The best bedtime tips for Afro and coily hair
Most of my fellow curly and natural Afro-haired women will tell you that the bedtime routine for optimum style in the morning, does not go: cleanse face, brush teeth, scroll Instagram for two hours then hit the sack. No, there is a fine art to ensuring that your hair is looking and feeling bouncy and feeling moisturised in the morning.
Depending on whether you are into your wash-and-go’s, or you prefer to do a twist-out or braid-out for more definition, there are certain elements that you can incorporate into your routine to help keep your hair looking amazing and minimise the amount of morning manipulation you have to do.
So, take note of the below for your dreamiest hair (pun fully intended) …
Treatments and oils are your night-time go-tos
Bedtime is the best time to pamper your strands with oils and richer products, as it'll allow time for the ingredients to work. Just like your skin repairs and replenishes overnight, your scalp and roots revive at night as well. Celebrity Hairstylist Dionne Smith recommends a product like CANTU Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment. “It’s kind of like a night treatment,” she says. “It’s very rich in consistency, and can be applied to the hair before you go to sleep, which will give it time to penetrate the strands throughout the night.”
To nourish the scalp, Renee Gadar, Global Artistic Director (Texture) at Aveda recommends oils to stimulate and nourish. “I recommend something that’s high fat – for example avocado oil or olive oil, but try and stay away from coconut oil,” she warns. Whichever product you opt for, just don’t go drenching your curls — if it can’t take a specific thickness of product in the day, then don’t go whacking it on at night, as it’ll only sit on your strands and in the morning your style will be weighed down rather than bouncy.
No more wet hair before bed
Bad news, if you maybe sometimes feel so exhausted after finishing your hair wash routine that you just maybe go to bed with sopping wet strands, there needs to be no more of that. It's particularly important if you have type 3 or 4 curls, given that our hair is already on the delicate side, when it's wet it can be even more vulnerable to damage. “If you’re in the 3’s and 4’s, coupling up ‘wet hair sleep’ and a cotton pillowcase will leave your coils dry, brittle and tangled, very quickly. You want to be sleeping with your hair dry, but moisturised,” says Renee.
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Pineapple or twists?
If you don’t opt for braids and twists to style your hair but prefer to let it be, then Renee recommends you get pineapple-ing. “If you’re doing a wash and go and you want that definition to last, you should pineapple the hair. Take a satin wrap or satin scarf, make it into a triangle, tie it to the front like Tupac and tuck in the rest in,” advises Renee. “In the morning, take off the scarf and let your hair settle for 15-20 minutes, then scrunch some natural oils through. This will help prevent any ‘hair corrosion’ on your pillow.”
If you prefer to create your own definition then you can’t go wrong with a well moisturised twist-out. “Before you get into bed, put your hair in some nice chunky twists, put your headscarf on and voila, all done,” says Dionne. “For extra shine and definition apply some curl cream to your strands — this’ll give you a nice curly, coily or wavy finish in the morning depend on your curl type.”
Headscarf or pillowcase – it’s your call
Whether you prefer a pillowcase to let your hair be free, or you’re used to an old-school headscarf or turban, both are good for your curls — as long as you’re off the cotton. Personally, I go with both, because I’m *extra* and also seem to thrash about so much in my sleep I’m not sure how I remain in my bed, in my room, in my house... Renee does recommend that you opt for satin over silk. “Just like cotton, silk absorbs moisture as it’s a natural fibre, satin is fabricated so you won’t lose the moisture as much as cotton and silk,” she warns. I personally love my silk pillow cases, but it's definitely something to note.
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