Finally! A sleep braid for sore necks and back/ side sleepers

[Vanilla]

I finally found a sleep braid that works for me, and thought I'd share.

This works great for people with neck pain, back and side sleepers and people who can't sleep with pigtail braids, a high bun, a single English braid or French braid. This could also work well for stomach sleepers too, and people with lots of layers.

I bend my head over at the waist and detangle and brush. I start a French braid at the nape of my neck, still bent over. My French braid skills aren't that great, but I try to do this as tightly as possible. I braid all the way to the end (my pigtail is on the top of my head at this point). You can either pin the tail to the top of your head with a few bobby pins or leave it loose to drape over the pillow.

[Madora]

I'm glad you found a comfortable way to confine your hair, Vanilla. But please, for the sake of your hair, do not braid tightly. It puts too much strain on the hair, especially if you do it night after night.

[Creatureling]

I too sleep alternately on my side and back, but fortunately for me two English braids right behind the ears give me enough head room to sleep on. Your method sounds like it might be better for braid waves though, so I'll have to give it a try.

[Vanilla]

I'm glad you found a comfortable way to confine your hair, Vanilla. But please, for the sake of your hair, do not braid tightly. It puts too much strain on the hair, especially if you do it night after night.

Thanks for the tip, Madora. When you do a nightime braid, does the back of your hair fall out of it by morning? Any tips you can give would be great!

[khan]

Hummmmm. I've tried english & french braids, & I don't sleep well in 'em. Been getting headaches lately too. I lose less hair when I sleep in a braid so I'll try this tonight. Thanks.

[Madora]

Thanks for the tip, Madora. When you do a nightime braid, does the back of your hair fall out of it by morning? Any tips you can give would be great!

Hi, Vanilla,

My sleep braid is actually perched in a bun on top of my head. I bend at the waist, detangle all my hair, then braid it loosely, then coil it atop my head with 9 3 inch crimped hairpins.
I always make sure that I have plenty of flexibility at the top of the braid (where it actually starts) so that I can get at least two fingers between the braid and the scalp.

I braid it 3/4ths of the way down instead of all the way down, as this protects the delicate ends. The loose hair is tucked under the braid coil already in place.

I do have about 3 sections of very short hairs that usually escape the braid, so put in 3 small bobby pins to keep them in place.

[spidermom]

Sounds like a lot of trouble just to sleep on it. My easy routine is to lay across the bed with my hair hanging over the side and loosely braid it as far as I can reach, then sit up and finish the braid in front of my face. Then it goes nicely over the top of my pillow.

[Vanilla]

Thanks Madora and spidermom! I will defintely try to loosen the braid up a bit tonight, and try your recommended techniques.

Does it matter if I only have enough hair for 1-2 plaits of a braid if I lay over the bed to braid? Is this still protective?

[Madora]

Thanks Madora and spidermom! I will defintely try to loosen the braid up a bit tonight, and try your recommended techniques.

Does it matter if I only have enough hair for 1-2 plaits of a braid if I lay over the bed to braid? Is this still protective?

No, it doesn't matter if you only have enough for 1 or 2 plaits of a braid. The thing is, you're protecting your hair by keeping it confined, which will benefit your hair health in the long term. The less time you have to deal with detangling, the less hair you're going to lose due to breakage when detangling.

[twopoints]

If you haven't already, try a silk pillow sheet. Personally, I just use a large silk scarf. I sleep with my hair loose but I hardly get any tangles when I sleep.