How to Achieve Your Best Next Day Hair
Last updated on August 5th, 2024 at 08:20 pm
You put all of your time into styling your hair. You want it to last for more than a day and sometimes next day hair can look better than first day hair. It all depends on how well you protect it at night.
How well you maintain your hair at night is just one thing to focus on. There’s also how you set your hair to begin with.
Excellent second day hair greatly depends on the style you are looking to maintain. Regardless of the hairstyle, there are certain practices that if followed to a tee, will help will result in fabulous second day hair and beyond.
Steps to YOUR BEST Second Day Hair
1- Spritz your hair with a little moisture (water) and scrunch or smooth in a little oil. Scrunch if you are letting your curls hang free. Smooth if you are engaging in protective styling.
2- Spritz a little more water (but not too wet) onto your edges and smooth on some Shea or Mango butter. This will keep your edges in place while also moisturizing those baby hairs that tend to go neglected. A product I’m loving with the consistency of butter but with a flexible hold is Mielle Organics Honey and Ginger Edge Gel (now available at many Sally’s Beauty Supply stores).
3-Depending on the type of hairstyle you desire to maintain, I recommend the following practices:
> Protective styles: tie hair down with a scarf. I use a satin or polyester (fake satin) scarf (depends on what’s clean at the moment).
> Curly styles: Tie hair up with a scarf in a way that leaves the top of your hair out. Use one of these methods:
– a pineapple (high ponytail) secured with a satin scrunchee
– a loose french roll secured with a clip, leaving the ends of your hair loose. (This will gently stretch your curls)
– a loose top knot secured with a satin scrunchee
For twist outs and braids, an alternative is to re-twist or re-braid your hair at night. The added manipulation isn’t regularly recommended for those with fine natural hair but won’t cause much harm when done occasionally. If you set your hairstyle using the right technique (size and placement of braids/twists) and the right combination of products (a styler with holding power), this will not be necessary.
> For an elongated wash and go, you can band your hair in 1 or 2 ponytails, leaving some space between the bands so that the bands don’t completely eliminate your curls. Then, proceed to tie your hair down like you would for a protective style. Another option is to loosely braid your DRIED hair into two ponytails.
4- In the morning, release curls and fluff without disturbing the curls. In other words, don’t work your fingers through your hair. For protective styles, skip to the next step. There’s no need to moisturize since you took care of that the night before.
5- Apply an edge control product for a polished look. Aside from the Mielle Organics Edge Control, I also recommend Aunt Jackie’s Tame My Edges Smoothing Gel with Flaxseed. I’m not sure why it’s called a smoothing gel because it has more of a pomade consistency,
Key Takeaways for Great Next Day Hair
Nobody wants to put all their hard earned energy into creating a bomb hairstyle only for it to look like crap the following day. To achieve your best next day hair, what I want you to remember is:
– Adding a light moisturizer nightly allows the moisturizer time to penetrate your hair without disrupting your style
– Protecting your hair before you go to bed prevents your style from getting “old” too soon.
– Do not manipulate your style. Let it be. If you protected it correctly at night, there won’t be much left for you to do in the morning
– Pay special attention to your edges to keep them neat and moisturized. Laying your edges isn’t a necessity for great next day hair. It’s just a bonus based solely on preference.
Following these steps can not only provide you with great second day hair. You can enjoy pretty gorgeous third and fourth day hair as well. All that’s required is consistency and care.
