Waking up to a good hair day doesn’t have to come only by a rare combination of favourable circumstances and sheer good luck – just keep one of these overnight hair treatments on your bedside table, and having a good hair day every day doesn’t seem so impossible after all. No nasty pillow stains too, promise.
Essential Night Care Milk
Your pillow might be causing damage to your hair, which is a real sad truth, because it’s tragic that such an important part of our bed might be the culprit behind a bad hair day. Pillow friction might cause frizz, so the Essential Night Care Milk coats hair cuticles with a layer of protection, in a milky formula that won’t leave greasy stains on your pillow. Not everyone can invest in silk pillowcases, so we’re glad we have this alternative.
$11.90, available at Guardian and Watsons.
Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Night Cap Overnight Perfector
This treatment is ambitious: it promises not just a good hair day, but a good hair week after you go to sleep with this on. Hair that’s coarse and rough will benefit from the technology that leaves hair both smoother and shinier, plus there are amino acids in it to let your hair better stand up to daily (bad) habits like heat styling and prolonged UV exposure. It can be applied on both damp and dry hair, and you can choose to style it straight or wash it out with shampoo in the morning.
$36, available at Sephora.
Percy & Reed Perfectly Perfecting Wonder Overnight Recovery
There’s still a bit of a wait before this hits Sephora shelves in October, but if you’re into the Percy & Reed’s floral-scented hair treatments, you’ll want to try this overnight version, made with natural proteins that soften the hair and improve its ability to stay moisturised, and to shield itself from frizz-causing humidity. Apply it on dry hair from roots to tips, and you can still shampoo in the morning, while skipping out on conditioner. If you’ve no time to do anything about your hair in the mornings, just work it in before your workout. Easy.
$42, available at Sephora from October 2016.
Phyto Secret De Nuit
Since sleeping masks work on skin cells while they’re in an optimum recovery mode at night, hair cells are really the same. This overnight hair cream is made with potent antioxidants like black orchid extract and grape-derived compounds, together with ceramides and essential fatty acids to intensely hydrate and strengthen hair. It’s powerful, so just apply a walnut-sized amount on the hair length and ends before bed. This one is pillow-safe as well.
$79.90, available at Guardian and Watsons.
This Works Sleep Plus Hair Elixir
As a brand that has so many products dedicated to getting us a better night’s sleep, we’re not all that surprised that This Works managed to come up with a hair treatment that helps you to both sleep better, and wake up with great hair. Botanical oils like argan, jojoba and baobab nourish the hair, while your natural sleep movements activate the gradual release of the brand’s proprietary Deep Sleep fragrance, which smells of lavender, vetivert and chamomile, to lull you into slumber.
$50, available at Sephora.
Ouai Haircare Hair Oil
Ouai is a sleek haircare brand hitting Sephora stores from end September, and we’re already excited about getting our hands on the effortlessly cool products in minimalist packaging. There’s plenty to try in the range, but we zoomed in on this Hair Oil that treats split ends and smooths over frizz, while leaving a high-gloss finish. It’s an everyday hair oil, but can also be used as an overnight hydrating hair mask, to be rinsed out in the morning.
$42, available at Sephora from 29 September 2016.
Main image: Leanne Marshall Autumn/Winter 2016, courtesy Aveda.