Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsImpact on HealthProtecting Your HairPillowcases and Wet HairHair TypeScalp and Hair Conditions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Impact on Health
Protecting Your Hair
Pillowcases and Wet Hair
Hair Type
Scalp and Hair Conditions
It’s a widely held belief that going to bed withwet haircan be detrimental to your health, but there is a lack of strong scientific evidence to support this idea. While for most people, sleeping with wet hair is unlikely to cause serious health risks, there are some potential risks to consider.
This article will discuss the potential effects of sleeping with wet hair, including damage to the hair, creating an environment for microbial breeding, and the contribution to certainscalp conditions.
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Is Sleeping With Wet Hair Bad for Your Health?
Sleeping with wet hair is unlikely to cause significant health problems for most people. Although it is commonly believed that going to bed with wet hair is detrimental to your health, there isn’t enough credible, evidence-based scientific research to confirm the link between wet hair at bedtime and health problems for most people.
This doesn’t mean there aren’t valid reasons for ensuring you have dry hair before you tuck in for the night, such as protecting your hair from damage, keeping your pillowcase from becoming abreeding groundfor microbes, or managing scalp conditions.
Protecting Your Wet Hair at Night
Wet hair has a weakened protein structure, which makes it more elastic and more likely to stretch and snap. This means wet hair tends to bemore fragilethan dry hair, making it more prone to breakage.
The friction from rubbing wet hair against the pillow can lead to damage over time, particularly if you move a lot in your sleep.
Many people prefer toshower or batheat the end of the day, and fully drying hair may not be an option for time or convenience reasons. Sleeping with damp hair may also be used for some styling techniques. If you need to (or want to) go to bed with wet hair, there are steps you can take to help protect your hair from damage.
Never sleep with a hair dryer on, as this can create hazards such asburned skinor fire.
Pillows and pillowcases absorb water from wet hair, creating adamp sleep surface for your face. This can promote the growth of microbes such as bacteria.
A damp pillow or one that has collected residue from hair products could pose a problem for people prone toclogged poresor acne. While the link between sleeping with wet hair and acne is not established, some experts recommend sleeping with clean, dry hair tied or pulled away from the face.
Does Sleeping With Wet Hair Cause a Cold?
Hair Type and Going to Bed With Wet Hair
Hair strands are covered in acuticle(a layer of brittle, scale-like cells) that contain various fatty acids. These fatty acids make the hair less likely to absorb water.
Chemically treating hair, and some hair styling products, can strip away these fatty acids, allowing the hair to absorb much more water, swell, and weaken its overall structure. This makes it more likely to break from friction on the pillow, become frizzy, and tangle as it dries.
Scalp and Hair Conditions to Consider
Under normal conditions, these microbes are kept in balance and don’t cause problems.
Having a damp scalp for prolonged periods of time can make for an environment that promotes the growth of fungus or bacteria, which can cause overgrowth and lead to scalp problems, particularly in people with weakened immune systems.
For example, dandruff has been associated with an overgrowth of fungi such asMalassezia, and bacteria such asCutibacteriumandStaphylococcus.
Fungi and fungal infections that may cause scalp problems include:
Summary
Despite the belief that sleeping with wet hair can cause health problems, there is little scientific evidence to support this idea. Sleeping with wet hair is unlikely to cause significant health problems for most people, but there are other reasons to reconsider going to bed with wet hair.
Sleeping with wet hair can damage the hair. Using measures such asconditioningand using a silk or satin pillowcase or hair cap may help prevent this if going to bed with damp hair is necessary.
Sleeping on a damp pillowcase may create a breeding ground for microbes such as bacteria, and may cause problems for those prone to clogged pores and acne.
Chemically treated hair may be more prone to damage if slept on while wet.
Sleeping with a damp scalp may promote the growth of bacteria andfungi, which can lead to infections and conditions such as tinea capitis and seborrheic dermatitis.
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.SleepFoundation.org.Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?University of Utah Health.Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?Tao R, Li R, Wang R.Skin microbiome alterations in seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff: A systematic review.Experimental Dermatology.2021;30(10):1546-1553. doi:10.1111/exd.14450Grimshaw SG, Smith AM, Arnold DS, Xu E, Hoptroff M, Murphy B.The diversity and abundance of fungi and bacteria on the healthy and dandruff affected human scalp.PLoS ONE. 2019;14(12):e0225796. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225796
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.SleepFoundation.org.Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?University of Utah Health.Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?Tao R, Li R, Wang R.Skin microbiome alterations in seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff: A systematic review.Experimental Dermatology.2021;30(10):1546-1553. doi:10.1111/exd.14450Grimshaw SG, Smith AM, Arnold DS, Xu E, Hoptroff M, Murphy B.The diversity and abundance of fungi and bacteria on the healthy and dandruff affected human scalp.PLoS ONE. 2019;14(12):e0225796. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225796
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
SleepFoundation.org.Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?University of Utah Health.Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?Tao R, Li R, Wang R.Skin microbiome alterations in seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff: A systematic review.Experimental Dermatology.2021;30(10):1546-1553. doi:10.1111/exd.14450Grimshaw SG, Smith AM, Arnold DS, Xu E, Hoptroff M, Murphy B.The diversity and abundance of fungi and bacteria on the healthy and dandruff affected human scalp.PLoS ONE. 2019;14(12):e0225796. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225796
SleepFoundation.org.Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?
University of Utah Health.Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?
Tao R, Li R, Wang R.Skin microbiome alterations in seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff: A systematic review.Experimental Dermatology.2021;30(10):1546-1553. doi:10.1111/exd.14450
Grimshaw SG, Smith AM, Arnold DS, Xu E, Hoptroff M, Murphy B.The diversity and abundance of fungi and bacteria on the healthy and dandruff affected human scalp.PLoS ONE. 2019;14(12):e0225796. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225796
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