How To Save Matted Slept On Curls

At least twice a week I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Well, either I wake up on the wrong side of the bed or my satin bonnet* does!

It usually goes something like this, I peek my eyes open to realize that my layer of defense, my satin bonnet* has spent the night somewhere next to me or buried under the pillow.

Oh don’t worry, my pillow case winds up very well moisturized with shea butter* and oils but my poor curls are usually a matted, dry and tangled mess particularly if my hair was not twisted or set the night before.

So what’s a girl to do when waking up to a curly disaster? Here are a few things pointers on how to save your style.

Wash n Go

When time is of the essence, many curly girls simply hit the reset button for their curls and revive their curls with a quick wash & go.

After a quick finger detangle, hit your strands with water and your preferred conditioner to revive those curls. For many curly girls, it is their go to method and truth be told, it is also the simplest way to save your slept on strands.

Re-Seal  & Reset

If time is of the essence, you may not have time to complete a wash & go but you must replenish any moisture lost to your pillow.

To replace the lost moisture, mist your hair with a water based moisturizer. I mix 1/3 conditioner, with a squirt of oil and  2/3 water to quickly revive my strands.

Divide your hair into sections very lightly misting, stretching and setting each section with twists, braids or flexi rods*. Be sure to mist extremely lightly just enough to coat the section and quench your thirsty hair. You do not want to overdo it, or it will take forever for your hair to dry and set.

If you do it right, it should take about an hour to air dry, or 15 minutes under a hooded dryer*. If you don’t have a hooded dryer* you can also speed up the process by using a hand held hair dryer* on your set curls. Hold the dryer at least 6 inches from your braids or twists being sure to use cooler settings to avoid heat damage.