My hair can tangle into a bird’s nest and braids are the sure thing for me to avoid harsh brushing and fighting with my knots.ĭid you know that hair can lose moisture while you sleep? So many things are happening while you're sleeping! There’s always a natural release of moisture from your hair, and while you sleep it goes into the air or gets absorbed by your pillow. It also keeps your hair tamed and more structured, resulting in less snarls and frustrating tangles when you wake up in the morning. Keeping your hair in braids reduces friction between your hair and pillow, reducing hair breakage. Amp it up, and get silk pillowcases for even less friction! Prevents breakageĪs you’re getting your beauty sleep, you may not realize it but natural tossing and turning pulls your hair and causes it to break. Was Mom right? What are the benefits of braiding your hair before you go to bed? Let's see. My mom always said how braids protected our hair strands, and was fanatic about braiding both Shaz and my hair before we went to bed. But the best part was sharing this ritual with my aunties - slowing down every night and taking care of each other created a special bond.īraiding your hair is an important and healthy practice for Indian women and their hair. It's common practice for moms to braid their daughters' hair before they go to school or braid before they go to bed (like my mom did). And how much time and love they put into taking care of it. I would always be in such awe of their healthy, thick, long hair. The braid itself is a healthy hair practice, but the ribbon wrapped around it while they slept was like double armor for hair, making sure it was fully protected once it hit that pillow. And then came the fun part! They would ask me to take a 2-inch hair ribbon roll, and wrap it slowly around the entire braid in a tight swirl and then securely tie at the very end.

Every night they would comb their long hair, massage their scalp, and then neatly braid their hair, which would reach down to their waist.

As a little kid visiting India during the summers, I would witness one of the most wondrous night time rituals by our aunties.

French braid pigtails