Lock-in moisture
There's always a natural release of moisture from your hair, and while you sleep it goes into the air or gets absorbed by your pillow. But braids can help prevent that loss. The overlapping structure of braids can hold onto the moisture and can keep it where it needs to be, in your strands.
If you wear it that way every day, permanent hair damage can occur. If you can avoid sleeping in braids every single night, do it. But if it's just too much of a timesaver for you to pass up, make sure you take the right precautions the night before.
You really shouldn't be sleeping with tight braids at all. This can cause stress to the roots of your hair as well as hair breakage.
They especially help protect and care for your hair, but when you do it overnight, the results are even better. If you have wavy or curly hair braiding it overnight will give you beautiful beach waves without the need for heating tools, and best of all, without any effort or time spent.
While braiding can be a great protective measure for your hair, Shah recommends not keeping your hair tied into them for more than 7-8 hours a day. Additionally, he warns against tying the hair into tight braids as doing so can put strain on the hair follicle and lead to hair loss.
So, if you struggle with hair loss due to over-styling and breakage, wearing your hair in braids actually might help you grow out your hair. However, wearing your hair in too-tight braids can actually cause breakage.
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.
Protective Hairstyles For Sleeping: The Twisted Top Bun. Another fairly easy hairstyle: the length of your hair is twisted together and tucked in a bun sitting on top of your head. Quick and easy, it usually doesn't require the aid of any type of barrettes or bobby pins. Twisted Top Knot Bun Hack!
Wrap box braids and cornrows in a silk or satin scarf to prevent frizz and breakage. Sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase to prevent friction and keep braids secure. Moisturize your scalp and prevent itching with grapeseed, castor, or tea tree oil.
Getting gorgeous waves overnight can be as simple as sleeping in a damp braid, but it's important to understand how to prep hair for braids first. Begin with freshly washed hair for optimum results. Since bouncy waves is the end-goal, you'll want to use a volumising shampoo and conditioner.
In order to protect your hair, you need to take the proper steps to ensure that your hair is protected while you sleep. For many hair types, braiding your hair too wet or too tightly can stress your hair. To prevent this, be sure to keep your braid loose and dry.
Give Your Hair a Pre-Bedtime Brush and Style
"Create a center part and then comb it into a low ponytail," she says. "Then, spray R+Co Rainless Dry Cleansing Conditioner to the ponytail and braid the ponytail down your back." Hair will be well-protected and, as a bonus, already styled when you wake up in the morning.
Do not wear braids for more than eight weeks at a time. Keeping them any longer may cause damage to your scalp and hair. Instead of tight braids, try loose ones like French braids, linear plaits, or fishtail braids.
Protective hairstyles like flat twists, cornrows, and box braids can help promote hair growth and prevent breakage.
It depends on what your going to use to hold your ponytail. If you use accessories that tangle, clamp or don't slide off easily without ending up free of more than a few hairs than yes a braid is good. But if you get the “tangle free” hair bands and your hair is healthy, enjoy rockin' that ponytail!
Wearing a hair wrap not only allows you to control the shape of your hair during the night but also prevents the atmosphere from affecting it. Dry air will not cause it to become brittle overnight. On the other hand, moisture in the air will not cause its volume to expand.
Brush and detangle hair
To help minimise knots and reduce damage, it's important to detangle your hair before you rest your head down for the night. Giving your hair a good brush will help to distribute its natural oils, for healthy, shiny, moisturised hair.
Sleeping in braids is a common hair care practice for many people as it helps protect your hair from damage. You can also sleep in braids to help create beautiful waves or curls you can enjoy the next day when you wake up.
Don't Leave Your Braids in for Too Long
You should never keep braids for longer than eight weeks. Any longer than that, your new growth will stretch and damage and eventually break, causing significant damage to your hair. Keeping your braids for longer than eight weeks will likely leave you with hair loss.
According to Branda, sleeping with wet braided hair is an absolute “no.” “You're giving bacteria a place to grow hiding in the weave of the wet braid,” she explains. Plus, she points out that wet hair is more elastic when wet than when it's dry, so all the pulling while braiding can result in breakage.
Any long-term protective hairstyle may lead to your hair shedding after that protective style because of losing moisture. The result is your hair more prone to dryness, and breakage which can appear as excess shedding. They can also cause hair thinning as well as hair loss from keeping them in for so long.