Help me find a sleep style (old thread)

[Katze]

I'm trying. I'm really, really trying. Trying to do everything my hair seems to need, and really making an effort right now to keep it up while I sleep. But night after night, my hair is loose by the middle of the night.

I am a side and back sleeper and getting my thin ends to hold together on the top of my head is almost impossible. My hair has gotten more slippery (a good thing!) and with all the tossing and turning, this means that every hairdo I do for sleep (I use a scrunchy because it is soft and also doesn't make ugly bumps) FALLS OUT BEFORE I AM ASLEEP! I tried a Ficcare and it gets tangled and feels like it is damaging my hair. :(

Braids only work on dirty days, if I plan on wearing them the next day or rebraiding them - there is no such thing as braid waves for my hair, only braid kinks and lumps.

I am a low maintenance kind of person (less fuss and muss!) and have not tried to learn hairdos that don't work on my hair, so I do the only bun I can, the lazy wrap bun.

A friend taught me this bun while riding on a train, so we had time to practice, otherwise I would never have been able to learn it. Hairdos that SHOULD work on my almost-BSL hair don't because of slipperyness, frizz, and multiple layers of hair, or just my own impatience and hair being unmanageable. (I have to redo the lazy wrap bun every hour or so, but it is easy for me). Other buns look like a doorknob on the back of my huge round head.

The same goes for other styles, too. Someone posted a link to a French braid demo video that was wrapped around a hairstick to make a neat braided bun. My hair is just too short and too slippery- the lady in the video just tucked the ends under the coil of the bun and was good to go - I tried this and had a ratty, frizzy mess with a braid tail about 3 inches long - there was no way it would 'tuck'. I love the look of tucked braid ends, but for me they either fall out or tangle in my coarser nape hairs.

For daytime, the only 'dos that work on me are messy ones, since my hair is so messy anyway. But mini claw clips or half-pony-half-bun solutions don't work so well for sleep, and I worry I am damaging my hair.

I think if I could do some sleek, pretty styles for updos, I would be a lot less frustrated with my hair and want to wear it up more often. (By the way, my profile pic is cheating - I was pregnant at the time and had longer, thicker hair than I have ever had before or since)

[Roscata]

My suggestion is to dampen your hair before doing an updo, that will help it stay better, aloe vera gel (the clear kind) can also work.

For sleep I'd say use a silk or satin pillowcase, sleep cap or scarf. I have very slippery hair myself and it stays in a braid (French braid or Dutch braid) more or less while sleeping on a stain pillowcase, but if I wear my satin scarf it really stays put.

I hope you find something that works. :)

[furnival]

I don't know if this will be any use since it uses a braid, but I braid my hair at one side of my nape, fold it up into a bun and tuck it into a sleeve made from the foot of a pair of tights. I then double the rim of the sleeve over the bun again so it is held firm in two layers of the tights. This is the only way I can detain my escapist hair overnight.
ETA: Have you tried making a couple of smaller buns on top of your head and securing them with claw clips? This is what I did before I discovered the magic tights-bun. :)

[Pierre]

I wear a Buff to sleep and I have no problem. I also wear Flexis, one bun on each side. I used to wear Ficcares, but there's no way I could sleep with a Maximas at the back of my head.

[Madora]

Perhaps a snood might be the answer to your sleep time problem.

All you need do is gently detangle your hair, then put it in a snood. You might need to hold the snood in place with a few bobby pins...but it safely confines the hair.

[Katze]

Thanks for your answers. I realize this has all been getting worse since I have mostly been WO washing (shampoo followed by SMT once a month or so) - my hair is healthier, has more weight, but is also much more slippery and darker in color.


My suggestion is to dampen your hair before doing an updo, that will help it stay better, aloe vera gel (the clear kind) can also work.

For sleep I'd say use a silk or satin pillowcase, sleep cap or scarf. I have very slippery hair myself and it stays in a braid (French braid or Dutch braid) more or less while sleeping on a stain pillowcase, but if I wear my satin scarf it really stays put.

I hope you find something that works. :)

Dampening is a good idea. Then maybe if I can get my hair smooth and into a lazy wrap bun, I will get better bun waves.

How do you keep a scarf on your head all night?!? I've done turbans made of tshirts for plopping, and tried the same thing with Buffs, and none work. Also, such 'dos - if not plopped - flatten my hair and kind of defeat the purpose.

I admit I have yet to find the happy medium between smooth hair (sleeker, straighter) and wavy hair (bigger, wilder) - generally no matter how I sleep, my hair surprises me when I wake up. :silly:


I don't know if this will be any use since it uses a braid, but I braid my hair at one side of my nape, fold it up into a bun and tuck it into a sleeve made from the foot of a pair of tights. I then double the rim of the sleeve over the bun again so it is held firm in two layers of the tights. This is the only way I can detain my escapist hair overnight.
ETA: Have you tried making a couple of smaller buns on top of your head and securing them with claw clips? This is what I did before I discovered the magic tights-bun. :)

That sounds like a good idea, but my hair is not long enough to braid and then bun, and unless I don't secure the braid, I get bumps.

Higher buns, yes, seems like you're on to something there...about a third of my hair will undoubtedly escape, but the length will stay if I secure them like that, maybe better if I dampen them first...


I wear a Buff to sleep and I have no problem. I also wear Flexis, one bun on each side. I used to wear Ficcares, but there's no way I could sleep with a Maximas at the back of my head.

Hmm, I have two nice Buffs, but never use them, since they slide off my head even while awake. I can try them, but, like scarves, am a bit afraid of the flat, squooshed hair look. My hair takes suggestions very easily, hence the problems with braid 'waves.'


Perhaps a snood might be the answer to your sleep time problem.

All you need do is gently detangle your hair, then put it in a snood. You might need to hold the snood in place with a few bobby pins...but it safely confines the hair.

I like that. Wonder where I could get a snood? And is sleeping in bobby pins OK?

[Madora]

Katze, bobby pins are fine to use, as long as you do not crisscross them ('X'). The crossing puts too much pressure on one spot.

Snoods are available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/191-4556888-6798007?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=snood

If you have a beauty supply store, you might find one there..or perhaps a sturdy hair net. Years ago, you used to be able to find good hair nets made from something that looked like embroidery floss. Don't know if they make them any longer. As I recall, they were actually used to put over hair curlers when you curled your hair at night (talking about very short hair).

[Katze]

Katze, bobby pins are fine to use, as long as you do not crisscross them ('X'). The crossing puts too much pressure on one spot.

Snoods are available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/191-4556888-6798007?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=snood

If you have a beauty supply store, you might find one there..or perhaps a sturdy hair net. Years ago, you used to be able to find good hair nets made from something that looked like embroidery floss. Don't know if they make them any longer. As I recall, they were actually used to put over hair curlers when you curled your hair at night (talking about very short hair).


Aha, and here I was feeling guilty about my bobby pins! :P

There are no beauty supply stores in Germany, but I have seen hair nets at the department store. How DH will laugh if I come to bed in a snood or hair net. 'What's THAT on your head?' Come to think of it, a hair net might actually be the solution to HIS hair issues (unwanted dreading)... :D

[spidermom]

At your length, I would do a ponytail or scrunchie bun on the center top of my head. But it sounds like you've tried that.

[heidi w.]

At your length is a good time to build the platform of good hair care. So I suggest that you sleep with hair loose, not pinned up in a bun. Your hair needs some sleep too!!

This is what I mean. Everyone when they're born, well, most everyone, has a pattern of direction of growth. To the right or left, down the back.....when you draw the hair in an updo, your hair by day is not in its direction of growth. This can cause the capillaries just under the surface of the scalp skin to expand or engorge or even become irritated. This is the most common reason for headaches--tension on the hair bun, such as pulling the hair too tight into an updo can be the "root" cause of a headache, believe it or not.

So for you, I'd consider a satin sleep cap, which a whole lot of people use successfully. When your hair gets a whole lot longer, your hair will eventually have enough weight to stay put all night, but this short, it'll just toss when you do.

I use a satin pillowcase. Friends of mine use one of these or polyester -- some kind of slippery fabric for a pillowcase so the hair can slide.

For shorter hair, there are videos on how to create some updo hairstyles. There's more than you might think. So go hit on youtube. It's fun to find something that may work for you.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I like that. Wonder where I could get a snood? And is sleeping in bobby pins OK?

There's a swap board here on LHC and a number of folks here knit and crochet. I've seen snoods here that people have made. But frankly, I would not sleep all night in a snood that was crocheted or knitted unless it was with a finer yarn that is far less scruffy to hair cuticles than crocheted or knit creates. That's asking for more tangles.

heidi w.

[furnival]

That sounds like a good idea, but my hair is not long enough to braid and then bun, and unless I don't secure the braid, I get bumps.


When I started using this method my hair wasn't long enough to braid and bun either, so I just folded the braid in half and tucked it into the sleeve. It holds up surprisingly well and has become my indispensable sleep style. I don't secure the end of the braid either- the tights just hold it in place. Maybe worth a try :grnbiggri

[shutterpillar]

I was going to suggest a sleep cap made of slippery material for nighttime. I oil my hair at night and put it up in a french braid, and usually the majority of it stays put. I have a few hairs around my face, and of course my layers that poke out from the braid. (cant wait till those grow out!)

As for the daytime... you and I seem to have a similar hair type and length.. have you tried a pencil bun? It is currently the only one I can get to stay put in my hair (besides a sock bun, but I think those create too much damage) and it's extremely easy. It stays in my hair all day long (12+ hours). Here is a picture of my pencil bun... FYI, my hair is just a bit oiled in this photo:

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad351/ashmey86/Hair/Picture074.jpg


And here is a video tutorial I found on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0k3dD4qX34

[bumblebums]

I braid my hair and tie it off with one of the little silicone elastics (they sell them 500 to a pack, and they cost very little, and you get one use out of each). My ends don't mind them at all.

For buns, the one thing that holds them like a rock for me even through a night of sleeping is spin pins. If your hair spits them out, I'll eat my hat :)

Plenty of people around here sleep with their hair loose. I can't really deal with it, I get too hot and sweaty at night and having hair on my face and neck and body would drive me crazy.

[RitaCeleste]

I sleep with mine down. I don't really toss and turn. Its not that weak. My hair tangles but I just treat it genitally in the morning. I leave my hair down a lot. I shed and regrow hair all the time so its normal for it to have all different lengths and not because I'm tearing it to pieces. Its wavy and coarse and it is never going to look like shampoo commercial hair. I wear it down most of the time too. It takes forever for me to get it up in a bun that isn't pulling in one spot or another. If I wanted perfect looking hair, I'd have trimmed myself bald by now. (And I still wouldn't have it! That's just not what I can grow.)

[jacqueline101]

I do a loose bun with a scrunchi.

[swearnsue]

My hair is alot shorter than yours, but what works for me is I use a silk pillowcase and when I lay down I pull my hair up to the top of the pillow towards the head of the bed. That keeps it out of my face and off my neck. Sometimes Kitty gives it a little taste though.

[jacqueline101]

I do a loose bun with a scrunchi.

[Jessibear2854]

I gave up on doing anything with my hair at night for this very reason. It never lasts and my hair is actually worse in the morning than if I leave it down. Plus, it feels restful to me to let it down after it's been up all day:) I just flip it up over my pillow to keep it out from underneath people.

[Roscata]

Thanks for your answers. I realize this has all been getting worse since I have mostly been WO washing (shampoo followed by SMT once a month or so) - my hair is healthier, has more weight, but is also much more slippery and darker in color.

Dampening is a good idea. Then maybe if I can get my hair smooth and into a lazy wrap bun, I will get better bun waves.

How do you keep a scarf on your head all night?!? I've done turbans made of tshirts for plopping, and tried the same thing with Buffs, and none work. Also, such 'dos - if not plopped - flatten my hair and kind of defeat the purpose.

I admit I have yet to find the happy medium between smooth hair (sleeker, straighter) and wavy hair (bigger, wilder) - generally no matter how I sleep, my hair surprises me when I wake up. :silly:

I made my own scarf so the part that goes over my forehead is not slippery and it stays.

If you want to wear wake up with waves you could plop your hair inside the scarf/sleep cap, or you could do a sock bun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V68KV5UnjPI) to get waves from it. Have you tried the sock bun yet? Having it on top of your head can give nice curls (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FV-YO46E8Y).

[Firefly]

At your length I would wear it down. I always felt like that was the least damaging for my hair. I hope you find something that works for you. :flower:

[Vanilla]

I am really liking the crown braid at night for sleep only on 2nd or 3rd day washed hair. It produces awesome braid waves the next day, and works well for me (I'm a side and back sleeper). No neck cramps either.

On the 1st day after wash, I'll wear it down, but always sleep with a satin pillowcase.

[PrincessBob]

This is one of the ways I sleep.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN9oa-xP4JY

[julya]

When my hair was your length I would put it up into twin braids most of the time, and always for night.

[Arciela]

I usually braid mine when I sleep :) less tangles and such

[Claire_]

I have to admit I have noticed a great difference when I bread my hair before going to bed.. The only problem lately , though, is that it has grown so long lately that I keep stepping on it when I turn on my sleep :/