3 Steps To Forming The Perfect Night Time Routine For Natural Hair

Your night time routine is one thing that has the power to completely make or break your hair. We all know the stresses of being too tired to twist our hair at night so we have to deal with a crazy amount of detangling and shrinkage in the morning.

We also know what it feels like to have our curls look super moisturized and poppin’ because our braid out dried just in time for us to get ready for work.

What we do to our hair before bed is what determines whether or not we’ll look like a hot mess in the morning. It also directly affects hair health and growth because our night time routine and regimen is 1/3 of our healthy (or damaging) protective and styling practices!

So what is a girl to do?! You might be having trouble properly getting your hair together before bed, but that’s okay! You’ve come to the right place. Below are a few tips to help you form the perfect night time routine for natural hair!

Figure Out Tomorrow’s Style

First thing’s first, determine what style you want to rock tomorrow. This will ultimately determine how you’re going to style and prepare your hair before bed.

For example, if you want to wear a sleek bun tomorrow, you know you’re going to have to detangle and slick down your hair before you put on your scarf or bonnet. Or maybe you want to add some volume and definition to your natural curl pattern, you might just simply twist or braid your hair before bed.

Of course, pick something that you can do in less than an hour and can sleep comfortably in. Styles that require extremely large rollers or clip in* extensions* may be a bit uncomfortable to sleep with—so if you want a curl, consider using something soft and flexible like flexi rods*.

If you plan on using heat, wrap your straight hair around your head before covering; for heat curls, pin them to your scalp or roots so they do not fall loose or tangle up while you’re sleeping.

Whichever style you choose, go over the steps it takes to achieve it, do all of the steps you can at night so that all you have to do in the morning is touch up your look!

Make Sure You Have All The Right Products

Having all of the right products and items with you is great for quick hair prep and convenience, but it’s also great for properly styling your hair.

Night time routines should leave your hair moisturized, sealed, and most importantly–completely set and dried in the morning. We all know how it feels to wake up in the morning and feel that sudden wave of disappointment when we realize our twist are still wet.

9 times out of 10, mistakes like those happen because we are using the wrong products. Heavier creams and oils* are fine for styling during the day time because our hair can air dry. However, your hair doesn’t have the same opportunity to dry when you sleep because it is covered up.

So this doesn’t happen, use lighter products on your hair for quicker drying time. If you are unable to do that, try blow drying or sitting under a hooded dried for a few minutes before bed. If that doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to blow dry your hair (on cool) again in the morning.

Have a light oil or sheen on deck so you can add shine to your hair while unraveling/unwrapping it.

Determine Your Protective Method

We often hear about basic hair bonnets, but there are mini different ways to protect your hair for sleep. There’s the bonnet, satin head wrap, satin pillow, pineapple method, wide headband*, turban, and many other methods.

The way you cover your hair at night solely depends on how you styled your hair and what you used to style it. For an example, if you want to maintain your natural curls, you might put your hair into a high ponytail, cover everything but the ends of your ponytail with a scarf–that is the pineapple method.

Or if the look you’re going for requires sleek and slick edges, a thick head band over your edges and a bonnet over the rest of your hair may work for you.

If you’re using styling tools like rollers, perm rods*, flexi rods*, or pins, the cover you use should be very loose so it does not cause any unnecessary tension or disturb your styling. I personally ditch covering my hair when using tools, and opt for my large satin pillows.

Whichever you choose, make sure it not only preserves your style, protects your hair, and allows your hair and scalp to breathe to prevent sweaty, wet, or damp hair in the morning.