The 3 Golden Rules of Sleeping in a Wig

Sleeping in your wig doesn't have to ruin it. Three simple rules — secure the hair, protect the hairline and shield everything in silk or satin — keep your unit smooth, tangle-free and firmly in place until morning.

The real enemy at night is friction. Every time you toss and turn, your hair and lace rub against the pillowcase. Over a full night, that causes two major problems:

• Frizz and matting at the nape, where the hair gets crushed and rubbed the most.
• Pulling on delicate lace knots, which loosens hair from the lace and leads to shedding and thinning around the hairline.

Whether you rock a 13x4 or 13x6 HD lace frontal wig or a full lace wig, follow these steps before your head hits the pillow.

Rule 1: Secure your hair — never sleep with it loose

Loose hair spreads across the pillow and gets rubbed, twisted and knotted all night. How you secure it depends on your texture.

Straight and body wave hair

1. Detangle with a wide-tooth comb, starting at the ends and working up to the roots. This avoids pushing knots down and tugging on the lace.
2. Split the hair into two sections.
3. Twist or loosely braid each section into a low plait.

Keep the plaits loose. Tight braids can leave kinks and put tension on the knots. This works beautifully for straight and body wave units.

Deep wave and curly hair: the pineapple method

1. Flip your head forward and gather all the hair high toward the crown.
2. Secure it in a loose ponytail with a silk scrunchie.
3. Let the curls fall forward over the scrunchie.

Because the curls sit on top of your head instead of underneath you, you won't crush the curl pattern while lying down. In the morning, release the scrunchie, shake the curls out and refresh them with a little water or leave-in spray. This is the go-to method for deep wave, water wave and pineapple wave wigs.

Rule 2: Protect the hairline with a melting band

Your hairline is the most vulnerable part of any lace wig. It's where the lace is thinnest, the knots are most delicate and the melt is most visible.

Before bed, place an elastic lace-melting band or a satin edge wrap across your perimeter. It should sit snug enough to stay put, but not so tight that it leaves marks or causes a headache.

This one step does three jobs:

• Keeps your edges flat, so your baby hairs and part look freshly laid in the morning.
• Stops sweat from lifting the glue, protecting the bond you created with your lace wig adhesive.
• Prevents the front lace from snagging on your pillow or bonnet.

Tip: smooth on a thin layer of edge control before you tie the band, and your edges will set while you sleep.

Rule 3: The silk/satin shield

Cotton pillowcases are a wig's worst nightmare. Cotton soaks up moisture from the cuticle layer of human hair, leaving it dry and brittle. Its rough fibers also grab onto strands, causing frizz and tangles. Silk and satin are smooth, so hair glides over them instead of catching.

Build your shield in two layers:

1. An oversized satin or silk bonnet. Pull it over your braids or pineapple so all the hair is fully covered. Choose an oversized one so long or voluminous units aren't squashed, and make sure it doesn't press on your melting band.
2. A satin pillowcase as backup. Bonnets often slip off during deep sleep. A satin pillowcase means your hair is still protected if that happens.

This double layer is especially worth it for long lengths and high-density wigs, which have more hair to rub and tangle.

Your bedtime checklist

• Detangle from ends to roots with a wide-tooth comb
• Two low plaits (straight and body wave) or a loose pineapple (deep wave and curls)
• Edge control on, melting band or satin edge wrap across the hairline
• Oversized satin or silk bonnet over everything
• Satin pillowcase on the bed

The bottom line

Five minutes before bed saves you hours of detangling, re-melting and touch-ups. Follow these three golden rules every night and your wig will stay soft, defined and securely installed for much longer.

Ready for your next install? Shop Ustar's HD lace frontal wigs, glueless wigs and accessories for everything you need to keep your 100% human hair looking flawle