For Long, Healthy Natural Kinky and Curly Hair - Your Dry Hair Days Are Over!
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise
Search

Is Sleeping With A Shower Cap Over Your Head ("Baggying") Good or Bad?

25/3/2015

 
Picture
Check out Queen Kami's Hair Journey & Regimen
Picture
Check out Queen Kami's Hair Journey & Regimen
Picture
Check out Queen Sabrina's Hair Journey & Regimen
Picture
I've often wondered whether or not sleeping with your hair covered in plastic is good for growth. There are no scientific studies to explain whether or not it's a good idea but there are a lof of opinions on the matter. Here are some of them:

Pros
  • Softness: Covering hair up for a while helps to soften it. I do it for about 15 to 30 minutes (after spritzing with water) before styling when my hair is very dry or matted. It does work.
  • Prolonged softness: Some argue that having a shower cap over their head overnight once a week helps to keep it soft for the rest of the week.
  • Retention: Soft hair is less prone to breakage and therefore allows hair to grow longer.

Cons
  • Friction: unless the hair is well oiled or has conditioner on it there will be friction between the hair and the shower cap possibly causing breakage.
  • Scalp doesn't breathe: if you have a bag over your head you're preventing the pores on the scalp from breathing freely.

Picture
My personal take on baggying. 

I think having a bag over your head overnight once a week will probably do no harm, however, I think if it's done daily it could impact hair growth due to the delivery of oxygen to the scalp. Like I say, there have been no scientific studies to explain whether or not it's good but for the moment it's not something I plan to do on the regular.

Even when my hair is very oily it doesn't stain my sheets, it stays within the satin bonnet so this is not even a consideration for me. Wetting my hair and baggying for 30 minutes does the trick so I'm reluctant to do it overnight for fear that my hair will go rancid.

I like the idea of baggying the ends only; I might add this to my regimen...

Comments?

Picture

​Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.

Tsiko
25/3/2015 07:08:54 am

I have been doing it for about 2 months daily and I love the results. I'm not sure whether the receiving oxygen part is quite right, because sleeping with anything on ones head deceases the oxygen levels either way. My hair is really feeling much healthier, so is my scalp. But thanks for the insight.

Raquel F link
25/3/2015 07:21:44 am

I used the baggy method in the beginning of my natural hair journey when it was in a TWA stage. My hair would feel so amazing, but I would notice how much residue build up would be on my scalp. At that time I paid it no mind and just kept doing the baggy method. As I grew in my journey the baggy method no longer appealed to me or my scalp. I don't like residue on my scalp and I don't like sleeping with damp hair...it bugs me.

Marcia
25/3/2015 08:52:22 am

I've bagged by hair a couple of times and it was okay. No big wow. I try to bagged by hair once per week when I'm very close to washing my hair. I do not want my hair to smell.

Marcia
25/3/2015 08:59:08 am

I've bagged by hair a couple of times and it was okay. No big wow. I try to bag by hair once per week when I'm very close to washing my hair. I do not want my hair to smell.

Yogybabe
25/3/2015 09:39:36 am

I've been bagging without conditioner just a little avocado oil on my hair (not scalp) nearly everyday all day for about a month. A pretty big bald spot I had has started to fill-in. So I'm going to continue doing it and wash my hair every week to prevent sebum build-up on the scalp.

Lee
25/3/2015 10:52:02 am

Hair, like skin (including) scalp is dead cells. Dead cells don't need oxygen. Even if they did, skin cannot just take in atmospheric oxygen.. It has to be given from within the body..so I don't think oxygen is a concern with bagging..

Melissa
4/5/2015 02:52:06 pm

@Lee, Your skin and scalp are not dead cells. They have dead cells on them, but they are very much alive. And both (skin and scalp) need oxygen.

tressia
25/3/2015 12:52:40 pm

I want to start by saying I enjoying reading and following this blog and it's many interesting discussions . I started my hair journey in November 2014 . My hair was pass my shoulders n I cut it to above my ear. This has been a very hard process for me but thank to this blog I am learning how to deal with it . I am seeing new growth now and I must say I am excited . I am planning on cutting off the rest of my relaxed hair in May .I really need to figure out what kind of hair I have .
Last month I started bagging my hair once a week > I do so when I do my deep conditioning oil treatment with coconut oil which I leave in over night . I have found that having the bag over my head overnight helps the oils due to the heat that I find it generates . The next day after washing my hair , I do notice that my hair is softer .
Thank you for your hard work n I look forward to what you have in store

Sharnette
25/3/2015 12:56:45 pm

I've tried bagging a couple times. Yes it does leave your hair soft but for me after a couple hours my hair felt real brittle and dry. Since then I have done just my edges and that does just fine. It is a part of my regimen now.

Veronica
25/3/2015 10:43:36 pm

I typically bag overnight when I saturate my hair with coconut oil and a deep conditioner to prepare to wash the next day. LOVE IT! It really tames the breakage. I was oiling my scalp and hair one night and wanted to bag for a few minutes before braiding. I ended up falling asleep waiting on the timer to ding. That resulted in my hair feeling soft, but I questioned whether doing that each night would result in brittleness and dryness over time. Even though it was soft, there was something I didn't particularly like about how it felt. I won't overnight again unless it is for my overnight deep conditioning regimen.

Kay
27/3/2015 04:13:34 pm

I only baggy when I am deep conditioning
once a week And I am practically new to natural hair.

Chi
1/4/2015 08:42:55 am

Dear Heather please where can I find the lovely green dress you had on for your family photo shoot. x

Kezia
7/8/2015 05:53:29 am

I have been bagging my hair overnight every night for about a month now and I am in LOVE with the results. I got my last perm in November of 2014 and did the big chop in April of 2015. My hair started to be brittle and dry. I got really bad split ends. I don't use heat on my hair so I got very nervous. I started to get what little hair I did have cut off because of the split end. I started wetting and conditioning my hair at night a using the plastic baggy method. No more split ends and hair has grown like crazy. I was my hair once a week so no buildup for me.


Comments are closed.
    I now blog about wealth creation - so if you have any money questions meet me there, you can do all sorts of cool things like leave me a voicemail.
    Follow @NenoNatural
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    By Heather Katsonga-Woodward

    I was a natural hair blogger and mixtress living between London & Chicago from 2012 to 2017. I always thought I was 4C but some say 4B; images below - you decide! Heather xx

    p.s. I now blog about wealth and personal finance on my personal website.

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    About
    Aloe Vera
    Bad Chemicals
    Bad Hair Practices!
    Baggying
    Big Chops
    Braids Weaves Wigs
    Brands
    Breakage/thinning
    Butters
    Carrier Oils
    Carrier Oils & Butters
    Children
    Color
    Conditioning Hair
    Co Washing
    Cultural Issues
    Damage
    Dandruff
    Detangling
    Detangling/combing
    Diet & Hair
    Dreadlocks
    Essential Oils
    Events
    Exercise
    Food For Hair
    Frizz Control
    Giveaways!
    Growth Phases
    Growth Stimulators
    Growth Tips
    Hair Type
    Hard Water Solutions
    Heat
    Homemade Hair Recipes
    Ingredients In Products
    Interviews
    Itchy Scalps
    Lice
    Magazines
    Makeup
    Matted Hair
    Max Hydration Method
    Microfiber
    Moisturising Dry Hair!
    Other Naturals
    Ph And Hair
    Porosity
    Pregnancy
    Press And Publicity
    Product Reviews
    Protective Styling
    Queen Of Kinks
    Random
    Regimen Building
    Salon Reviews
    Scalp Conditions
    Science
    Shampoos
    Shiny Hair
    Silicones
    Sleeping
    Stretching Hair
    Styles
    Swimming
    Texture Issues
    Thin Hair
    Tips & Challenges
    Tools & Products
    Transitioning
    Trimming
    Vitamins
    Washing
    Weather

    Picture
    Click for free eBook!
    Picture
    Check out the podcast!

    Archives

    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    October 2011

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo from robertivanc
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise