french, dutch, cornrows, fishtails or simple plaits. Try one, two, three or more braids! You’ll quickly realize the possibilities are endless.
!! Careful tying off the ends of the braid. Make sure to use a scrunchie, ribbon, or invisibobble to allow the ends of your hair to breathe. Using a tight elastic can cause breakage.
2. Heatless Curls
Heatless curls have been taking the internet by storm. Whether you’re trying the robe tie, curl laces, or the satin headband, nearly all of these options have been designed with healthy hair in mind. Most of these options are manufactured with soft fabrics that provide very little tension on the hair and provide beautiful results that last all day. A huge benefit of any heatless curl option is in the name: HEATLESS. Using a method to curl your hair that doesn’t require wrapping your hair around a hot piece of metal is much gentler.
3. Wrap it up!
Bonnet, turban, scarf, kerchief… these methods have been around for ages for a reason: THEY WORK. There are a lots of different types of protective wraps for hair floating around the internet. To find the one that works for you, keep a few things in mind. First, the size of your head and hair. If you have a lot of hair or a big head, a small kerchief is not your journey. Second, is it comfortable? If it isn’t 100% comfortable on you, you WILL pull it off in your sleep. Finally, is the material soft and friction-less? You don’t want a cotton or terry cloth head wrap. At the very least the wrap should be lined with a satiny or silky material so that it won’t cause frizz, friction, or breakage as you sleep.
What do you do with your hair to keep it out of your way at night? Do you have any habits you need to reform? If you’ve tried any of these methods before, let me know in the comments what worked and what didn’t.
Rebel Stylist GR 
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