Dull from braiding?

[Zindell]

My hair is about APL length now and I thought I should start english braid it at night to protect it. (Yes, yes it's a short braid :D )

Anyhows... if I braid my hair at night, the part that has been braided look very dull in the morning. All shine gone from the lower parts of my hair.
Is this common? :confused:

If I sleep on it unbraided it is all shiny. I concider to not braid it anymore because of this...

[winter_star]

Hi Zindell! I'm not too sure I know the answer but i'm very interested to find out why. Usually my hair always looks extra shiney if I braid it to sleep.

[Aditi]

That's quiet an unusual thing, i have never came across a problem like this before. I am very eager to have the solutions for this.

[neon-dream]

Hmm mine used to dull off braiding when I slept, so I left it down and it was much shinier
never knew why though =/
xxx

[crystal_89]

I get this too. The braid waves make my hair frizzy and less sleek... and more dull. If I'm going to wear my hair down the next day I don't braid. I only braid at night if I know I'm going to wash it before I wear my hair down again.

[Arctic]

I don't have an answer "why?" either, but couple of suggestions: You could try bunning your hair for the night (I wear mine in a high bun) or you could make a pouch for your braid or tie a scarf around the braid for the night. Extra benefit from this is, that you can put the hair elastic/ scrunchie on top of the fabrik (pouch or scarf) so the hair is saved from one more stress factor :)

[Sarahmoon]

That is strange. I never notice a difference in shine (only it "looks" more shiny when I braid because then it's less tangly in the morning).

Did you maybe brush out the braid waves causing a lot of frizz?

[Loviatar]

I would agree my hair is not as shiny when it has bun or braid waves, but I dont think it is damaging. I just think it's due to the hairs not lying parallel or flush against each other thus creating the normal flat shiny surface. Curly hair tends to shine less than straight, I've found.

[Zindell]

Thanks for reply all. :)
I don't brush out the braid waves. Actually my straight('ish) hair doesn't get much braidwaves unless I braid it wet, so I don't think it's the slightly more wave that causes it to look dull.
Perhaps as someone said... the cause is the hairs not laying as parallell as usual after I unbraid them?

I think I will just let my hair be loose at night. (At least as long as it is too "short" to be in the way or get tangled when I sleep)

[Sarahmoon]

Amazing... how can you sleep so quietly your hairs stay laying parallel when sleeping with you hair loose? Mine would be all over the place.

[Katze]

my hair gets kinked and tangled if I sleep with it in a braid.

What has been working well for me has been coiling my hair on top of my head (as close to my forehead as I can get) then securing this with a claw clip. It's similar to the nighttime bunning that other people do, but because I am bad at buns and my ends are thin and damaged, this seems to be protecting my hair, giving it extra wave, without the kinks that braids or buns would create.

No idea why your hair would be dull, though. Does this always happen, or could it be that you need to clarify?

[Loviatar]

What you could do is the Sleeptail.

Ponytail your hair, then add pony bands/elastics all the way down. I use maybe 5 or 6 to keep mine in place. it feels like a two by four, it's pretty rigid and heavy, but it's comfy enough to sleep on and I have no waves to speak of in the morning.

Also if you use terry or wooly elastics, rather than plain skinny bands like the scunci ones, you dont even get marks where the hair's been tied off.

Genius.
I think Purplebubba and nessthing are pioneers of this night time containment method...

[Periwinkle]

Have you tried oiling your hair before you braid, or lightly oiling the hair when you unbraid?

[Zindell]

Thanks for reply all. I will try out some of the suggestions. Otherwise I'll just sleep with it loose for now. :)


Amazing... how can you sleep so quietly your hairs stay laying parallel when sleeping with you hair loose? Mine would be all over the place.

Well... not sure the hairs actually are all parallell when I wake. :D
But my hair is pretty nice to me at nights. If I want to, I can definately step outdoors without combing or brushing it since it doesn't seem tangle at all. (due to cones perhaps?). That might change when it grows longer though? :eyebrows:

[sahiba]

I braid every night and have never seen any difference .Maybe because I oil my hair at nights. Why not give oiling a try as suggested by Periwinkle.

[Curlsgirl]

I can't stand a braid at night. I sleep with mine loose also and use a silk pillowcase. It's fine in the morning. If I do sleep with a braid mine gets dull and frizzy, not smooth at all.