How To Keep Your Hair Straight Overnight

Few things feel as satisfying as keeping your tresses free of tangles every morning.

Reviewed by Tiffany Young, Certified Trichology Practitioner
Written by Arshiya Syeda, BA (Literature & Psychology), PG Diploma
Edited by Ramona Sinha, MA (English Literature), Certified Skin Care Coach
Fact-checked by Medha Deb, Integrated MA  • 

While getting your hair straightened is not hard, keeping it straight for more than a few hours is a herculean task. Sometimes, it might seem impossible to keep your hair straight overnight. Your straightened tresses can easily become a tangled knotted mess as you get some shut-eye. But we are here to help. Read to know how you can maintain your hair straight through the night while keeping it from becoming wavy and curly.

How To Keep Your Hair Straight After Straightening It

A woman combing her straight hair
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Image: Shutterstock

If you wish to make the straight effect last as long as possible, you will need to embrace a hair care routine that focuses on maintenance. After all, you cannot afford to spend an hour every day straightening your hair from scratch.

Follow these useful tips to keep your hair straight in general:

  • Dry Shampoo: To get rid of sweat, moisture, grease, and oil, invest in a good dry shampoo. This type of shampoo can lift your roots and nourish your hair between washes, thus maintaining its health.

Dry Shampoo
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  • Moisturizing Conditioner: Use a moisturizing conditioner to reduce frizz and make your hair easier to manage. The conditioner will also add layers of shine and hydrate your hair from within.
  • Straightening Mask: A straightening mask is formulated with nourishing ingredients like keratin, argan oil, or other proteins that help hydrate the hair while giving it a sleek, straightened appearance. If you want a homemade mask, you can make a paste out of banana, curd, honey, and olive oil and apply it to damp hair for an hour for frizz-free results.

Moisturizing Conditioner
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  • Microfiber Towel: Once you are done applying the conditioner, use a wide-toothed comb to remove any tangles and rinse your hair gently with cool water. Finally, pat your hair dry with a good-quality microfiber towel to prevent hair loss or unnecessary friction.

Microfiber Towel
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  • High-Quality Straightener: Always buy a high-quality straightener that has ceramic/tourmaline plates. This will allow you to straighten your hair evenly and quickly.

High-Quality Straightener
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  • Comb: Make sure to comb your hair both before and after straightening it as the sleek look lasts longer on tangle-free hair. You can use a boar bristle brush to make your hair smoother and sleeker after blow-drying it.

Comb
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  • Dry Your Hair Completely: Never straighten wet hair as it can lead to heat damage. You can blow out your hair by keeping the nozzle facing down until it is 80% dry. Or, you can wait for it to air-dry completely. Once your hair is dry, you can use a flat iron to straighten it.

Dry Your Hair Completely
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  • Hair Protection Serum: To protect your hair from the high heat of the flat iron and for frizz control, use a heat protectant serum. This serum will also make your hair stay smooth, healthy, and straight for a longer period of time. You can also go for a low-alcohol, keratin protein-rich overnight serum that will preserve your straightened hair while you sleep.

Hair Protection Serum
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  • Temperature Setting: Always straighten your hair on the lowest temperature setting possible to reduce damage.

Temperature Setting
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  • Avoid Humidity: Humidity can make your straight hair frizzy. Hence, make sure to use an anti-humidity spray and keep your bedroom cool at night so that your hair does not become frizzy and dry in the morning.

Avoid Humidity
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  • Let Your Hair Be: Finally, it helps to stay away from styling products and sprays to make your straight hair last longer.
  • Silk Scarf: After straightening your hair, gently wrap it in a silk scarf to preserve the sleek look. You can wrap your hair overnight to preserve the style as well as prevent any hair damage due to friction. It is best if you avoid using tight elastic bands to prevent kinks.

Let your hair be
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These are the basics of keeping your hair straight. Now, let us learn how to maintain your straight hair overnight, which can ultimately save you a lot of time and effort in the morning. Keep reading!

Top 4 Hacks To Sleep With Straightened Hair (And How To Maintain It)

It is frustrating to straighten your hair before going to sleep only to wake up with a frizzy and curly head of hair – and straighten your hair all over again. Here are some simple home hacks to keep your hair straight overnight. The best part? These tips are effortless, pain-free, and cost-effective:

1. Buy A Good Dry Shampoo

A woman using a dry shampoo spray
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Image: Shutterstock

If you have greasy hair, listen up: You need to buy a good dry shampoo, one that can easily absorb excess oil and sweat overnight. The idea is to wake up with fresh and clean hair without rinsing it with water.

How To Apply Dry Shampoo

  1. Use the dry shampoo between hair washes, preferably on second-day hair, so that it can absorb any excess oils.
  2. Take a wide-toothed comb or a brush and divide your hair into smaller sections. Remember to focus on the greasy areas.
  3. Place the can about 8 inches away from your head and spray the dry shampoo on the roots of your hair.
  4. Gently massage your head and let the product seep into your scalp so that it can absorb the excess oil.

2. Say Goodbye To Hair Bands/Elastics

Avoid using hair elastics on straight hair
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Image: Shutterstock

The joy of tying your hair into a mile-high bun or a ponytail can be too tempting to pass off, especially if you have had a long, tiring day. However, if you wish to avoid any kind of dents in your poker-straight hair, stay away from hair bands/elastics. You can flip your hair over the pillow so that it stays off your neck and face while you sleep.


protip_icon Quick Tip
Brush your hair before you go to sleep with a detangling comb. You can use a detangling spray to remove knots easily.

3. Use A Good Hair Oil

Woman applying oil to straight hair
Image: Shutterstock

If you have dry hair, this tip is for you. It is extremely important that you keep your hair nourished, soft, and hydrated at all times to achieve salon smooth hair. You can apply a couple of drops of any lightweight oil to maintain the shine of your straightened hair overnight. Make sure to focus more on the ends of your hair as they tend to dry out more. Additionally, avoid water-based products, like sprays, as they make your straight hair curl up.

​4. Invest In A High-Quality Silk/Satin Scarf

Woman with straight hair sleeping on a satin pillowcase
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Image: Shutterstock

Wrapping a silk scarf around your head or wearing a silk sleeping cap can prevent your straightened hair from becoming frizzy and wavy after a night of constant friction caused by sleeping on cotton pillows. You can also use a silk/satin pillowcase if you don’t like the idea of wearing a cap or scarf to bed.

Keeping your hair straight requires you to stick to a dedicated nighttime routine. That said, if you are someone who cannot sleep with open hair, you can just follow the steps given in the next section to wrap your straight hair securely.

protip_icon Did You Know?
You can also use hair serums made specifically for smooth, tangle-free, and frizz-free locks. Some keratin-based serums are made to smoothen hair which might work very well in keeping your hair straight overnight.

How To Wrap Your Hair (And Keep It Straight) While Sleeping

  1. Apply a few drops of an argan oil-based serum to your hair. Leaving it overnight can reduce frizz and help your hair retain its straightness.
  2. Comb your hair and roll it into a loose bun at the top of your head. Do not use any clips or scrunchies to tie it up as they can cause dents in your straight hair.
  3. Fold your silk/satin scarf into a triangle by joining two opposite ends.
  4. Place the long side of the triangle along the nape of your neck.
  5. Pull all three corners of the scarf to the front of your head and tie them in a double knot. Make sure your bun is securely tucked inside the scarf.

If you have short hair, make sure to flip it upward before wrapping it in a silk headscarf. This helps add more volume to your hair.

Tiffany Darlyn, a lifestyle vlogger, showed a simple way to wrap one’s head in a scarf to keep her hair straight overnight. She used wide-tooth combs and serums to protect her hair while sleeping. She said, “That’s pretty much all I do through the night. I just wrap it and I wake up and it’s pretty much straight (i)”.

Keeping your straightened hair straight is not rocket science, and it definitely does not require you to lose your precious beauty sleep at night. However, it does require some maintenance and effort to make the straight effect last longer.

Keeping your straightened hair straight overnight is a difficult task, but it is not impossible. All you need is a good dry shampoo to absorb excess oil and sweat, a moisturizing conditioner, and a microfiber towel to smoothen your hair without friction. If you have dry hair, you can apply a couple of drops of any lightweight hair oil to keep it nourished. Do not tie your hair with bands and elastics. Simply flip your hair over the pillow while sleeping. You can also wrap a silk scarf around your head to reduce friction and prevent the hair from becoming frizzy. Follow the hacks outlined in this article to wake up with slick and straight hair that does not require much touching up.

Infographic: 5 Tips To Maintain Straight Hair

A chemical treatment can make it easy to keep your locks looking straight, but the real challenge is making its effects last longer. If you don’t take good care of your tresses, chances are high that they can turn frizzy. Also, environmental aggressors, such as the sun, wind, and pollution, can also damage your hair and change its appearance altogether. So, if you are someone who has just had a straightening treatment done, check out the pointers listed in the infographic below.

5 tips to maintain straight hair (infographic)

Illustration: StyleCraze Design Team

Get the high-quality PDF version of this infographic.

Download Infographic in PDF version

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I straighten my hair before bed?

Yes. You can straighten your hair before bed. However, you will have to take extra care to keep them straight overnight.

Do bonnets help straight hair?

Bonnets help retain moisture and reduce friction in your hair as you sleep. So, they are beneficial for maintaining healthy and luscious straight hair.

Can I straighten my hair everyday?

It is not recommended. Excessive use of heat styling tools can leave your hair dry, heat-damaged, and frizzy.

Key Takeaways

  • Investing in a good dry hair shampoo helps absorb the excess oil and makes your hair look fresh even after a good night’s sleep.
  • Flip your hair over the pillow while sleeping to avoid unnecessary friction that causes frizz. You can also try wrapping your hair with a silk scarf.
  • Those with dry hair must keep their tresses nourished and hydrated before sleeping. This is where a good natural treatment like a lightweight hair oil can help.
Hair Straight Overnight

Image: Stable Diffusion/StyleCraze Design Team

Learn how to maintain straight hair with a few simple tips and tricks! Take a look at the video for all the steps you can take to retain straight hair for 30 days!

Personal Experience: Source

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