A silk bonnet or wrap cuts the friction that causes frizz and breakage overnight. Here are the bonnet, turban and wrap, the silk pillowcases and scrunchies, and the towels that start protecting hair before bed.
The Silk Bonnet, and Everything Else That Protects Your Hair While You Sleep
Covering hair at night has a long and pointed history. In 1786, Louisiana's Tignon Laws required free Black women to wear headscarves, and they answered with ornate fabrics and elaborate ways of tying them. Nightcaps were ordinary for most American women in the 19th century, and they came back in the 1920s to protect Marcel waves. The modern satin or silk bonnet spread in the mid-20th century, when straightening combs and later relaxers made protecting hair at night essential. Today a silk bonnet does the same simple job: less friction against the pillow, so less frizz and breakage by morning. The Steam Bar, founded by the British-Nigerian former fashion agent Judy Koloko as a scalp-first line for textured hair, makes the satin bonnet here, with an elastic hem made for curly and coily hair. Slip's pure silk turban is the closest thing to a true silk bonnet I could find at these shops, and the silk wrap is double lined in the brand's own silk. The pillowcase covers you if the bonnet slips off in the night.
Sleeping on silk
Fiona Stewart started Slip in 2004 after her dermatologist suggested silk for her sensitive skin and thinning hair, and it was the first silk pillowcase sold as a beauty product. Both of its pillowcases here are long-fiber mulberry silk, one standard and one queen. Crown Affair, which Dianna Cohen launched from her New York apartment in January 2020 after a Google Doc of her hair routine spread well past her friends, makes its own silk pillowcase for shine and fewer creases. The scrunchies matter as much as the pillow. Slip's skinny ones and Crown Affair's silk scrunchie hold a loose bun overnight without the dent an elastic leaves. Tie hair loosely on top of your head, never tight at the nape.
Drying gently, and the skip
Protection starts before bed, with how you dry your hair. Crown Affair's waffle-knit towel speeds up air-drying, Act+Acre's microfiber hair towel, from the Irish stylist and trichologist Helen Reavey, is made to dry hair faster with less friction, and Emi Jay's waffle towel absorbs water and reduces frizz. Julianne Goldmark started Emi Jay at 14, dyeing underwear elastic in kitchen pots to make hair ties. Slip's large scrunchies are there for thicker hair. What I would skip is sleeping on wet hair, bonnet or not. Damp hair stretches and snaps more easily, so let it dry at least most of the way first.
Hair towels, and one more scrunchie
A simple night routine
Towel dry gently, let your hair dry most of the way, then twist it into a loose bun with a silk scrunchie. Put on the bonnet or wrap, and sleep on silk in case it slips off. Wash the bonnet and pillowcase weekly in cool water. Your hair will look better on day two, and you will need less heat to fix it. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together What the Best Shampoo for Thinning Hair Can Really Do and The Best Korean Moisturizer Is Hydration First, Everything Else Second.
