Long and healthy hair is everybody’s priority. Beautiful hairstyles and shiny locks attract attention to a person as few other things can. This is why hair loss can be a major problem for many people. The truth is, friction and tangling during sleep break off more hair than you could imagine. Establishing a good nighttime routine for hair can prove miraculous in preventing hair loss. It’s not even that hard or expensive, you just need to be patient and pay attention.
Detangle Your Hair Before Bed
Brushing your hair before bed is as essential as maintaining your health. When you brush your hair, it detangles the hair strands from each other. It also helps redistribute the scalp’s natural oil in the hair which keeps it healthy and strong. Brush your hair gently and thoroughly, making sure to get all the tangles out. Do not pull at your hair, or over brush them.
A wide-toothed comb is the best tool to use for the job, as it detangles the hair, instead of breaking the knots out. Brushing the scalp also helps remove loose hair from the length. These loose hairs get tangled with other strands and form knots. These knots usually get caught in brushes and rip out healthy hair with them.
Specialists recommend brushing your hair in sections, and to start at the ends. Starting at your roots will cause more damage to the hair. Place your brush a few inches above the ends, and slowly work your way up. If your brush gets stuck in tangles, remove it gently and try again. Do not forcefully try to pull the tangles out of the hair.
Make Sure to Tie Your Hair Before Bed
If your hair are short, it is better to leave them untied. This helps air circulate easily around your locks. Also, short hair do not tangle or break easily. If you have long hair, you should tie them up before going to bed. It is necessary to make sure you do not tie your hair too tight, as that can damage the hair roots. The trick is to make sure the hair are not pulling at your scalp. Leaving your long hair loose at night can tangle them. When you brush through your hair in the morning, these tangles will be so tight, they will break off.
We recommend tying your hair in a loose braid at the end of your nape. Braiding your hair is also a very good way to give yourself some natural curls in the morning, especially if you have straight hair. This will help you avoid using heated methods like curling irons, and hair straighteners. You can also cover your hair with a silk scarf to avoid them being roughed up against the pillowcase.
Some people sleep with hair rollers but eventually risk breaking the hair off. However, there are certain practices you can follow to avoid hair fall when sleeping with rollers. Find out more here – How to Sleep in Hair Rollers Without Eventually Breaking Your Hair Off
Do Not Sleep With Wet Hair
Your hair are at their most vulnerable when fresh out of the shower. This is because the hair have been stripped of their protective oils by shampoos and other hair products. If you use warm or hot water to shower, the heat will also make your hair weak and breakable.
If you have a habit of showering before bed, make sure to dry your hair thoroughly before you sleep. Make sure to towel dry your hair with care. You can use a blow dryer too. However, use it occasionally and always with a heat protectant. Damp and weak hair are extremely fragile. You can suffer from extreme hair fall if you sleep with wet hair. Sleeping with wet hair also makes it brittle, tangled, and difficult to work with.
Sleeping with wet hair also puts you at risk of a fungal scalp infection. Fungal infections of the scalp can lead to problems like dandruff, and eventually hair loss.
Give Yourself a Scalp Massage Before Bed
After you dry your hair and brush them, but before you tie them for the night, it is best to give your scalp a little massage. This increases blood flow to the hair follicles. Massaging your scalp for 2-3 minutes is proven to keep the scalp healthy and produce thicker hair strands as well. Just let all your hair down and rub your scalp in circles using your fingertips, almost like you’re massaging with shampoo. Do not use your nails as they can damage the scalp. It is best to stick to the pads of your fingers and apply slight pressure.
Massaging your hair like this also helps release stress, which is another big reason for hair loss. The soothing sensation of the massage can help lull you to sleep. It also encourages the healing of hair problems, like dandruff and dryness. Massaging the scalp also brings nutrients and oxygen to the hair follicles, keeping them healthy. Dead skin cells are also removed, and the sebaceous filaments in the scalp are stimulated to release oils. This keeps the hair moisturized and prevents dryness.
Brush your hair afterward the massage, to smoothen out any tangles you might have created, and tie your hair for the night.
Invest in a Silk or Satin Pillowcase
Harsh fabrics can cause damage to your hair from all the tossing and turning you do at night. Fabrics like cotton, absorb natural oils and moisture from the hair, which risks damage to the hair. Switching to a silk or satin pillowcase can protect your hair, as these fabrics are softer. As a result, they prevent your ends from pulling and tangling. Although silk and satin are comparatively more expensive, they are an investment your hair will truly thank you for.
Wear a Sleep Cap
Wearing a sleep cap at night provides a soft barrier between your hair and the pillowcase. This can prevent it from gathering dust, and protect it against friction. Wearing a sleep cap not only ensures your hair does not break, but the lack of friction also prevents frizz. This means that your hair will be smoother and easier to work with, in the morning.
As you age, the hair starts losing moisture and oils and become dryer over time. Using a sleep cap can help keep your hair safe and healthy, even as you age. This is also a very easy method to keep your hair safe if you don’t want to invest in an expensive silk cushion.
Use a Fabric Scrunchie Instead of an Elastic
A hair elastic pulls at the strands of hair because of how tight it is. Scrunchies, on the other hand, have a fabric barrier between the elastic inside it, and the hair. This buffers the pull of the elastic and prevents the hair from being tangled in the band. As a result, hair do not break as much.
Moving around in your sleep can cause your hair to get stuck in the hairband. In a scrunchie, the soft fabric makes it harder to get tangled. Also, scrunchies are not as tight as hairbands are. This means they cause less tension in the hair, and so prevent them from falling. Scrunchies are easier to take off than hair bands too. They are also easy to keep clean, and so do not cause hair infections.
Suggested Reading – Using Rollers in Shorter Hair
Conclusion
A healthy scalp means healthy hair. The above-mentioned methods don’t cost anything but some time and care. Investing in the health of your hair today will mean they will stay with you for a long time tomorrow. You can also skip the expensive parts, and stick to the basics. Above we have mentioned many ways to ensure your hair are healthy and don’t break during sleep. Do not brush, or sleep with wet hair. Thoroughly brush your hair when they are dry. Massage your scalp for 2-3 minutes, and tie your hair loosely before bed. All of these methods will help you keep your roots and scalp healthy without spending a lot of money.