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We got Divya Sabanayagam and Anjali Merchant, co-founders of DryFix, to draw up a roadmap to getting there. To prevent further damage to your hair follicles and restore the natural barrier of your hair cuticle from external factors, consider using a leave-in conditioner as part of your hair and skin routine at night. These products provide lasting moisture to your scalp and hair strands, preventing dryness and damage. To prevent sleeping on wet hair, use absorbent towels, time your hair wash strategically and swap your pillowcase for a silk one to decrease friction. At the end of a long day, it’s all too easy to take a hot shower, throw on some pajamas, brush your teeth, and then jump into bed.
How Bad Is It Really to Sleep With Wet Hair?
It might be time to change up the hair-washing routine to see how your hair can look and feel. If you’ve been experiencing some of the side effects listed below it could be a direct result of sleeping with wet hair. While it may be an unpleasant way to end a shower, a quick blast of cold water post-conditioning will seal the hair cuticle and prevent further damage. "This will help prevent a type of hair loss called traction alopecia, which can happen from repetitive tight hairstyles." Most of us expose our hair to heat styling in some way, from diffusers to curling irons.
Use a Mattress Protector
Even the best blow dryer will have to work extra hard (and extra long) on soaking wet hair. As we mentioned earlier, wet hair is vulnerable, and tight braids or messy knots can lead to hair loss and breakage. If you prefer not to sleep with your long hair down, opt for a very loose braid or a gently twisted bun secured with a silk or satin scrunchie to prevent creasing, especially if you have fine hair. If you develop an infection from going to bed with your hair wet, you could expose others to it.
Allow Your Hair To Dry As Much As Possible
A myth that Sabanayagam and Merchant would like to bust is the purported connection between wet hair and common colds. “Colds occur [because of] viruses, so sleeping with wet hair will not give you a cold. It can, however, give you a fungal infection if your pillowcase has fungal growth, so make sure to change your pillowcases at least once a week,” Sabanayagam recommends. A damp pillow or one that has collected residue from hair products could pose a problem for people prone to clogged pores or acne.
You can get fungal or bacterial infections
According to Dendy Engelman, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, laying your wet hair on a pillow increases the risk for bacterial and fungal growth. Not only is that bad for your hair and skin, but it can also increase your chances of getting and spreading various infections. However, doing so may have some disadvantages, including hair breakage and an increase in yeast and fungal overgrowth on the hair.
These Common Wet Hair Mistakes Are Damaging Your Strands
Sleeping on a damp pillowcase may create a breeding ground for microbes such as bacteria, and may cause problems for those prone to clogged pores and acne. Simply split your hair in two and twist each section around itself, forming a bun. Secure your buns into place with soft scrunchies and in the morning, let your hair down and show off those waves. If your hair gets frizzy while you sleep, apply some of the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths Frizz Killer Serum Leave-In in the morning to smooth frizz and enhance shine. "Some people believe a cotton T-shirt is the best thing to use, and there are lots of fancy [microfiber] towels out there," Quinlan says.
Can scalp infections be contagious, especially if you share a bed?
The 2019 Mott Poll report suggests that some parents and caregivers use folklore strategies for preventing the common cold. Chemically treated hair may be more prone to damage if slept on while wet. Hair strands are covered in a cuticle (a layer of brittle, scale-like cells) that contain various fatty acids.
Use a Towel
Wait, Is It Bad to Sleep with Wet Hair? - Shape Magazine
Wait, Is It Bad to Sleep with Wet Hair?.
Posted: Thu, 11 Feb 2021 08:00:00 GMT [source]
That way, it can air dry while you’re brushing your teeth, doing your skincare, packing lunches, reading, stretching, et cetera. Even on their best days, pillows, mattresses and bed linens are breeding grounds for all kinds of (mostly harmless) bacteria and fungi. She explains that, when hair is wet, it swells—causing the outer layer of the hair, the cuticle, to open. This is great for shampooing and conditioning purposes, but it also makes your hair more fragile. As you naturally move your head or toss and turn throughout the night, this can cause split ends—and may even contribute to a receding hairline, since the hairs along the hairline are particularly prone to breakage.
But a lot of people sleep with wet hair and don’t seem to have any problems, he says. Research has shown that cooling your head at night helps calm the brain’s metabolic activity in ways that promote sleep onset and restorative ZZZs. And if you run out of time and can't get your hair washed earlier, you could consider cheating wash day altogether. This advice goes for everyone, whether we are talking hair extensions or natural strands (or both). Valles says her go-to dry shampoo for use with extensions is Vegamour GRO Dry Shampoo due to its lightweight feel. Hair extensions can make it more challenging or take more time to thoroughly dry the scalp, especially if you're someone wearing a semi-permanent hair topper.
Gilbert says that sleeping with wet hair does not immediately damage your hair follicles or shaft, but it can certainly lead to hair breakage, because hair is weakest when wet, making it more pliable and easy to break. “If you pull your wet hair up into a tight ponytail or bun, you have a much greater chance of breaking it during the night,” Gilbert says. In general, the experts SELF spoke to said the health risks of going to sleep with wet hair are pretty minimal. But depending on how fragile your hair is and other issues you might be dealing with (like dandruff), you may be better off waiting for your hair to fully dry before hitting the hay. “Malassezia yeast, which causes seborrheic dermatitis or dandruff, can also proliferate in warm, moist, dark environments—like wet hair when sleeping,” she adds. Yeast growth can sometimes lead to infection, which could require over-the-counter treatment shampoo or even prescription medication to clear things up.
If you want to wake up with beautiful hair, it’s essential to know how to sleep with wet hair while minimizing damage. Here are some tips on how to keep your hair in good shape while sleeping with wet hair, leaving your hair frizz-free. Sleeping with wet hair can also increase the risk of fungal infections on your scalp, says Dr. Hsu.
The kind of breakage that comes with sleeping with wet hair only develops after doing so chronically, Dr. Cheng says. So, if you can, try not to only sleep with wet hair and try not to do it every single night. Hair is more vulnerable when wet, therefore sleeping with wet hair down may result in damage, split ends, and tangles. If you need to wet your hair at night, at least try and dry it slightly so it’s damp—not sopping wet. If you’re asking if it’s bad to sleep with wet hair, there’s a lot to unpack, as this habit can pose a host of risks to your skin, hair and overall health—and will certainly require you to wash your pillowcases more often. Many people prefer to shower or bathe at the end of the day, and fully drying hair may not be an option for time or convenience reasons.
Along with the inevitability of waking up with some seriously kinked bedhead, you may also do damage to your hair. Though they’re usually right in general, they’re wrong about wet hair and colds, according to Dr. Chirag Shah, MD, a board-certified emergency physician and cofounder of Push Health, an online healthcare platform. "All that heat will pretty much boil the water on your hair—you're basically cooking your hair. Not something you want to do." It's best to keep curling irons, straighteners, and other heated tools for dry hair only, with no exceptions. You should incorporate an oil, serum, or other targeted hair treatment into your routine.
Though sleeping with wet hair won’t give you a cold, Dr. Shah says that it does increase your risk of developing a fungal infection of the scalp. "Hair takes its shape from damp to dry, so I usually tell people to either towel dry it really well or tell people to let it air dry a little [before blow-drying]." This mistake isn't so much about hair damage as it is about styling efficiency—but it's still good to keep in mind.
Fitted protectors that wrap the whole mattress are more effective than pad styles. When your hair is wet, it can safely stretch up to 30% of its original length without damage. But stretching it further — as through combing, brushing and certain hairstyles — can cause irreversible changes. If you don't mind a slight crinkly sound and want to be extra safe, you could also invest in a waterproof pillow protector such as this. However, if the plastic-y feel isn't for you, then you could also just add a regular cotton case as an extra layer of protection between your pillowcase and pillow.
It can be tempting to lie in bed and fall asleep right after showering, especially if you've had a long day. Sleeping with wet hair isn't a crime, of course — but there could be some long-term consequences. Who among us hasn’t showered at the end of a long day and plopped into bed without drying our hair? You may never have thought twice about doing so — but Dr. Goldman lays out the possible risks. That’s why fungal infections (think diaper rash, jock itch, athletes’ foot, etc.) are so common within the folds and crevices of your body.
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