How to Sleep With Hair Extensions

You spend a third of your time asleep, and for that third your hair is doing whatever it wants against a pillow. For your own hair that mostly means a bit of morning frizz. For extensions it means eight hours of friction at the attachment points, and that is where a surprising amount of avoidable damage comes from. The fix takes about a minute a night.

Why it matters

Every semi-permanent method attaches the extension to your own hair a short distance from the scalp. That attachment point is the weakest link in the whole arrangement: it is where the extension’s weight meets your hair, and it is where a tangle does the most harm. Loose hair on a pillow moves with every turn, and the attachment points tangle with each other and with the hair around them. By morning some of those tangles have tightened, and brushing them out pulls on exactly the place you least want pulled. Do that nightly for six weeks and it adds up to real strain. Our guide to whether extensions damage hair explains the mechanism.

The routine

Dry it completely. Wet hair tangles far more easily than dry, and damp attachment points weaken over time. If you washed in the evening, dry it fully before anything else. Never sleep with wet extensions.

Brush it out. From the ends up, holding the hair above the attachments, until it runs through cleanly. Any tangle you take to bed will be worse by morning.

Tie it loosely. A single loose plait is the standard; a low, loose bun also works. The point is to keep the hair gathered so it cannot move freely, without pulling on the roots. If the plait feels tight at the scalp, it is too tight. Two loose plaits, one each side, work well for very long hair.

Sleep on silk or satin. Cotton grips the hair and pulls at it with every movement. Silk and satin let it slide. A pillowcase is the easiest change; a silk scarf or bonnet does the same job if you prefer.

What not to do

Loose. The most common mistake and the most damaging. Eight hours of free movement is eight hours of tangling at the attachments.

Wet. Tangles more, and weakens bonds and adhesive.

Tight. A tight ponytail or a high bun pulls on the roots all night. The style should hold the hair together, not pull it.

Elastic with metal. The metal join catches hair and, at an attachment point, can catch a ring or a panel. Use soft fabric ties or a silk scrunchie.

Clip-ins in. They are not designed to be slept in. The clips drag against the same points all night, and that is how clip-ins cause damage, which they otherwise do not. Take them out. It takes a minute.

Method by method

Tape and weft benefit most from a plait, because the panels and rows are the largest attachments and tangle most when loose. Rings are small and tangle less, but a ring caught in a tangle can be pulled open, so the plait still matters. Keratin bonds are the least likely to tangle but the most affected by being damp, so drying fully is the priority. Clip-ins come out, every night, without exception.

In the morning

Undo the plait, brush from the ends up, and you are done. If you find the hair is tangled at the roots despite the plait, the plait was too loose, the hair was damp, or the pillowcase is cotton. If tangling at the roots persists after fixing those, the attachment points may be growing out and due for maintenance — see how often extensions need moving up. The full routine is in the complete care guide.

Frequently asked questions