Your hair is your crowning glory.
It is a saying most have heard when growing up.
Truth is from fairy tales to story books, the focus has been on hair. Just take a look at Rapunzel and Goldilocks. Then go way back to Bible times when it was Delilah.
Then, fast forward to the 21st century, 2014 to be exact, and the obsession with hair is even greater for many women who spend big bucks to make sure their hair is healthy and their styles are on point.
To help them protect their tresses, many women are wrapping their hair or using satin sleeping caps at night.
This is not a pretty sight for some men though, who, however, say they are disgusted by the look, noting that they find it to be a turn-off in bed.
Take Alan for example.
He totally hates to see his wife with her head wrapped.
“It looks unattractive and unappealing to the extent where I don’t want to even look at her.
“I don’t mind [her] sleeping in it but to put it on as soon as you walk through the house is totally unacceptable,” he said.
Debra says she keeps the curls and bounce in her hair thanks to flexi rollers. However, when her beau comes over, she neatly pulls her hair back in one.
She doesn’t reveal her real bedtime hairdo to her boyfriend, as she knows only too well it’s not her most attractive look.
Natalie says her husband doesn’t mind her sleep cap in bed, explaining that when it’s time to get busy, sometimes she takes it off. For her it is a simple act of compromise to keep her hubby happy.
Edward admits that he hates when his wife tries to curl up next to him with her hair wrapped. Instead, he said he subtly manoeuvres his way out of her embrace and finds himself on the other end of their king-sized bed, or outside on the sofa watching television until he falls asleep.
“It’s just not sexy. When she has on that wrap it really doesn’t do anything for me. In fact it is just one big turn-off,’ he said.
Tania is defiant. She knows her boyfriend doesn’t like to see her with her head tied but still every night she protects her natural hair.
“I worked too hard to get my hair looking like this. I spend money almost every week to keep my hair looking good and healthy and that is why I tie it down. If he doesn’t like it too bad. He can leave me if he wants but I will continue to tie my head because this is how I like to maintain my look”.
Tania says she finds it funny because while her boyfriend of eight years doesn’t like her hair tied at night, he loves to see her dressed for work when she is rocking her hair style.
There are many women like Tania who refuse to break the cycle of tying their hair down.
They say it helps them to protect their hair.
Many also say they are not as interested in what their husbands or boyfriends think or say, as they are more concerned about making sure their hair is in fine condition.
Sophia Babb, who is the point person at Bryden Stokes when it comes to educating people on hair products said it was important for women to sleep in a stain cap or sleep on satin pillow cases.
She noted that sleeping on cotton pillows dries out your hair.
Sleeping in a satin cap, said Babb, was necessary no matter if your hair is short or long, natural or chemically treated.
She also said if the men didn’t like seeing their partners in their sleep caps, they had the option of sleeping on the satin pillow cases.
Babb also said that in the last 15 years she had seen more and more black women paying more attention to their hair.
This, she attributes to social media.
“YouTube and other social media have opened people’s eyes to what is going on with hair and how to get and maintain healthy hair,” she added.
Charmaine Carter of #1 Beauty Supply and Beauty Exchange said satin sleep caps are big sellers at all their stores.
Carter said they carry a wide range of caps, for all types of hair, noting that they could sometimes sell up to ten satin sleep caps a day.
“Appearance is key and women want to maintain their hair. Before, some people didn’t really care about their hair but now, everybody wants to make sure their hair is in good shape and they are buying products to do just that.”
Carter said the store was constantly trying to provide a range of products to match the different hair types, including chemically treated hair, locks and natural hair.
“We have so many sleep caps, we have to make sure and give our customers options and give them what they are looking for. And sleep caps are in big demand now.”
