I am a big fan of doing as much prep work before bed as I can to make my morning easier. We have all heard of the tips for prepping your meals, picking your clothes the night before, and setting all your items in a place where you won’t forget them.
Something that is often overlooked, however, is spending a few minutes prepping your hair before bed so you have to do minimal work in the morning to restyle it. This is something that I really started doing while wearing extensions, but can be beneficial to anyone with long hair! It just takes a few simple steps:
Apply Products
First, I start by applying any products I need like dry shampoo. For long hair and/or extensions I recommend also using a lightweight oil to keep your hair moisturized and shiny between washes.
You might be thinking… “why should I apply dry shampoo before I go to sleep, won’t I have to do it again in the morning??” Trust me, you’re going to want to try this! Instead of putting your dry shampoo in the next morning and having it look a little powdery all day, what if you put it in the night before and really let is settle in? Plus it’s one extra step you can skip tomorrow!
Brush Thoroughly
Be honest, how often are you brushing your hair? Do you spend time brushing it every night before you go to bed? Brushing your hair and scalp has some great benefits and isn’t something that should be skipped! It lightly exfoliates your scalp and increases blood flow, allowing your body to get rid of dead skin and produce a healthy hair follicle (followed by healthy hair!). Always start at the bottom, detangling the ends first and then working your way up to the top of your head. If you have thick hair, or find you have a lot of tangles, you may want to separate your hair into 2-3 sections.
Style and Secure
This is where the magic starts to happen! Rather than doing nothing with your hair and just letting it run wild at night (or throwing it in a messy bun to deal with in the morning), what if you could secure it in a way that would maintain your style? You can always find my hair styled one of three ways: Curled, straight, or wavy (with a crimper)
For curled hair, I’ll secure my hair in two rope braids. When it’s wavy, I wear it in two regular 3-strand braids. And for straight hair, I wear it in two pigtails that are lightly secured with hair ties a few inches apart down to the ends so it doesn’t get tangled while I sleep (this is especially important for really long hair but less necessary for shorter styles!)
And finally, you sleep! This whole process takes me less than 5 minutes each night. In the morning, you’ll shake out your style and touch up any pieces as necessary. Occasionally, I’ll have one side that needs a few extra curls depending on how hard I slept! Or if you have a lot of layers you may have a spot or two that needs adjusting.
A couple tips:
I recommend securing these styles with a satin scrunchie or a soft hair tie (I’ll link some of my favorites below!) to keep it from leaving a bend in your hair when you shake it out in the morning. I also have found that leaving the bottom 2-3 inches of hair out of the style works better for me so my layers aren’t doing anything funky in the morning!
If you aren’t happy with it that first night, try to make some slight adjustments and stick with it for a few more nights. Maybe a looser or tighter braid will look better with your specific style.
If you have super long hair and struggle with feeling like it’s in your way while you sleep, you can try two things: 1. Tuck your braids into your shirt. I know it looks ridiculous, but this is what I did when wearing super long extensions! 2. Pull your hair into a high LOOSE pony and then braid it. This will get it out of your way but make sure the ponytail isn’t tight, especially if you’re wearing hair extensions.
Swapping to a satin pillowcase can also do wonders. Satin causes significantly less friction than other fabrics which means less frizz and less to brush out in the morning.
This also works best on hair longer than your collarbone. For bobs and lobs, I recommend learning how to wrap your hair up in a silk cap/bonnet at night so it still looks sleep in the morning!
Products I love
If you purchase through any of these links, I do earn a commission. I only share things I actually use at home and love, I promise! Chances are, you already have everything you need to try this routine out at home, but here are a few of my favorites in case you want to try something new:
Verb Dry Shampoo (non-aerosol!)
If you give this a try, let me know how it works below!!
I took your advice without even knowing it last night and did some dry shampoo to keep my lovely blowout going!