Hairstyles for Sleeping, and Satin Pillowcases?Oh, and BIOTIN!

[cldunzie0215]

Ok, so three things:
1)I know that is is bad to sleep with your hair just down, for it will get tangled and more damaged(This is what I've read on here.) The two top damage reducing styles to sleep on which I have read are buns and braids, which are both great when my hair is its naturally horrible curliness. But, alot of the time now I put my hair in gigantic rollers(seriously, HUGE) when its wet and let it dry like that to straighten it.(so happy i found a no-heat straightening method that works for me!!!!!(: ahh so happy) ANYWAY.when I sleep in busn or braids, since my hair curls so easily I wake up and my hair is really curly or highly wavy again. That takes the purpose out of me putting it in the rollers to straighten it, obviously. I don't want to damage my hair when I sleep but I don't want it to be curly again either....HELP?

2)Satin pillowcases.Know they're lovely for hair to sleep on. Just ordered one today, supposed to be here by next Thursday. What exactly is the effect of the pillowcase?? Just overall damages your hair less? Mine doesn't really get tangled at night(when its straight), so....?

3) After hearing lots of good things about Biotin, and how it increased the thickness of hair, and a bit growth speed, I ordered some from walgreens, Sundown Naturals Biotin 1000 mcg tablets. I want to know, what are your guys' experiences with Biotin? When did it kick in, and how much growth/thickness did you experience, if at all? Side effects? I have heard about headaches(but what I've read, those were from the ones where you take multiples, up to 6 a day, and mine you only take one a day so hope its ok, and if not i might sacrifice and use advil?) acne-hope not....im a teenager so any more acne than the few pimples i have, luckily, would not be wanted...and i've heard it increases hair growth EVERYWHERE...so, if so..how much more did you have to shave, I shave daily or every other day anyway cause it just grosses me out, and I'd be willing to shave my face....so, advice?experiences?

THANKS SO MUCH!(:

[Madora]

The silk pillowcases help protect your hair's delicate ends. The longer the hair becomes, the more fragile the end.

Biotin will not make your hair grow thicker. That is determined by your genes.

The appearance of hair thickness can be achieved via henna.

Ditto, by blunt cutting the ends of your hair straight across.

The effectiveness of biotin varies greatly...some members have had terrific results..others not so much.

As with any supplement, be sure not to take too large a dose.

[Renate]

To prevent your hair from curling but still protect it, you can do a caterpilar braid, wich is what I do :) It's like this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=9474&pictureid=122923

[PrairieRose]

I sleep with it in a braid normally but I have been experimenting with sleeping with it down. I have a satin pillow case and I actually think my hair is less oily when I sleep with it down.

[jacqueline101]

I like a loose bun for sleeping. A caterpillar braid will straighten your curls I did it a month ago and it worked. A satin pillow case protects the ends. Biotin will help hair growth from what I've heard. I don't know I've never tried it by itself I've used hair skin and nail vitamins.

[Amber_Maiden]

I sleep with my hair down and have a satin pillowcase. It gets tangled less because of it, and I know the splits I get are not from it rubbing at night.

[blondie9912]

1) Google or YouTube search "hair wrapping to straighten it". It is an approach used by many African-American and Latina women in order to naturally straighten their curly hair. It doesn't require heat :) hair is usually wrapped overnight, and if you cover it with a silk scarf you wil wake up to silky strands.

2) It's mostly because cotton absorbs moisture, so most pillowcases will literally suck the moisture out of your hair overnight. Also, even if you don't notice tangles, your hair flailing around your pillow all night makes it experience a great deal of friction, so it is depleted of moisture and therefore more prone to breakage. It causes most people's hair to tangle, and detangling is obviously damaging.

3) I took the same biotin dosage for 2 months and noticed no effects, positive or negative. I don't believe that taking a vitamin supplement can increase hair growth unless you are severely deficient in that vitamin. Supplements are NOT 100% safe (not even close) and are definitely not something to experiment with in the hopes of attaining faster growing hair. Try taking a well-rounded multivitamin daily, that will be plenty. And please, do not shave your face! Assuming you are female (for if you were a male, you would probably already be shaving your face :p) this will result in stubbly, not soft, facial hair. Quite undesirable, IMO.

[Helenae]

1) Wrap your hair or do a sock bun at night (youtube) - how curly is your hair exactly? If its 3b or less, this should be able to do the trick.
I have 2c hair and I brush my hair gently with a comb when it is drying, which naturally straightens it out more. When it is dry, I sprits with some water then put the rollers in immediately.

2) Satin pillow cases don't cause friction and rubbing between your hair and your pillow, that normal cotton pillow cases do. I would recommend sleeping with a loose ponytail to prevent any snags or knots in your hair from sleeping (scrunch, not hair elastic)

3) I have been taking Biotin for 5 months. It has helped my hair grow much quicker - I have been measuring my hair and have had nearly an inch of growth every month! However, do not expect miraculous results. It slightly increases your hair growth, you won't turn into Rapunzel after 2 weeks lol!

Dosage
Please, please, please do not take more than 4000mcg (4mg) a day. This is not an overdose, this is a megadose - you risk renal failure (which has been reported from over 5000mcg of biotin daily intake, by members on LHC)
I take 3000mcg a day, and have a 4 day break every 2 months.
Start with a small dosage, and gradually build up every week or so, so that your body adapts to the intake.

Additional Supplements
Take a multivitamin with Biotin, because vitamins all work well together and will help Biotin do its job better. Some vitamins help other vitamins be absorbed in tot he body, e.g. Vitamin D for Magnesium.
To prevent breakouts from Biotin (if you are prone to them) take Chelated Zinc. Not normal, chelated!
If you DO break out from Biotin, that is your body telling you that the Biotin is bad for you or that you are taking too much of it. Everyone reacts differently to it, so it is a matter of luck.

Routine
It is more effective to take one Biotin pill every four hours, instead of a megadose all at once. This is because Biotin is water-soluble and is released from your system (peed out) every couple of hours. The body will not absorb a big dose of Biotin at once, therefore I suggest that once you build up your dose (to say 3000mcg a day) - take it once every couple of hours.

Hope I helped, if you have any more questions, leave me a wall comment :)

[HylianGirl]

As others suggested above you could try wrapping your hair (here's a tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhgpBUVD1QU)

I haven't got my satin pillowcase yet, but I heard it causes less friction in your hair (which is always good to avoid), but thanks blondie9912 for explaining about cotton absorbing moisture, I didn't know that ^-^

ANd I also think vitamins can only help if you are missing them in your diet, because vitamin overdose does exist.

Hope that helps!

[Bunnysaur]

I take 5000mcg of Biotin daily. I'm new here too, and so far I've seen people saying that too much Biotin can lead to renal failure and some saying that you'll just pee it out. I talked to an RN about it and she agreed that you'll just "excrete" the excess and it shouldn't be too big a problem. In the month that I've been using the Biotin, I've seen about an inch or so of growth, but that might just be my natural amount, because it takes a month or so for it to really kick in. I have HORRIBLE, acne prone skin, and I've kept to the same twice daily cleansing routine and I haven't seen any breakouts yet. You might have a few from just initial purging, but beyond that it's just down to keeping your skin clean.

[Sillage]

2) It's mostly because cotton absorbs moisture, so most pillowcases will literally suck the moisture out of your hair overnight. Also, even if you don't notice tangles, your hair flailing around your pillow all night makes it experience a great deal of friction, so it is depleted of moisture and therefore more prone to breakage. It causes most people's hair to tangle, and detangling is obviously damaging.


Actually, silk is very absorbent which is part of the reason it's so much more comfortable to sleep on than non absorbent fibers like polyester (which often make people feel sweaty).

[cldunzie0215]

I simply cannot get wrapping, sadly ): It's just too hard for me, no matter how many tutorials I've watched! I've spent HOURS attempting to wrap my air. My hair is of 3A,with some 3B curls mixed in. and it has its own way. Curls can be big, or medium size, never really small. It'll dry with one side longer than the other, or so, because of how the curls vary. Also can be static-y. I lose about 6 inches of length when its curly, from APL to halfway down my neck, or chin length, depending on the day. HATE MY HAIR. whenever I've tired sock buns, the headband method, the curls turn out all crazy because of my hair being short, I guess. They just never turn out right. again, HATE MY FREAKING HAIR.

[cldunzie0215]

p.s. is a caterpillar braid the same as a snake braid?

[MaryMarx]

I got bad acne from taking Biotin. And I wasn't even on a high dose. For me it isn't worth it. :(

[BBdck1]

1) I just put my hair on top of my head in a loose bun held together by 3-4 Goody spin pins. It doesn't curl my hair (it might gives a little more volume)
2) I love my satin pillow case. It's so soft/silky that it doesn't tug on my face and hair; and supposedly it doesn't suck moisture out of your hair and skin like cotton.
3)My DBF is a pharmacy intern (his last year) and he said Biotin is relatively safe if you don't take too much but its usage is not for hair. It has been used for brittle nail syndrome but there are no scientific proof. I want to try it for my nails because they're very weak and chip easily. I don't have high hope for hair but it can't hurt since it's water-soluble.