STYLE

Beauty sleep is no joke, says Mario Russo, owner & lead stylist of Salon Mario Russo in Boston. Sure, getting the suggested 8 hours of sleep can help with unwanted dark circles and baggy eyelids, but your gorgeous head of hair can also benefit from overnight styling secrets. Thanks to Mario, we have some of the best beauty tricks around—and they can all be accomplished while you’re sleeping!

Beauty Sleep Tip #1: Go to bed with DRY hair

Water in your hair cuticle makes it more vulnerable to splits and breakage as you toss and turn during the night. Wet hair equals fragile hair! If you shower before bed and don’t have time to dry it, use a cotton t-shirt (which is less abrasive than a towel), wrap up your hair and keep it tucked in a turban-like creation until you wake up in the morning.

Beauty Sleep Tip #2: Repair hair and apply a leave-in treatment

Utilizing a leave-in conditioning treatment (we swear by all-natural coconut oil) before bed allows the moisture to seep into hair for a longer, uninterrupted time, which leaves hair super hydrated and smooth the next day. For an added moisturizing tip, wrap conditioned hair in a shower cap before hitting the hay. This will also help to save your pillowcases/sheets from getting dirtied by the treatment.

Beauty Sleep Tip #3: Brush it out before bed

Using a brush with natural bristles (or Mario’s favorite, the Mason Pearson brush), brush hair out before bed. Start at the roots and move down to the ends of your hair. This will help to transfer the natural oils from your scalp throughout your hair shaft, giving hair an added dose of hydration. Plus, if you’ve used a lot of products on your gorgeous locks during the day, this will help to break them up on your scalp as well as on your strands, so that unwanted build-up won’t occur.

Beauty Sleep Tip #4: Keep it straight by wrapping it

If you just spent time in the bathroom straightening your curly locks, don’t let bedtime ruin your sleek style. Use the circular wrapping technique (can be found here) with bobby pins to keep hair smooth and straight. Starting at the top of your head, use a brush to begin arranging hair around the head and pinning it down. Essentially, you are wrapping hair in a circle pattern around the head to keep it in its straight condition.

Beauty Sleep Tip #5: Top knot it

Bring out your best scrunchie to top knot your freshly washed-and-dried hair. As you blow-dry hair before bed, use a volumizing product on the roots and once it’s almost dry, apply a texturizing spray throughout. Loosely pull dried hair upward and into a soft topknot. The height will give you an extra boost of volume as you sleep as well as ensure that your locks will maintain tangle-free for your early wake-up call.

Beauty Sleep Tip #6: Lights off, humidifier on

Whether you are cranking up your house’s heat in the winter or you live in a dry climate, adding extra moisture to the air by using a humidifier can help to keep both your skin and locks hydrated. Moisturized hair sees less frizz and breakage and more shine. Turn the lights off and the humidifier on!

Beauty Sleep Tip #7: Switch to a silk pillowcase

In order to extend the life of your hairstyle or blow-dry as well as keep damage and breakage at bay, opt for an inexpensive silk pillowcase. Flannel or cotton sheets cause more friction on hair and over time, can damage strands.

Sleep tight! What’s your best overnight beauty tip?

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