All about hair bonnets and their haircare benefits

The worst thing that can happen after doing your whole haircare routine, is waking up in the morning with a hair mess. Your extensive routine, oiling, shampooing, treatment, conditioner, mask, and styling can be undone during the night. But the good news is that there is a simple solution: hair bonnets!

What is a hair bonnet? 

The word ‘bonnet’ is French for hat, but it specifically refers to a type of head covering, in silk or satin, typically worn to protect the hair while sleeping. The soft fabric is designed to keep the hair in place and prevent friction between hair and bedding.

Hair bonnets have been a staple in many cultures, but are particularly significant and cherished by the Black community. In modern times, people from different cultures and with different hair textures are using bonnets as part of their haircare routine and reap their benefits that extend far beyond mere protection.

What are the benefits of hair bonnets?

While those with curly hair textures experience transformative results from using hair bonnets, straight hair textures seem to benefit too. Here’s a breakdown of the benefits of incorporating a hair bonnet into your nightly routine:

1. Hair protection:

The smooth fabric of hair bonnets acts as a physical barrier between the hair and pillowcase or bed sheets. This helps prevent harsh friction, hair breakage, split ends and hair frizz.

2. Retention of moisture:

One of the greatest benefits of silk/satin hair bonnets is the ability to lock in moisture and not allow It to be absorbed by the pillowcase. By keeping the hair covered, bonnets prevent the scalp’s oils from being absorbed by the bedding, as well as your hair oil, which will not only damage your hair but will probably cause you breakouts as well.

3. Preserves hairstyles:

Whether you want to preserve your styled hair or braids, hair bonnets help keep the hairstyle intact and smooth.

4. Reduce hair tangling:

We have all woken up to a bad case of hair tangling, which is a nightmare to undo, painful and damaging. Hair bonnets minimize tangling by keeping hair straight and smooth and preventing it from rubbing against fabrics.

5. Promotes hair growth:

By locking your oil treatment and scalp oils in and preventing hair damage, bonnets indirectly support healthy hair growth. 

Finding the right bonnet.

When choosing the right bonnet, it’s important to pay attention to fabric and sizing. The best fabric for a bonnet is silk or satin. To help you choose one or the other, check out our last article.

Sizing is important too. Your bonnet should fit your head and hair. It should fit snugly on the head without pinching you. If you have voluminous and/or long hair, find a large bonnet with extra room.

Need some suggestions? Check out our collection of bonnets: