The Silk Bonnet Guide: What One Does, Who It Suits and Which Size to Buy
Quick answer: A silk bonnet is a soft cap you wear over your hair in bed. Its smooth surface creates less friction than a cotton pillowcase, which many people find means fewer tangles, less morning frizz and a style that lasts longer. It won't mend damage or make hair grow. Choose by head size and hair volume, and keep it snug without leaving a mark.
Eight hours is a long time for your hair to rub against a cotton pillowcase. A silk bonnet ends that arrangement with about the least effort possible: a soft cap, pulled on last thing at night.
What is a silk bonnet?
A silk bonnet is a soft cap, usually with an elastic or adjustable edge, worn over your hair while you sleep. The idea behind it is mostly physics. Silk comes off the cocoon as one continuous filament, roughly 2,000 to 3,000 feet of it. Cotton yarn is twisted from short fibers (American upland cotton averages a little over an inch), and every one of those fibers has two ends, some of which poke out of the yarn. That fuzz is too fine for a fingertip to notice, but a strand of hair is a good deal finer than a fingertip. Hair slides over silk more easily than it does over cotton, and a bonnet also holds it in place, so there is less sliding to do.
What does a silk bonnet actually do?
A silk bonnet reduces friction between your hair and your bedding, and nearly everything people like about it follows from that. Many people wake up with fewer tangles and less frizz. A blowout, twist-out or silk press (a blow-dry and flat iron on natural hair, no actual silk involved) tends to hold for longer, and one less morning of restyling is one less session with hot tools. Less rubbing may also mean less of the wear that contributes to breakage over time, although the evidence there is thin, as we explain in do silk bonnets really work.
There's also a benefit no laboratory has bothered with: hair inside a cap can't end up across your face at 2 a.m.
What can't a silk bonnet do?
A silk bonnet can't repair damage, mend split ends or make hair grow, because all it changes is the surface your hair rubs against. Its help also ends when you take it off: walk outside on a humid August morning and the air gets to your hair no matter what it slept in. If you're losing hair or seeing thin patches, a board-certified dermatologist is the person to see.
Who should wear a silk bonnet?
Anyone whose hair tangles, frizzes or loses its shape overnight may get something from a bonnet, and that covers most hair types. Curly and coily hair often has the most to gain: the tight bends along each strand are thought to be places where it breaks more easily, and a style that took an afternoon in a stylist's chair is worth looking after. We go into curls in more depth in do silk bonnets work for curly hair.
Bonnets aren't only for textured hair. Fine hair snaps easily, and a loose cap may spare it some of the nightly rubbing. Color-treated and bleached hair has already been through a lot. Long hair has more length in contact with the bed, and men with long hair or locs have the same reasons to wear one as anyone else. Short or naturally smooth hair may show less of a change, though a bonnet can still help a fresh cut or a blowout hold its shape, and it keeps hair off your face at night.
Is a silk bonnet better than a satin bonnet?
For friction, not by any measure we can point to: silk and polyester satin are both smoother than cotton, so either one beats going without. The labels confuse people because satin describes a weave, and most satin bonnets are polyester underneath. Polyester gets you a lower cost and a cap you can wash without thinking. Silk gets you a natural fiber that plenty of people prefer on a warm night, in exchange for a gentler wash. The American Academy of Dermatology names silk and satin together as gentler choices for a head covering, so the choice comes down to comfort and budget, which we lay out in silk vs satin bonnets.
What size silk bonnet do I need?
Choose a silk bonnet by head measurement first, then by how much hair has to fit inside. Run a soft tape around your head, across your forehead at the hairline and above your ears, and back to where you started. Each of our three bonnets has an adjustable opening.
| LS Silk bonnet | Head measurement | Best for | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | About 19.5 to 23.5 in (50 to 60 cm) | Smaller to average heads, with hair that fits inside without packing it down | Pink, Black, Champagne, Navy, Viridian |
| Large | About 21.5 to 25.5 in (55 to 65 cm) | Larger heads, or average heads with plenty of hair | Black, Pink, Silver |
| Extra Large | Same opening as Large, with extra depth through the crown | Long, very thick or curly hair, or hair worn up inside | Black, Pink |
If you measure between 21.5 and 23.5 inches, Medium and Large will both fit, so let your hair decide. Extra Large is the one you pick by hair rather than head size: the extra room is for length and volume.
What should you look for in a silk bonnet?
Look for a named fiber, a stated weight and an opening you can adjust. "100% mulberry silk" tells you what you're buying, and "silky" tells you nothing. Momme is silk's measure of weight: 19-momme silk means a piece 45 inches wide and 100 yards long would weigh 19 pounds. A double-lined bonnet has two layers of silk, so the number on the listing describes only one of them, which is worth remembering when you compare it with a single-layer pillowcase at 22.
Our Medium and Large bonnets are 19-momme, 6A-grade, 100% mulberry silk, double-lined. The Extra Large is 100% mulberry silk, 6A. You'll see 6A on a lot of listings: it's a grading term the silk trade uses for long, even fibers, and it is not an independent certification. All three bonnets are made from silk certified to OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, which means the material was tested for harmful substances.
How do you wear a silk bonnet?
Put it on last thing at night, over dry or mostly dry hair, loose enough inside that nothing pulls and snug enough at the edge that it's still there in the morning. Straight or fine hair does well with a gentle detangle and a loose twist. Curls and coils are better left unbrushed, then tucked in as they fall or gathered loosely at the crown in a pineapple. Long hair needs room to curve, because a hard fold is how you wake up with a crease. Steps for every hair type, including braids and locs, are in how to put your hair in a silk bonnet.
On fit, borrow the American Academy of Dermatology's rule for hairstyles: if it hurts, it's too tight. The academy also lists constant rubbing from hair coverings among the causes of traction alopecia, so keep your hair relaxed under the cap. Broken hairs along your forehead are a reason to book a board-certified dermatologist.
Should you get a silk bonnet or a silk pillowcase?
Get a bonnet if you want the most coverage for your hair, and a pillowcase if you know you won't keep anything on your head. A pillowcase can't fall off in the night and gives your face something soft to lie on; a bonnet goes where your hair goes. Plenty of people end up with both. Silk bonnet vs silk pillowcase works through which to buy first, by hair type and sleep habits.
How do you wash a silk bonnet?
Hand wash a silk bonnet cold, or machine wash it on a gentle cycle in a mesh bag with mild detergent, then hang it or lay it flat to dry. Do not bleach or tumble dry. It spends the night against scalp oil and whatever you've put in your hair, so it will need washing more often than you might guess, and how often to wash a silk bonnet has the answer.
Where did the bonnet come from?
As an everyday hair tool in the US, the bonnet owes most to Black women, who have covered their hair at night for generations. Many enslaved women in America wore head coverings at work and, later, to sleep. In 1786, the Spanish governor of Louisiana ordered free women of color to give up the feathers and jewels they wore in their hair and to wear wraps like those of enslaved women, as a mark of lower status. Little written evidence survives of how it was enforced. Portraits from the early 1800s are often cited instead, showing the wrap, known as a tignon, in ornate fabric and elaborate ties, and the historian Virginia Gould describes it becoming a mark of distinction.
A tignon was daywear, and it would be a stretch to call it the direct ancestor of your nightcap. Many American women wore bonnets to bed through the 1800s too, to keep warm in chilly bedrooms. But the habit of covering hair at night to protect it, to keep braids neat and make a style last, is the one that stayed alive in Black families, where it's often learned in childhood and is about as remarkable as brushing your teeth. Anyone selling you the bonnet as a recent wellness discovery has the timeline backward.
See LS Silk bonnets in Medium, Large and Extra Large →
The women in those Louisiana portraits wore their wraps in public, in ornate fabric, where everyone could see. The bedtime version leads a quieter life. It goes on last thing at night, it's seen only by whoever shares your bed, and by morning the only evidence of it is hair that looks more or less how you left it.
Frequently asked questions
Are silk bonnets only for curly hair or Black hair?
No. Bonnets have a long, everyday place in Black hair care in the US, and curly and coily hair often has the most to gain, but friction affects every hair type. Fine, long, color-treated and heat-styled hair can all benefit. Anyone who wakes up with tangles or a flattened style may find one worth trying.
How do I measure my head for a silk bonnet?
Run a soft tape around your head, across your forehead at the hairline and above your ears. The LS Silk Medium fits roughly 19.5 to 23.5 inches (50 to 60 cm) and the Large roughly 21.5 to 25.5 inches (55 to 65 cm). The Extra Large has the same opening as the Large, with more depth through the crown for long, thick or curly hair.
How tight should a silk bonnet be?
It should grip well enough to last the night without denting your forehead or tugging at anything. Soreness or a line at your hairline in the morning means it's too tight. Loosen the adjustable opening and keep your hair relaxed underneath.
What momme should a silk bonnet be?
There's no official standard. A higher momme means heavier silk, but a double-lined bonnet has two layers, so its number can't be compared directly with a single-layer pillowcase. The LS Silk Medium and Large are 19-momme and double-lined.
Can you wear a silk bonnet over braids or locs?
Yes, and many people do, because it helps keep them neat and cuts down on fuzz from rubbing against the pillow. Choose enough room that nothing is squeezed: long or thick braids and locs usually call for an Extra Large. Keep the edge gentle at the hairline, since braided styles already put tension there.
What's the difference between a bonnet and a hair scarf?
A bonnet is a ready-made cap you pull on, while a scarf is a flat piece of fabric you tie yourself. A scarf gives you more control over tension and shape, for example around straightened hair wrapped against the head, but it takes practice and can loosen overnight. Both do the same basic job of keeping your hair off the pillow.
Related reading: What Is Momme in Silk, and What Weight Is Best? · What Is 6A Grade Silk? · How to Tell if Silk Is Real: A 60-Second Test