Bedtime Styles for Superfine Hair

[Ksenia]

There are a few other threads about bedtime hair, but none I can find that specifically address the conundrum of what to do when your hair is superfine and super delicate, and none of the regular solutions work.

I have silk pillowcases, yet I toss so much in my sleep that I still get some damage. Down leads to nasty tangles, and a high bun either slips right out or is too tight and leads to breakage. Currently, my solution is a side braid at the nape of the neck, but I'm getting a little halo of breakage that lines up with the top of the braid right at my chin, and the length of the braid is always mussed up in the morning. I also hate the braid waves that I get from that, as the fuzzier my hair is going in, the more hair I lose in the shower.

I have some silk left over from making my pillow cases, and was thinking of making a snood-type tie-on sleeping cap (the usual poufy ones would slip right off because my hair is so slippery) or a "hair sock" that would fit along the length of the braid, securing at the nape of the neck. Has anyone tried these solutions, or found other ones that work for their superfine hair? Does anyone know where to find a nice sleeping cap pattern? I don't want to buy one ready-made because I know I can make something myself that's better quality for less money.

[Flynn]

Scarves and braid-wraps, and so on just give me more tangles, even though they're silk. This is not, I gather from other people, at all normal, though...

Can you sleep on a French braid? I get the least tangles -- and presumably therefore the least damage -- that way, but it does annoy me a bit.

[TXbarbie]

Once a few years ago my stylist noticed that I was "balding" at a place on my head where I kept a high ponytail every day for gymnastics - now I try to switch up locations and styles so my hair never gets too stressed in one area.

Maybe you could try that with your braids as well?

[Charlotte]

My hair is super fine. Like Flynn, I usually end up wearing a French braid too as it gives me lots more volume the following day. I never do it super tight though as I worry about breakage. A looser braid works for me and I don't think that I've lost hair from it. :blossom:

[jackiesjottings]

I do a loose braid over one shoulder at night, and fasten the ends by braiding ribbon into it and tying that. It does make it a bit braid wavey but that seems to drop out pretty fast most days. Good luck finding something which will work for you.

[Ksenia]

Unfortunately a French braid wouldn't work - if I wear one during the day I have to rebraid it as an English braid before bed because otherwise it causes tangles in the morning. My hair is naturally stick-straight, and if I get tight braid waves then I start to shed in the shower. I've been trying a loose braid lately but I think it might be worse than a tight braid because it starts to work its way out and I wake up with a fuzzy braid.

jackiesjottings, do you use a wide satin ribbon for your nighttime braid, or a thinner one? if there were a way to enclose the braid down its length, I get the feeling that might help, though it wouldn't necessarily solve the problems of the chin-length layer I get from pillow breakage unless I can then tie up the braid so that it doesn't flop around so much in my sleep (I used to have satin pillowcases and recently replaced them because I was getting damage).

[jackiesjottings]

Hi- I use a narrow ribbon, but I think a wider one could work really well. I guess there may be a way to wrap it round at least two of the strands of your braid. Good luck :)