Satin bonnets: a hair revolution or just another internet hype?
Whether they have curly, wavy or straight hair, it seems like everyone’s wearing these medieval bonnets at night and raving about the positive effects. So I’ve tested whether one works well on my hair.
I’m lucky, bad hair days don’t exist in our family. From my youngest cousin to my grandmother, none of us have to style our mane in the morning to keep it in place. But maybe that’s also because we all go to bed with well-groomed hair. So I wasn’t surprised when I visited my cousins and saw them putting on a satin bonnet before going to sleep. The next morning, their ringlets looked perfect.
You’re wondering why they wear it? The satin bonnet’s designed to reduce the friction on pillowcases and protect your hair. There are several social media posts that explain this in roughly the same way.
The aim is to reduce breakage at the ends, reduce tangles and even make hair look more voluminous in the morning. Volume never hurts. I could do with a little more of that in the morning. Let’s see if the satin bonnet will help make my hair dreams come true.
The initial situation
Generally, I’m pretty happy with my hair – but there’s always room for improvement. Am I right? Since my long locks gets tangled and knotted easily, I braid it into a loose plait when I go to bed. This protects it to some extent, but can stress the hair at the braided areas and lead to hair breakage. I can’t say whether this is down to just the braid or the standard everyday elements my hair’s exposed to. But one thing’s clear, over time, the ends become brittle and I tend to get split ends. My hair also loses its volume overnight. Although a braid keeps it wavy at the bottom, it becomes flat along the roots.
Source: Stefanie Lechthaler
I like my hair best when I’m on vacation, the humidity’s higher and I can let it air dry after I’ve washed it. Then the natural waves and volume come to the fore. That’s what I’m hoping to achieve with the satin bonnet.
The first night
For the test, I use the satin hair sleeping bonnet from X-Tac. I twist my hair into a bun and pull the bonnet over it.
Lying in bed with the bonnet on my head feels unusual at first, but after a few minutes I don’t notice it. The next morning I take the bonnet off and can’t notice much difference. My hair looks like it did the night before. «How should my hair have magically produced waves, anyway?» I think to myself. At least it’s not knotted and sleeping on it was also quite comfortable.
The hothouse on my head
In the days that followed, I noticed that the skin on my forehead was becoming impure and the roots of my hair were getting greasy more quickly than without it. It seems, my scalp’s sweating under the bonnet – and we’re in winter. I expect the headband gets particularly warm because it stops the bonnet from slipping and, in doing so, doesn’t allow much air to reach my skin. This is how I’ve started getting spots. Plus, the band messes with my fringe so much that it’s quite a struggle getting it into shape in the morning. So I’ve stopped wearing the bonnet every day now.
Source: Stefanie Lechthaler
A miracle against knots and for styled hair
Even though I don’t put the hair bonnet on every night, every time I do, it keeps my hair from tangling. And my personal favourite thing about it? If my hair’s freshly washed and styled before I go to bed, it looks pretty much the same the next morning.
Source: Stefanie Lechthaler
The long-term effect on my hair’s difficult to assess so far. I haven’t been able to wear it long enough, for the reasons mentioned above. Next, I’m going to try the Premium Silk Turban from VBEAUTY, which should be more breathable because it doesn’t have a hairband.
If you’ve got a curly head of hair, it’s definitely worth trying a bonnet. I can imagine it keeps the curls nice and compact and protects them from frizzing. I’ll only be able to recommend it to people with light waves and straight hair after l see the long term effects. However, hair that tends to knot easily will definitely benefit from it.
What have you experienced when using a satin bonnet? Let me know in the comments.
Header image: Stefanie Lechthaler
Painting the walls just before handing over the flat? Making your own kimchi? Soldering a broken raclette oven? There's nothing you can't do yourself. Well, perhaps sometimes, but I'll definitely give it a try.
