
How To Protect Curly Hair At Night – You know the feeling – you go to bed with perfectly smooth and defined curls and wake up with, well, nothing of the sort. If a head full of frizz and knots is a common greeting every morning, good news: you don’t have to put up with it any longer, because with the right know-how, it’s entirely possible to sleep on curly hair and wake up with coils or waves that feel just as fresh and bouncy as the day before.
Discover how to keep your curls in place from the second you turn off the lights to the moment you hit snooze. We’ll also give you our secrets on how to restore curly hair after sleeping. In addition to streamlining your morning routine, following these tips and tricks can ensure that you wake up with healthier looking hair.
How To Protect Curly Hair At Night
So, are you ready to embrace a whole new kind of bedhead? Learn how to sleep with curls.
Techniques To Protect Your Kinky Hair At Night
Whether you want to protect your style, prevent frizz or damage, or wake up with beautiful waves, these techniques and products for curly hair will help you achieve your goal.
You may have already come across silk (and satin) pillowcases, which have been trending for a few years. And while it’s a great gift, this is one vacation you should definitely spend on yourself.
Silk pillowcases have many benefits for your hair and skin health, so kiss the cotton pillowcase goodbye. While cotton can be rough and absorbent, silk and satin are soft and repellent, so they don’t pull on your hair as you reverse or absorb your hair’s natural oils, which provide it with natural moisture.
If you’re committed to your pillowcases, you can still reap some of the benefits of a silk pillowcase by wearing a satin pillowcase or silk pillowcase instead, which leads us to our next tip…
Easy Ways To Protect Your Curly Hair At Night
If you have curly hair, a night scarf or hair cap is a must-have in your bathroom or on your nightstand. Look for a silk or satin scarf or hood, which – as we mentioned before – will be the softest and cause the least friction.
A hair wrap like this can offer a ton of benefits: not only is it a great way to protect your curls from damage and tangles, but it can also protect your bedding and skin from any product you’ve applied to your hair. Since applying rich, sometimes oil-infused products before bedtime can be extremely beneficial for curly-haired girls (more on that in a bit), a protective hood can save you a lot of laundry time.
A hair bun is also ideal for those with short hair, who cannot use some of the usual styles that others with long hair can implement to protect their curls overnight.
Sleep is one of the most powerful tools for our overall health, and while it may not seem ideal for curls, it’s actually crucial for hair restoration and recovery—not to mention essential to keeping the rest of your body supple.
How To Pineapple Natural Hair To Preserve It At Night
The hours you log on the mattress can be even more beneficial if you imagine your hair with products that can sink in and work their magic all night long. In fact, before bed is the best time to apply rich and hydrating ingredients that your hair can soak up while you sleep – after all, you’re looking at 7-8 hours of uninterrupted treatment time.
Encourage your natural hair to absorb all the moisture from the product you apply by putting on a hood, cap or scarf. That will help lock in the heat from your head, which will enable the product to penetrate the hair shaft and work its magic, and protect your pillowcase to boot.
No, we are not talking about the fruit. The pineapple method is a way to style your hair before going to bed to ensure that your curls do not fall asleep and to stimulate maximum volume in the morning.
To achieve “the pineapple”, use a satin hair tie or scrunchie to tie your hair into a loose ponytail on the top of your head. Can you imagine the pineapple?
A Hair Guide: How To Maintain And Style It
If you have short curly hair, you can do your own version of the pineapple by tying your hair into multiple smaller ponytails on top of your head. Sure, it’s a unique nighttime look, but if it makes for better hair during the day, who cares?
One of the best hairstyles to sleep in for naturally curly hair is twists. Tighter curls work especially well when you twist them before bed.
You can also simply twist your hair into a loose bun on top of your head with a scrunchie, which is a great style for any hair texture, whether wavy or curly. This is a great go-to if you have wet curly hair before bed as it will protect the hair from tangles and frizz.

Braids are another great way to contain your curls overnight—and happen to be a great option if you’re wondering how to sleep with wet curly hair. However, they will affect your natural curl pattern, making it either wavier or kinkier.
Tips For The Perfect 4c Natural Hair Night Time Routine
The look you wake up with will vary depending on your curl type and braid type. Experiment to discover the look you love. Whichever method you choose, consider applying a little styling product before braiding to boost softness, shine and hold, which will keep your braids (and resulting style) in place. By using a styler from our Curl Collection, your curls will not only be more defined in the morning, but also look and feel healthier over time.
If you have wrapped or styled your hair, or both, the first order of business is to undo the style and/or wrap, shake it out, and let your hair fall naturally for a few minutes. Then you can carefully loosen all the knots with your fingers.
With our tips in hand, your style should feel fresh and your curls defined—but if they need a little help to feel fully polished or pulled together, a few styling products will come in handy. Deliver a boost of freshness with dry shampoo and add shine and softness, nixing all unwanted frizz with Moisturizing Shine Oil. If you need to touch up a few curls with a curling iron, spray your strands first with a heat styling spray.
Whether you have beachy waves or kinky ringlets, sleeping with curly hair doesn’t have to be a drag. If you do it right, you can experience a relationship with your curls that is more love than hate.
Essential Benefits Of Hair Oil For Curls
While it may require an extra step or two, incorporating these tips and tricks into your nightly curly hair care routine can not only be a lifesaver in the morning, but also largely prevent long-term damage to your hair. Another bonus? You don’t have to spend an endless amount of time figuring out how to detangle curly hair when you wake up. day, especially from those new to the curly girl method. Sleeping with curly hair seems to be something that many curls and waves struggle with.
Successfully maintaining curls overnight hair is not as difficult as you think. Let’s take a look at these 4 options so you can see how easy it is to keep your curls overnight and spend less time with your hair in the morning.
On wash day, I make sure to wash my hair early enough that it is completely dry before I fall asleep.
I also try to wait at least an hour after it dries for the style to set before applying the buff.
How To Refresh Curly Hair Between Wash Days, According To A Hairstylist
This means that I usually wash in the afternoon and I try not to go out so that my style is not ruined. That is not always possible, but it helps me to have lasting results.
The way your hair comes out on wash day is very important because that is the style that will lock in and what you will keep for days to come.
Some people wait to cut out the crunch until the morning, which helps your curls stay overnight.
Experiment both ways and see what works for your hair. Leaving the cast longer gives me more definition, but it kills my volume, so I get the crunch soon after my hair dries.
Curly Girl Method For 2b 2c 3a Hair
The most important step is to use a buff every night (pictured below). This is the one thing that makes the biggest difference. I put off trying this for years because I didn’t think it would do much, but I wish I had done it sooner.
I recently took a poll on my Instagram stories, and it seems that using a buff and silk or satin pillowcase are the most common ways curlers protect their hair at night.
I use the same buff maybe 2-3 nights because they stretch. I make sure to pull it down over my ears so it stays on all night.
The buff will slide up and possibly come off so I also have a silk pillowcase. I have one that is only silk
Best 4a Hair Type Routine, According To A Hairstylist
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