How's Your Nighttime Routine Looking?

Hello hair divas! So, I know you’ve all been busy keeping your hair all glammed up and possibly even getting ready for Valentine’s Day, but I wanted to take a moment to talk with you about a little something every woman of color goes through whether she has permed hair or she’s natural: that night time hair routine. I know it’s not the most exciting subject to talk about, but it’s super important. Why? What many women don’t realize is that their night time routine is what’s preventing them from being able to achieve that goal of length retention. How you might ask? Take a look below to see how revamping your night time routine can actually help you grow longer, healthier tresses.

What’s so bad about it anyway?

The problem is that depending on your texture or even the type of hairstyle you’re rocking, you have the potential to cause breakage. We all know that breakage is our worst nightmare if we’re trying to grow out our hair, and it all starts with prevention. No matter your texture, I’m going to list a few ways that you can prevent excess breakage and take care of your hair even while you’re asleep.

 Change out your pillowcase.

This is one of the easiest options and requires the least amount of maintenance. Majority of us own a regular cotton pillow. While a cotton pillow keeps your head nice and cool, it’s actually detrimental to your tresses. Cotton is one of those fabrics that clings to your hair, and the excess friction that comes from tossing and turning causes the ends to look lackluster. To prevent this, just switch out your cotton pillowcase for a silk or satin one. They typically only cost a few extra bucks at the dollar store. I’m pretty sure your tresses are worth that much!

Now, just about every woman I know owns at least one silk or satin bonnet. Bonnets are a staple in any healthy hair regimen because it’s perfect for catching rollers when they slide out of your hair, helps to retain any moisture that you may have put on to prevent dryness, and it also protects against breakage in the absence of a pillowcase. To compare, a silk or satin bonnet is usually less expensive than getting a pillowcase. However, we suggest getting both if you have enough coins.  A silk pillowcase comes in handy whenever you don’t feel like tying up your hair at night and still want your hair to remain looking pretty.

Speaking of tying up your hair, we’re going to switch gears a little bit and start talking about different styles you can use to accompany your night time routine. Depending on if you have a perm of if you’re natural, your routine might look different than someone else’s. Keep looking to see which one of these night time routines is best for you.

FYI: there’s debate among silk vs satin. In a nutshell, silk is natural and satin is not. Silk costs more and satin doesn’t. if you want to learn more about satin vs silk, let me know in the comments and I can dedicate a whole article to nothing but that 😊

 Wrap it up.

If you have relaxed hair and have never wrapped your hair before, then you are in for a real treat. A wrap is the best way to get body, protect your ends, and keep your hair protected at night. Even if you have a press—the wrap is for you. It’s as easy as starting from the middle of your head and wrapping the hair around in a cocoon with a wide tooth comb. Keep wrapping until all the hair is safely tucked away. Use bobby pins if your hair is thicker to keep the wrap in place. You can either use a satin wrap scarf or your new pillowcase to make sure your wrap doesn’t come loose or get dry!

Put it in a pineapple.

Now this one is great for those that may have curly weave in their hair or for those with curls in their head in general. It’s as easy as taking all your hair into a high ponytail at the top of your head. You want the ponytail to be very loose, but not so loose that it comes undone. Wrap a scarf around your edges or just lay down on your pillowcase. Boom! That’s all there is to it. The benefit of the pineapple method is that it retains curls for another day without them getting flat by going to sleep. Hair diva beware: doing this too many times in a row may cause matting. Use your better judgment and detangle when and if necessary.

 Add some twists. 

Large flat twists or even chunky regular twists are great for those with natural or curly hair because it prevents the hair from matting up overnight. Detangling time is all but eliminated when you do two strand or flat twists the night before. To save time, don’t do more than 6 of either one. Remember, the goal is to prevent tangling and matting, not to necessarily create a hairstyle. That’s not to say that you can’t use the twists to create a new curl pattern. Flat twists or chunky twists create a nice look when you take it loose! You may just need to add a little product to help it stay after you take your twists apart in the morning.

Also, try our Crowned collection to cleanse, condition and lock in moisture. What does your night time routine look like? Tell us about it in the comments!

-Authored by Bianca Scott