curly girl method: plop hair overnight
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If there is one thing for sure about following the Curly Girl Method, it’s that the variety of techniques out there can be downright overwhelming. I found that I like to plop my hair but I didn’t see much information about how long to leave my hair in the plop of if you even could..
So I experimented for you! Plopping my hair overnight has worked for me–and I think you should try it.
Full disclosure though–our hair is all so different!
Some Curly Girl followers see great results with rake and shake method. Other people scrunch, some people finger curl. Some people do all of these things and more.
Then there’s diffusing, air drying, plopping, pixie diffusing, diffusing with a strainer! Yes a kitchen strainer…I haven’t tried that one yet.
I have experimented with a few options and this is one thing I’ve found that I know I prefer some wash days–plopping OVER NIGHT! I simply wrap my damp and product coated hair up in a t shirt from my night time shower all the way until I wake up.
It’s great for night time showering when you don’t have another hour left to diffuse because you want to get some sleep.
Now, a ton of curly girls plop. But I noticed time frames ranging from 15 mins to an hour. I feel like a bit of an oddity loving this overnight hair plop business but it’s been a time saver.
Many people worry that their hair will dry wonky while wrapped up for so long.
To show you that isn’t always the case–here is me looking somewhat deranged after a shower and before sleeping with my hair plopped. Total time up in the t shirt–9 hours!
And here is a pretty solid hair day (for me–I’m not too far into my curly hair journey) after just rolling out of bed and diffusing my hair for 5-10 minutes.
5-10 minutes!! If I had just washed my hair and then tried to diffuse it right away, it would have taken me at least an hour to dry it. Who has time for that in the morning, or ever?!
If there is one sole reason you try plopping overnight, I think the time you shave off diffusing is that reason.
Not only that, but as a night time showerer, I just can’t imagine drying my hair and having it looks it’s best right before bed. I’d have to put it up in a bun and it wouldn’t look as great the next day.
That’s not to say I don’t rock slept-on hair, and often. I only wash every 3-4 nights and I protect it overnight with a buff. But still, that first wash day is always the best and I’d prefer my hair to look great in the morning.
So in the plop it stays all night!
What do I do exactly?
On wash nights I co-wash and condition as usual, and after the shower I begin applying my products.
My favorites do vary but I almost always go with this curl cream while my hair is sopping wet and then this gel on it after I squeeze excess water out with a t shirt.
Once I scrunch the gel in really good, I scrunch thoroughly. You don’t want your hair sopping wet all night, so take the time now to scrunch really well with a t shirt or microfiber towel.
Next, I lay a new dry t shirt on the ground and pile my hair up in it. I secure it and then sleep on it! That’s the “plop.”
It’s never 100% dry when I wake up, but it’s dry enough to only need a few minutes of diffusing or just that morning while I get ready it can air dry.
If you haven’t tried it and you’ve been wondering if you can plop your hair overnight–I totally recommend trying it!
At the end of the day it’s really about what works best for you.
Who knows? This may not be it. I’m just excited to have found something that works great for me and wanted to share with you in case it’s helpful!
Now here’s to hoping that my hair bounces back after this pregnancy! I feel like I’ve been on a curly girl progress stall and a little frizzy/blah the last few months. I’ve got my first curly girl cut in one month–I will update then if not before!
