How To Protect Your Hair At Night [Stop Doing This]

When it comes to hair care, there are many different elements to incorporate into your routine to keep your hair healthy and strong, such as washing, drying, and styling. Taking steps to protect your hair at night is another crucial consideration many women overlook. 

Failure to properly care for your hair at night can leave you with dry and frizzy hair to deal with during the day. It can also cause more serious lasting effects like hair loss and fallout.

To give your hair a boost, examine your nighttime hair routine (or start one) and learn what changes you can make to keep your hair at its best.  

Major Things That Can Impact Hair Health

Bad habits can add up. You may not realize how small hair care decisions can be negatively impacting your hair. Here are three things to stop doing to protect your hair better and encourage healthy growth:

Hair Ties

Tight elastic hair ties are not good for your hair while you sleep, especially if your hair is wet or damp. Holding your hair tightly with elastics can crimp an area, leaving it damaged. 

Instead of sleeping with tight elastics, tie your hair while sleeping using loose scrunchies or hairpins. Or better yet, give your hair time to breathe by sleeping with your hair untied or in loose braids. 

Wet Hair before Bed

Sleeping with wet hair is extremely dangerous for your hair. When hair is wet, it’s at its weakest and is most susceptible to breakage and split ends. After sleeping with wet hair, you’ll probably notice that your hair is more frizzy and dry in the morning. In extreme cases, sleeping with wet hair can lead to hair fallout. 

It’s best to avoid washing your hair in the evenings, but if you have to wash your hair at night, make sure you properly blow dry it before going to sleep. Alternatively, you can braid your damp hair in a long loose braid to protect it from damage while you sleep. (Read more: How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?)

Sleeping with Your Hair Up

Going to bed with your hair up can cause damage based on the hairstyle you choose. Topknots, high ponytails, and tight buns keep your hair, and especially your roots, in a tight hold while you sleep, causing stress on your scalp that can lead to hair loss. It can also cause breakage of the hair shafts. 

If you’re going to tie your hair while sleeping, do it loosely. It can be safe to sleep with your hair in a bun, as long as it’s at the crown of your head and you use pins or scrunchies to attach it in a way that doesn’t pull the hair tightly. You can also sleep with your hair in loose braids to keep the hair from getting too frizzy. 

Protect Your Hair While You Sleep

Now that you know what to avoid, let's talk about the good hair habits to protect your hair every night. These tips may seem simple, but they can have a huge impact on your hair’s appearance and overall health. Don’t be surprised if your hair is softer, shinier, and less frizzy after following this advice. 

Brushing Your Hair Before Bed

Protect your hair at night by thoroughly brushing it before you go to sleep. By gently brushing your hair before you go to bed, you’ll be able to work out any knots and help prevent tangles in your sleep. 

Brushing your hair will distribute natural oils from your scalp through the hair follicles, providing natural moisturization. Brushing will also stimulate the scalp and can promote hair growth. 

Make sure to use a gentle brush that doesn’t tear the hair. A boar bristle brush or a wet brush can be good options to promote hair health. 

Scalp Massages

Everyone loves a good massage. Now you have an excuse to give yourself a little TLC before bed because scalp massages are a great way to protect your hair and promote hair growth. Massaging your scalp increases blood flow which carries oxygen to hair follicles. 

Here’s how to give yourself a thorough scalp massage:

• Using your fingertips, rub gently on the scalp in small circles
• Work your way over the whole scalp 
• Massage for at least five minutes to get the blood flowing 

Overnight Moisturizing Treatments

Using moisturizing treatments on your hair while you sleep can work wonders, especially if your hair is dry, frizzy, or damaged. Overnight treatments, or masks, rehydrate your hair and make it more resistant to damage. 

However, not all hair masks are safe to use overnight. Avoid sleeping in masks that contain: 

• Protein
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Egg

Choosing the Right Pillowcase

This might surprise you, but the wrong type of pillowcase could be damaging your hair. Cotton pillowcases, for example, absorb moisture (which can dry out your hair) and can rough up the shaft. 

Protect your hair while you sleep by choosing a pillowcase made of silk or satin. This will prevent breakage by sliding across hair strands rather than getting snagged on the fabric. Both silk and satin pillowcases come with different benefits, so do your research to choose the best for your hair. 

Use Eluxe for Healthy Hair

Taking steps to protect your hair while you sleep is a great way to prevent damage and stimulate hair growth. However, some women need a bit more help when it comes to hair loss. 

Eluxe’s specially formulated carbonic acid shampoo helps you stimulate hair growth naturally while keeping your scalp and hair healthy. Our secret ingredient is carbonic acid, which helps unclog your pores, eliminate excess natural oils on your scalp, and increase blood circulation. Clogged or oxygen-starved hair follicles become rejuvenated and hair can grow more fully than before. 

Eluxe is safe and effective for women seeking to combat hair loss and thinning. For protection and damage prevention, wash your hair with Eluxe shampoo and conditioner, hair care set and hair care products as part of your normal hair care routine. (Read more: What Is a Good Hair Care Routine?)

Shop our high quality hair protects today.