A little you-time during the coronavirus pandemic can help offset the feeling that you’re spinning out of control. Acts of self-care like using a face or hair mask can boost energy, provide clarity and support overall well-being. Mastering an easy overnight hairstyle to wake up with perfect hair- no damaging heat tools required- is the ultimate act of beauty self-care. We’re breaking down five easy overnight hairstyles for waking up with perfectly tousled, it-girl hair in the morning. These hairstyles work best on clean, damp hair. Gently cleanse your hair with a calming shampoo, and follow up with your favorite conditioner and you’re ready to go!

These five easy overnight hairstyles will give you the perfect “I-woke-up-like-this” hair the next morning.

Braids are one of the most common easy overnight hairstyles for creating kinks in the morning. Start with hair that is towel-dried, work in a volumizing mousse, making sure to get it throughout all the layers of your hair. Part your hair down the middle and start at the top on one of the sides and french braid your hair up and back. Try to pull in an equal amount of hair for each piece you braid, so the plaits remain even all the way down. Secure the ends. When it’s time to take the braids out in the morning, gently unwind the waves using your fingers. Don’t comb through or they’ll get too separated and look frizzy. Set your waves with an anti-frizz serum to keep them sleek and retain their shape throughout the day.

This is a good option for curly-haired girls. Start by rubbing curl prep cream throughout your damp hair before throwing it into a high ponytail. Use a scrunchie to loosely hold your curls in place on top of your head. Only pull your strands through the scrunchie once or twice so you don’t end up with a crease in the morning. Wrap your hair in a silk scarf before bed to keep moisture and prevent flyaways. When you let out your scrunchie in the morning, you’ll be left with defined, full curls. For more on the benefits of pineappleing your hair see our previous post "Preserve Your Curls While You Sleep by Pineappleing Your Hair."

If you’re seeking looser, beachy waves with lots of texture in the morning, try a sock bun. Cut off about two inches from the toe of the sock and roll it up so the sock looks like a donut (for looser waves, roll up two socks for a thicker ring). Run a curl prep serum through your damp hair and pull it up into a high ponytail vertically above your head and place the ends of your ponytail through the ring. Wrap your ponytail around the ring, rolling down the sock towards the base of your hair. Roll the sock until you reach your head. Spritz your bun with a medium-hold hairspray to keep it in place while you sleep. When you wake up, remove the sock by rolling it away from your head, and take out the hair tie. Gently tousle your hair to release the waves and set your waves with a beachy hair spray.

Start this easy overnight hairstyle by slipping an elastic headband around your head. Then, starting on the left side, tuck one- to two-inch sections of your hair over and around the top of the band. For tighter curls, wrap the hair around the band tighter; for loose curls wrap it looser. Repeat step one until all your hair is wrapped around the headband. Unwrap your hair from your headband in the morning and hit your hair with a shine spray to gloss up your curls.

Start by rubbing a texture serum between your hands and distribute it evenly through your strands, focusing on mid-shaft to ends and less on the top of your hair and hairline. Part your hair and begin to section it off into one-inch to one-and-a-half-inch squares. One section at a time, take hair from ends and roll up to the roots, making sure to secure well with a bobby pin. Continue this process until all of your hair has been pinned up. Wrap your hair in a silk scarf before bed to keep your pin curls in place. In the morning, pull out all the pins and use your fingers to smooth out the curls. Break up your curls by placing your hands underneath your hair and shaking it out at the root. This disrupts the curl less, and they fall much more naturally.

If you’re not already sleeping on a satin pillowcase, you should be. Satin retains moisture, so when you lie on a satin pillowcase, the oils from your strands are maintained leaving your hair nourished rather than dry. Cotton pillowcases absorb that oil resulting in frizz, especially for curly-haired girls.

by Jaclyn LaBadia, featured contributor