Here’s why it's worth taking a few extra minutes to dry your hair before bed. Picture: Pexels
We've all had those nights: it's late, your hair’s freshly washed, and you just don’t feel up to blow-drying. But heading to bed with damp hair might come with more risks than you realise.
Wet hair is more fragile, making it prone to breaking when rubbed against your pillow while you sleep. The tossing and turning at night can cause hair strands to snap more easily than if it were dry, leading to noticeable breakage over time.
Sleeping with wet hair often means waking up with unruly, tangled locks. As hair dries and twists overnight, areas like the crown and ends can become especially challenging to manage.
This can result in needing to restyle with heat tools or re-wetting in the morning to smooth things out.
The old belief that wet hair leads to illness isn’t exactly true, but sleeping with damp hair can affect your immune system.
The added chill from a damp head can strain the body’s immune response, making you more vulnerable to viruses like the common cold.
Moisture and warmth together create ideal conditions for bacterial and fungal growth on your pillow and scalp. The combination of your head’s warmth and a damp pillow can foster harmful microorganisms, leading to scalp issues and skin irritation.
When sleeping with wet hair, natural oils can be absorbed into your pillow along with the moisture, leaving your scalp dry. This dryness, combined with the bacteria growth encouraged by a damp pillow, can increase the risk of dandruff.
The natural oils in your hair can be absorbed along with water into your pillow, leaving strands dull and dehydrated. Lack of these essential oils makes hair look lacklustre and more prone to breakage.
Sleeping with wet hair can also lead to hair loss and scalp infections, like ringworm, a fungal condition that thrives in warm, damp environments and is highly contagious.
A pillow teeming with bacteria can also contribute to skin breakouts. The bacteria from damp hair can easily transfer to your skin, increasing the likelihood of acne and other skin issues.
Next time you’re tempted to sleep with wet hair, consider these effects, it’s worth the extra few minutes to blow-dry!
IOL Lifestyle
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