Women's night hair care in the old days...?

How did women in colonial and pre-colonial times wear their hair to bed to take care of it? I've seen movies depict them braiding it and also brushing it out before bedtime. Which is more accurate?

Women's night hair care in the old days...?

I think they brushed it, then braided it to keep it neat and untangled. Then they gather it into night caps.

Women's night hair care in the old days...?

They wore caps to bed.

Women's night hair care in the old days...?

I think they comb their hair for 100 strokes and then braid it and then put it in their night caps. That's what it said in a book I read.

Women's night hair care in the old days...?

In France, royalty often made it into a fancy updo and had to sleep on a wooden block all night, so the hair would hold the style for the next day.

During the Civil War, brushing the hair out was the most popular. Throughout history, that is the most widely accepted in most places and cultures.

While families were moving west in covered wagons, they braided their hair. It was easy, neat, and kept the hair out of their way.

Women's night hair care in the old days...?

Both are accurate. There was the belief that if you brushed your hair 100 strokes before bedtime it would keep your hair shiny and healthy. Women also braided their hair before bed to keep it from tangling.

Women's night hair care in the old days...?

I doubt they did much of anything at bedtime, I believe they wore headdresses by day, which were very popular even in the colonies, and ones who couldn't afford them frizzed their hair up as much as they could in order to resemble a headdress.