Getting your naturally curly hair ready and fresh is no easy job.
You must spend time, energy, and hair products to achieve a nice result.
To let all that hard work go with just one night’s sleep can be very annoying.
You can avoid this if you know how to refresh curly hair after sleeping on it.
With the simple tips in this article, you can enjoy your pretty curls for many days, and still, get to toss as much as you want when you sleep.
How to Revive Curly Hair After Sleeping On It
Sleeping on your hair can flatten, disorganize, or destroy your curls, leaving you with a mass of wild, unruly hair.
Without going through your whole styling process all over again, you can refresh your curls using any of these four methods:
1. Spray with Water
Sometimes all it takes is water’s magic touch.
You can refresh your curls after sleeping on them by spraying them with water.
You’ll need a small spray bottle filled with water, then you can follow these steps:
- Let your hair down
- Part it into sections
- Set your spray bottle on mist and spray your hair
- Ensure that you spray evenly through your hair.
Spraying your hair with misty water will reactivate possible styling products on your hair so that your curls look all fresh again.
That means that this method will only work if your styling products can be “water–activated.”
Many hair gels and leave-in conditioners can be activated with water, and your styling product likely has a description label that indicates whether it can be reactivated with water or not.
If your styling product cannot be reactivated with water, you’ll have to try some other method.
2. Leave-in Conditioner Retouch
Another tip is to retouch your hair with your leave-in conditioner.
The conditioner will hydrate your hair and get rid of frizz and flyaways.
You don’t necessarily need a spray bottle here. You can do it this way;
- Choose an hydrating leave-in conditioner, preferably water-based.
- Pour some of it on your hands (if a spray bottle is unavailable)
- Spread it over your hands and rub it
- Then use the “praying hands method” to apply the leave-in conditioner to your hair. This is a curl styling method where you smear the hair product on your palms, put your hair section between your palms, and rub it through from root to ends.
After applying the leave-in conditioner, you may want to apply a hair gel to seal in your styling.
You can apply your hair gel using the praying hands’ method too.
3. Finger Coils
When your curls get flattened overnight, you can also revive them by wrapping them through your finger.
It is that simple, but not really.
You have to do it this way:
- Apply a hair gel or curl cream to your hair
- Separate your hair into loose sections
- Select a few strands and twirl them around your finger till it appears twisted.
- Let go of the strands and choose another few strands
- When you’re done will all strands, and scrunch your hair to give it a nice finish.
This process may take a while but it helps you revive your curls at the snap of your fingers.
4. Pin Curls
The “pin curl” is a method for creating curls from scratch but you can also use it to revive existing curls.
Here’s how to go about it:
- Leave your hair loose or down
- Part out a small or medium hair section, depending on how full you want your curls.
- Roll the hair section on one or two fingers to form a spiral shape.
- Use a hairpin to keep it in that position and remove your fingers.
- Part out another hair section and do the same until you’ve covered all the parts you want to curl
- Cover up the hair and wait for about 20 minutes
- Remove the hairpins and unravel your hair.
This method will give you new bouncy curls and you can also use it as a quick fix after sleeping on your curls.
You can use it as a protective hairstyle overnight and in the morning by rolling it at night and removing the pins to reveal curls the next morning.
How to protect your curls
It’s fine to revive your curls after sleeping on them but it’s even better to learn how to protect your curls overnight.
That way, you can save yourself some hair stress the next morning.
By spending a few minutes to practice these tips at night, you’ll be able to keep your hair in good shape overnight:
1. Use a silk bonnet or scarf
Covering your hair with a satin or silk scarf or bonnet will prevent direct contact between your hair and your pillow.
Such contact would otherwise roughen your hair strands.
So with a simple bonnet or scarf, you can protect your curls overnight and give yourself little or no restyling to do the next morning.
2. Keep your hair in mind when choosing a sleep position
To protect your curls at night, you should choose an appropriate sleep position for your hair.
That involves that you do not rest directly on your hair follicles at night.
If it’s convenient for you, you should sleep on your sides or stomach so that you don’t roughen your hair a lot when you toss at night.
3. Twist or braid your hair.
Twisting your hair into a big braid, two ponytails or tiny knots will protect your curls overnight.
When you loosen the style the next morning, your curls will be preserved and well protected.
On top of that, you’ll also get evenly spaced, smooth curls. You should apply a curl cream or oil to your hair before braiding or twisting it.
4. Use a gel cast
A hair gel coats the hair and hardens it into a crunchy “cast.”
This prevents your curls from straightening out when you go to bed and makes them last longer.
If you apply a gel to your hair at night, always allow it to dry before going to bed so that you do not wake up with messy and sticky hair and pillow sheets.
5. Put your hair in a pineapple
The pineapple method involves that you pack your hair to the front and use a soft scarf to wrap it from the back and tie it at the crown of your head.
This method keeps your hair strands in a fixed position so that they stay safe overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you still have a few questions about how to refresh curly hair after sleeping on it, I’ve got you!
Here are answers to commonly asked questions by curl lovers.
How do you refresh your curls when you wake up?
There are many ways to do this.
You can spray water on the hair to reactivate your curls or apply a leave-in conditioner using the praying hands’ method.
You can also use the finger coils or pin curls method.
Why are my curls gone after sleeping?
This may be because of your sleeping position.
When you lay on your back, the pressure is on your curls and they become flat.
Another factor may be the material your hair lays on overnight.
Cotton pillowcases drain moisture from your hair and can ruin your curls.
How do you sleep without ruining your curls?
You can keep your curls safe by wrapping them in a pineapple.
That reduces the movement of your curls and prevents damage.
You can also use a satin or silk hair covering to give your curls the right contact and prevent contact with rough materials.
How do you refresh your curls in the morning without water?
If you do not want to use water, you can use a water-based leaving conditioner or hair gel.
Refresh Your Curls
If the thoughts of going to bed after getting your curls done scare you because you don’t want to ruin your curls, you don’t have to worry anymore.
You can easily use water, your leave-in conditioner, or the pin curls method to revive your curls the next morning.
When you know how to refresh curly hair after sleeping on it, you can confidently go to bed knowing that your curls are safe!
Hey, hair lover, this post may contain affiliate links. So if you buy a product through a link in the post, I’ll earn some commission at no extra cost to you.
