Hair Sticks Up

Q: My hair always sticks up in the morning when I wake up. Is there anything I can do to stop my hair from sticking up? Maybe some kind of product? I'm a girl, and I have chin-length and slightly wavy hair.

A: Usually, the primary cause of "bed-head" such as you describe is the friction between your head/hair and the linens of your pillow and bedding.

There is also the fact that the hair is redirected in myriad ways while you sleep and toss and turn, and when the hair is pressed between the bedding and pillow, the warmth acts to "set" the hair in a new position, which gets locked in when you move and that area cools down again.

My first suggestion is to make sure that you don't sleep with product in your hair (which only exacerbates the problem). If you don't opt to shower/shampoo at night, then you can at least minimize the situation by brushing the hair thoroughly with a natural bristle brush.

Secondly, it's time to consider investing in a silk or satin sleeping cap, or silk/satin pillowcase for your bed. The smooth fabric helps to reduce friction between the hair and bedding and subsequently helps to leave the hair smooth and more-manageable in the mornings.

If you feel the problem is more related to the fact that your hair is allowed to move freely into varied positions and become set in awkward ways, then a cap is the better option. If the bed-head is accompanied by significant amounts of frizz in the mornings, then you should at the very least use a satin pillowcase.

©Hairfinder.com

See also:

How to protect your hair while you sleep

Is it true that we all have a good side and a bad side of hair?

How can I keep my freshly straightened hair straight while sleeping?

Why do we have to dry our hair before we go to sleep?