You spent Sunday defining every curl, then tossed and turned all night and woke up with one flat side and a frizzy halo. Your pillow is the problem, not your hair. This curly hair night routine takes about five minutes and uses 12 simple steps to protect your curls while you sleep, so start at number one tonight.
1. Gather your night kit
Keep a satin bonnet or scarf, a soft scrunchie, a small spray bottle and a wide tooth comb in one basket by your bed. Fill the spray bottle with plain water and a drop of your leave in. If you have to hunt for things at midnight, you will skip the whole routine. A silk pillowcase is a lovely backup in case the bonnet slips off. Put the basket where your hand falls naturally when you sit down. Five minutes later you are done, and your curls are tucked in for the night. Wash the bonnet and scrunchie every week, so the whole kit stays fresh and ready.
2. Choose wash night or refresh night
Decide before you start whether tonight is a full wash or only a refresh. On a wash night, finish your usual routine and let your hair air dry until it is just damp. On a refresh night, your curls are already dry from the day, and you only need a light mist and a smoothing of cream. Most weeks you will have one wash night and two or three refresh nights. Know which one it is, and the rest of the routine falls into place. Write it on a sticky note on your mirror if you tend to forget. A good curly hair night routine is mostly about knowing what your curls need tonight.
3. Never sleep on soaking wet hair
Squeeze out the extra water with a soft cotton t shirt and wait until your hair is only slightly damp. Sleeping on soaking hair flattens the curl pattern, leaves a cold, clammy pillow, and gives you tangles and frizz by morning. A hairdryer on a low setting with a diffuser can speed it up, if you have one. Twenty to thirty minutes of drying time is usually enough. If your hair still feels cold to the touch, give it another ten minutes before you tie it up. Sit on the edge of the bed with a podcast on, and the time passes without any effort.
4. Loosen tangles with your fingers
Run your fingers through the curls from the ends upward, one small section at a time. Never drag a brush through dry curls, because the strands snap and the clumps break apart. If you find a knot, hold the hair above it with one hand and tease it open with the other. A drop of leave in helps the knot slide free. This takes about a minute, and it saves you from a painful tangle in the morning. Stay gentle, and stop when you can glide your fingers all the way through. Start at the bottom few inches, then climb up, so the knots never pile into one big one.
5. Mist and scrunch lightly
Spritz your curls with water until they feel cool, not dripping, then scrunch upward once. The water wakes up the curl, and one gentle scrunch pulls each clump back into shape. Resist the urge to keep fiddling, because every extra touch makes frizz. Aim for six or eight sprays in total over the whole head. If you have thick hair, mist in two layers, the underneath first. Your curls should look refreshed and slightly dewy, like the morning after rain. If your hair is coarse or tightly coiled, use a bit more water on the dry spots at the back and sides, where it tends to dry first.
6. Seal the ends with a pea of cream
Warm a pea sized amount of cream between your palms and press it over the ends only. The ends are the oldest, driest part of your hair, and they lose moisture first overnight. Keep cream away from the roots, as it can make hair flat and greasy by morning. Fine hair needs even less, about half a pea. If your hair is thick, use a full pea and work in two sections. You should feel soft ends, not slick ones. Tonight’s cream is tomorrow’s bounce. Wipe any leftover cream on your hands onto the underside of your hair, not the top, where it can flatten the curls you want to show.
7. Pineapple your hair loosely
Gather your curls at the very top of your head with a soft scrunchie, and wrap it only once or twice. Tilt your head forward while you do it, so the curls fall over like a pineapple top. A tight band dents the curl and can pull at the roots, so it should feel almost too loose. This keeps your curls off the pillow and stops them being squashed flat. If your hair is shorter, a headband across the hairline holds it up. The shape should look like a fountain. If a band leaves a line across the hairline, move it slightly back and loosen it again tomorrow. Wearing it a little forward also protects the front curls.
8. Try loose braids or twists for longer hair
Split your hair into two or four sections and braid or twist each one loosely. Do not tug the roots, and leave the last inch of each end free so your curls keep their spring. This works well when your hair is long enough to flatten under the pineapple, or when you want a stretched, wavy look in the morning. Braids also protect your ends. Pick whichever you like best and stick with it for a week before changing. Your hair learns the pattern quickly, and your morning shake gets easier. Dry curls tangle less when each braid is soft, so finish with a light mist along each braid before bed.
9. Cover with satin or silk
Slip on a satin bonnet or tie a satin scarf loosely, and check that it feels comfortable. Cotton pillowcases soak up moisture and rough up the surface of every strand, which is how frizz starts. Satin glides instead. If the bonnet leaves a mark across your forehead, loosen the band or choose a bigger size. Wash it every week with your pillowcase. When you lie down, wiggle a little and make sure no curls are caught underneath you. If you sleep on your side, the satin should be wide enough to cover the pillow so the hair never touches cotton.
10. Add a weekly extra on Sunday night
Once a week, warm a teaspoon of light oil and smooth it over your ends before you pineapple. Jojoba or almond are light enough not to weigh curls down. You can also massage a few drops into your scalp for two minutes, and shampoo it out the next wash day. This turns an ordinary night into a small treatment. If your curls feel fine and bouncy, skip it. Dry ends and tight curls are the ones that benefit most. Smooth the oil on with flat palms, from the middle of your hair down, and wipe the extra on your hands onto your arms.
11. Swap the habits that undo your curls
Retire the cotton pillowcase, the tight elastic and the dry brush. Each of them tugs or drinks the moisture from your curls. Swap in satin, a fabric scrunchie and your fingers. Do not sleep with a hair clip in either, because it leaves a dent you will see all day. Do not sleep on a damp bonnet, as that smells and makes your scalp itchy. Wash the bonnet weekly, and your hair will thank you quickly. If you must use a clip to keep hair off your face, choose a flat satin covered one and place it where it does not press on curls.
12. Wake your curls without brushing
Take off the bonnet, flip your head upside down, and shake the curls loose with your fingertips. Mist with a little water if they feel dry, then leave them alone. In the first week you will notice less frizz and fewer flat patches. By week four, your curls should keep their shape for a day or two longer, and the definition you worked for on wash day lasts longer. Take a picture each Sunday morning, in the same light, to see the change. Keep your night routine steady, and your mornings get easier.
Complete the Routine: Your Curly Hair Night Routine Tonight
Tonight, do steps 3, 7 and 9, then add the rest as they feel easy. For more ways to look after your curls, read about no frizz curly hair routine and easy curly hair routine.
