A Night Routine for Straight Hair

The whole routine takes a few minutes. Do it in this order:

1. Brush gently. Start at the ends and work upward in small steps, so you are not dragging a knot down from the roots. A wide-tooth comb is a fine substitute if your hair is fine and snags.
2. Check dryness. Go to bed dry or nearly dry. Damp strands rub and stretch more than dry ones, and a damp head leaves a flat patch on one side.
3. Loosen. Leave short hair down. For hair past the shoulders, make one loose braid at the nape or a low, soft twist.
4. Cover. Sleep on a smooth pillowcase. Add a bonnet only if you wake up tangled or want to keep a styled shape.
5. Morning. Take out the braid, brush lightly from the ends, and go.

Every step has the same aim: less rubbing and less pulling.

Not always. Straight hair is smooth, so a satin or silk pillowcase is often enough on its own. A bonnet earns its place in a few situations. Use this table to decide.

Your situation	Pillowcase alone	Add a bonnet
Short hair, no tangles	Usually enough	Optional
Long hair that knots overnight	Helps a little	Worth trying
Fresh blowout you want to keep	Not enough	Yes
You toss and turn a lot	Helps	Yes, with a snug fit
You dislike things on your head	Yes	Skip it

If you do try a bonnet, choose one that fits without squeezing the roots, or it will press a line into straight hair. Our comparison of bonnet vs satin pillowcase goes through the trade-offs in more detail. If a bonnet slides off, see why your bonnet keeps falling off.

Pick the loosest style that still keeps hair off your face and out from under your shoulders.

• Hair down: best for short and chin-length hair. Nothing to pull, nothing to crease.
• Loose low braid: the best default for long straight hair. Braid from the nape, stop at the ends, and fasten with a soft scrunchie. A braid keeps strands together so they cannot wrap around each other.
• Low twist or loose bun: fine if it sits at the back of the head and does not press into the pillow. If it digs in when you lie on your side, switch to a braid.
• High, tight ponytail: avoid it. It pulls on the same spot at the crown for hours.

A simple test is to lie on your side before you fall asleep. If the style is uncomfortable then, it will be worse at 3 a.m. See sleeping hairstyles that avoid tension for the full set of options and how to tell when something is too tight.

Skip thin elastics with metal joins. They crimp straight hair and leave a visible dent that brushing will not remove. Use a wide, soft scrunchie and wrap it loosely, one loop, rather than doubling it to feel secure.

A few published options and what the brands say about them:

• Kitsch Satin Sleep Scrunchies: $10 for a set of five in black. Kitsch describes them as satin scrunchies that will not crimp or agitate strands overnight.
• Slip Skinny Scrunchies: $51 for six. Slip describes them as made with its slipsilk and designed to be anti-crease and anti-breakage.
• Tele Ties Large Silk Scrunchies: $29.99 for three, with an inner coil that Tele Ties says gives a grip without slipping.

For a nightly habit on straight hair, the lower-priced satin set is the practical choice because you can keep a spare by the bed. See best sleep scrunchies for a wider comparison.

Two problems show up most with straight hair, and each has a simple fix.

Creases or a dent in the hair. These almost always come from an elastic that was tight or placed in one spot. Move to a scrunchie, wrap it once, and change where it sits from night to night. If a crease is already there, a light mist of water and a few minutes of air drying usually softens it.

Flat roots or a pressed side. Lying down compresses hair at the roots, and that is normal. In the morning, flip your head upside down and shake the roots with your fingertips, or use a blow dryer for a short burst on the roots only.

Tangles at the back of the neck. This is friction against the pillow. A braid, a smoother pillowcase, or a bonnet will cut it down. If you still wake up with the same knot every day, it is a sign your hair is long enough to need a braid, not a looser version of leaving it down.

The minimum is a smooth pillowcase and one soft scrunchie. A bonnet is optional. Here is what the brands publish about the pillowcase options:

Pillowcase	Price	Material (as published)
Kitsch Satin Pillowcase (standard/queen)	$29	Satin, 600 thread-count; zipper
Grace Eleyae Satin Pillowcase (full/queen)	$24.70	Stretch charmeuse satin; no zipper
Blissy Pillowcase (queen)	$105.95	100% pure mulberry silk
Slip Pure Silk Pillowcase (queen)	$120	100% pure mulberry silk, 22 momme

The clear pick for most people with straight hair is a satin pillowcase at the lower end of this range. Silk costs more, and nothing about straight hair requires it. If you want the silk option, the two silk cases above are the ones with published material details. See best satin pillowcases for hair for the full comparison.