If you are wearing wigs almost every day, it is a tough task for you to take your wig off every time, especially after taking several hours to braid and glue down your lace front wig. We always want our wigs to stay as long as they can, which will save us a lot of time and energy. But most wig wearers don’t like the idea of taking the wig off daily before going to bed. Hence, in this blog, we will explain the reason why we don’t suggest sleeping with your wig on and share our advice with you on sleeping with your wig on. These tips will help you decrease the damage. 

Can I sleep in a wig?

Every wig wears has its unique bedtime ritual. When you are wearing a wig, you have to take more steps to finish your bedtime ritual. You are tempted to wear a wig to sleep. To be honest, sleeping in your wig is not generally recommended by wig experts. Here’s why:

● When we sleep, there is always friction between hair and the pillow which will make your wig deal with tangles, frizziness, and dryness, causing irreparable damage. 

● Sleeping with a wig on will decrease the lifespan of your wig significantly. What’s worse, wearing a wig to bed can also lead to scalp irritation and lead to tension on your real hair and cause breakages.

● If you wear a wig to bed, there are oils and sweat, coupled with your body heat, dead skin cells, and extra warmth from the layer of the wig which will provide the perfect condition for mildew and germs and excessive bacterial growth. 

Instead of wearing a wig to bed, we recommend storing your wig on a wig stand. 

How to sleep in your wig if you must

There are times when you are so busy or don’t have the usual hair tools available and have to sleep in a wig. If this happens, we will give you some tips about sleeping in your without damaging your wig and natural hair. 

● Prepare Your Wig For Sleep

If you do not have the usual hair tools, you should prepare and raise your wig. You can put your wig in a ponytail and pin it properly. You can also braid your wigs. This is a smart and easy way for your wig hair to avoid suffering from friction and frizzle at the night. If you are a side or back sleeper, and you have a long hair wig, you can place the wig behind your head in a spare space on the pillowcase to avoid frizzling and tangling.

● Wear A Scarf

If you have a bonnet or scarf, that would be the best. You can wrap your wig in a bonnet or scarf before going to bed, which can help you keep your wig in place and decrease hair loss owing to friction. If you have a short hair wig which not long enough to tie into a ponytail or a braid, wrapping your head is an easy and simple way to protect your wig. Don’t forget to tighten the ends so that your wig won’t slip off, or that the scarf doesn’t fall off.

● Use A Silk Pillowcase

Another good to protect you from damaging your hair when you have to wear a wig to bed is using a silk pillowcase. A high-quality silk pillowcase can help you reduce friction-related issues. They can effectively reduce the chances of matting, tangling, etc. You have no worries about your hair while sleeping on a silk pillowcase. What’s more, you don’t have to worry about your wig slipping off during the night, the silk pillowcase will protect your wig from it.

● Comb Your Wig

Just like your natural hair, you also have to take good care of your wig. Before sleeping or after waking up, you need to gently brush your wig and eliminate any tangles. If you leave the knots and tangles alone for long hours, it will affect the quality and strength of your hair. If you find there are knots in the strands, don’t comb forcibly, try to find a way to detangle that part of hair without combing or brushing your hair roughly. 

● Buy An Alternative Wig

If you often sleep with your wig on, you’d better buy an alternative wig, which can give your wig a break and extend the lifespan of both wigs. At the same time, alternating between two or more wigs can give you more different hairstyles and always look fashionable. Wearing or taking off a wig daily may appear like an annoying task, but if you have more wigs, you will not be bothered by this issue.

● Don’t Wear It Everyday

As we all know, even if you can wear your wig to bed from time to time, you’d better not wear them every day. A busy lifestyle may not allow you to take your wig daily, but you should take it off occasionally to give it a break. Taking your wig off occasionally will not only be good for its longevity, but also for the growth of your natural hair.

● Wash Wig Regularly

No matter how good we protect our wig when sleeping in it, we should wash and condition both the wig and our natural hair regularly, at least once a week. If you are in the summer or sweat a lot, you should wash them more frequently. If you wear your wig every day without washing it, it will shorten the lifespan of your wig. At the same time, your natural hair also needs to take a break and breathe fresh air. 

How To Wash Your Wig: 

Step1: Using a wide-tooth comb or brush, gently detangle your wig before washing it. If you have a curly hair wig, you should use your fingers to remove the tangles. 

Step2: Place your wig in cold water and mix in your wig shampoo. Make sure to submerge your wig in the water. Wait for four minutes and leave it to soak.

Step3: Use gentle products on your wig. Apply special wig conditioner to your wig and run it through with your fingers. Leave it in the clean sink or bowl for at least two minutes.

Step4: Wash the inside of your wig carefully to remove excess hair products.

Step5: Rinse your wig gently under cool water until the water runs clear.

Step6: Use a towel to soak the water on the wig and then put it on a wig stand. Let the natural air dry it completely without combing, brushing, or styling. Try not to use a hair dryer if you are not in a hurry.

Wearing a wig to bed is never recommended, we understand the need to wear your wig overnight. We hope these provided tips can help you solve your problems and help you take better care of your wigs!