Once you start wearing hair bonnets to sleep, you’ll never go back. Made popular by the afro hair community, silk or satin hair bonnets boast a variety of benefits – from preventing tangles, minimising breakage, and preserving your bouncy blowout while you’re sound asleep.
After a decade of bleach and too much heat styling, I’ve been well and truly on my hair health journey this year. From investing in quality silk pillowcases, to slathering on all the best hair products like leave-in conditioners and hair oils, I’ve been grafting hard to breathe some much-needed life into my brittle and short hair. As it turns out, using a hair bonnet to bed is easily one of the biggest game-changers — as it helps keep my hair in tip-top shape throughout the night, which leaves me far less likely to reach for the hair straightener or curling wand in the morning.
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The best hair bonnets at a glance 2024
We’ve put together a definitive guide to all the best hair bonnets for every hair type, budget and purpose, having also consulted with experts to answer all your burning FAQs. We’ve covered everything from the key benefits, how to use them and which material performs best.
Which hair types benefit most from silk bonnets?
According to Hairstylist and educator Dionne Smith — whose celebrity clientele include Venus Williams, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Amber Gill — all hair textures would benefit from making the switch. “Silk bonnets are great for all hair types, as everyone wants healthy and hydrated locks. But curly, and coily hair in particular will definitely benefit,” she adds.
Why is a silk bonnet good for your hair?
Every time you roll over in your sleep, friction is generated between the rough fibres of the pillowcase, and your lovely locks — which means you’re far more likely to start your day off with excess tangles, frizz, and static. Plus, you can expect more breakage and split-ends in the long-run — particularly if you have fine or dry hair.
Thankfully, a silk bonnet is the perfect solution. As well as helping to preserve your style overnight, a silk bonnet will absorb very little of your hair’s natural moisture and oils — unlike a porous cotton pillowcase. Instead, these natural oils are able to spread evenly through your roots, lengths, and ends, and essentially act as a natural conditioning treatment while you sleep. The result? Nourished and glossy locks — rather than the common combo of greasy roots, and dry and brittle ends.