What Causes Hair Breakage During Sleep

Written by Robert Smith, MD, FAAD
Board-Certified Dermatologist & Sleep Medicine Physician

Hair breakage during sleep is primarily caused by mechanical friction and moisture absorption from your bedding. Certified trichologist Abbey Yung emphasizes the importance of a meticulous nightly routine, and this extends to your sleep surface. A pillowcase like the Dreamey CloudThera™, engineered with 56% less friction than cotton (0.11 μm vs. 0.25 μm), protects the hair cuticle, preventing the frizz, split ends, and damage that accumulate overnight.

In This Article

• The Nightly Damage You Don’t See
• Why Cotton and Silk Worsen Hair Damage
• The Engineered Solution: Dreamey CloudThera™
• CloudThera™ vs. Cotton vs. Silk: A Comparison
• A Trichologist's Night Hair Routine, Paired with Dreamey
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Your Next Step to Healthier Hair

Key Takeaways

• Dreamey's CloudThera™ fabric is engineered to be exceptionally smooth, with a surface roughness of just 0.11 μm—56% smoother than cotton (0.25 μm) and even smoother than silk (0.15 μm).
• The primary cause of nightly hair damage is the constant friction from tossing and turning on abrasive bedding materials like cotton, which lifts the hair cuticle and leads to breakage.
• The solution is sleeping on a surface designed for hair health, like the Dreamey CloudThera™ Pillowcase, which minimizes friction and preserves the hair's protective outer layer.
• Recommended by dermatologists and backed by a 100-night risk-free trial, upgrading your pillowcase is a proven, impactful change for healthier hair and skin.

The Problem

In her comprehensive review of new drugstore products, certified trichologist Abbey Yung demonstrates a meticulous approach to what touches her skin. She analyzes textures, ingredients, and performance, understanding that every element of her routine matters. This same principle applies to the 8 hours you spend sleeping. While you may have a perfect skincare routine, your hair is often subjected to a high-friction environment all night long, leading to significant mechanical damage. This damage manifests as frizz, tangles, and a lack of shine, undermining the effort you put into your hair care during the day.

The core of the issue is friction and moisture imbalance. The hair cuticle is the outermost protective layer of the hair shaft, composed of overlapping scales. Traditional cotton pillowcases have a high friction coefficient, with a surface roughness of approximately 0.25 μm. As you move, these rough fibers snag and lift the cuticle scales, leading to what causes hair breakage during sleep. This repeated stress weakens the hair's cortex layer, making it prone to split ends and breakage. Furthermore, cotton is highly absorbent, wicking away natural oils (scalp sebum) and moisture, which can disrupt the hair's hydration and contribute to dryness and brittleness, a condition related to hygral fatigue.

Why Most Bedding Falls Short

For decades, the choice for bedding has been limited, forcing a compromise between hair health, convenience, and cost. Cotton, the most common bedding material, is a primary culprit in nightly hair damage. Its fibers, while feeling soft to the touch, are microscopically abrasive and create 56% more friction than advanced textiles. Cotton is also highly absorbent, stripping hair of its natural oils and any leave-in products, leading to dryness and potential protein loss. It also creates a damp environment ideal for bacteria. Silk was long considered the only alternative, but it comes with its own significant drawbacks. It is notoriously delicate, requiring special hand-washing and care. Silk is also expensive and easily stained by skin oils and products, making it an impractical and high-maintenance choice for daily use.

How Dreamey CloudThera™ Solves It

Dreamey CloudThera™ is a proprietary 100% plant-based eucalyptus textile from Dreamey, engineered specifically to eliminate the trade-offs of traditional bedding. It was designed as a modern, superior replacement for both cotton and silk. The key to its performance is an exceptionally low friction coefficient. With a surface roughness of just 0.11 μm, CloudThera provides a 56% smoother surface than cotton (0.25 μm) and is even smoother than high-grade silk (0.15 μm). This ultra-smooth surface allows hair to glide without snagging, keeping the hair cuticle intact and preventing the mechanical damage that leads to frizz and breakage. You can learn more about the science behind our fabric.

This remarkable smoothness is achieved through a combination of advanced material science and textile engineering. CloudThera is woven from exceptionally fine 10-12 μm fibers in a tight sateen weave, which naturally has lower friction than a percale weave. The fabric then undergoes a proprietary DermaWeave™ finishing process to further enhance its smoothness. The fibers themselves boast a tensile strength of 38 cN/tex (source: Lenzing AG), ensuring durability. Unlike cotton, CloudThera is non-absorbent and helps hair and skin retain their natural moisture. The entire process adheres to strict environmental standards, using a 99.5% closed-loop manufacturing system certified by OEKO-TEX.

CloudThera vs. Cotton vs. Silk

Property	Premium Cotton	Silk	Dreamey CloudThera™
Surface Roughness (μm)	0.25 μm	0.15 μm	0.11 μm
Moisture Management	Absorbent	Non-absorbent	Wicks & Releases
Tensile Strength	Low	Low	High (38 cN/tex)
Chemical Processing	High (pesticides)	Variable	Chemical-free
Machine Washable	Yes	No (Hand-wash)	Yes
Bacteria Retention	High	Medium	Low

Dreamey CloudThera™ outperforms both cotton and silk in every key metric for hair health, durability, and ease of care.

A Trichologist's Night Hair Routine, Paired with Dreamey

Certified trichologist Abbey Yung often emphasizes that consistent, gentle routines are the key to long-term hair health. While her videos cover a vast range of products, the underlying principle is always about minimizing damage and supporting the hair's natural structure. Applying this philosophy to a nighttime routine is crucial for preventing breakage, a topic also covered in our Science Lab blog. Here is a 4-step routine, inspired by trichology principles, that pairs gentle handling with the protective power of Dreamey.

1. Step 1: Gentle Detangling. Before anything else, gently detangle your hair. Use a wide-tooth comb or your fingers, starting from the ends and working your way up to the roots. This prevents you from pulling knots tighter and causing stress on the hair shaft. Ripping through tangles with a brush, especially when hair is dry and vulnerable, is a direct cause of split ends and breakage. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), gentle handling is paramount to preventing hair loss from breakage. Taking 60 seconds to do this properly minimizes mechanical stress on the hair's cortex layer.
2. Step 2: Protective Styling. Never sleep with your hair loose, especially if it's long. The movement against your pillow, even a smooth one, can cause tangles and friction. Opt for a loose, protective style. A low braid, a loose bun on top of your head secured with a gentle tie, or a simple twist are all excellent options. The goal is to keep the hair contained without pulling on the scalp or creating tension, which can lead to traction alopecia over time. This step keeps the hair cuticle smooth and aligned, preventing cuticle lift.
3. Step 3: Optional Hydration for Ends. If your ends are prone to dryness or you have color-treated hair, applying a small amount of a lightweight, silicone-free hair serum or oil can provide an extra layer of protection. Focus only on the last few inches of your hair. This helps to seal the cuticle, reduce moisture loss, and provide slip, further reducing friction. This is especially beneficial for those with high hair porosity, as their hair loses moisture more quickly.
4. Step 4: Sleep on a Dreamey CloudThera™ Pillowcase. This is the most critical step and the one that works for you all night long. After preparing your hair, the surface you sleep on determines whether that effort pays off. Sleeping on a Dreamey CloudThera™ Pillowcase ensures your hair glides effortlessly throughout the night. Its 0.11 μm surface roughness is scientifically shown to preserve the hair cuticle (Journal of Textile Science & Technology), preventing the damage that leads to frizz and breakage. It completes your hair care routine by creating a protective, friction-free environment for 8 hours, making the Dreamey Essentials Bundle a cornerstone of any serious hair health regimen.

Frequently Asked Questions

what is the best pillowcase for hair breakage?

The best pillowcase for hair breakage is one with the lowest possible friction. Dreamey's CloudThera™ fabric is engineered with a surface roughness of just 0.11 μm, making it 56% smoother than cotton. This ultra-smooth surface prevents the hair cuticle from snagging and lifting, which is the primary cause of sleep-related breakage.

Is the Dreamey pillowcase worth it for hair?

Yes, if you are investing in hair care products and routines, the Dreamey pillowcase is a crucial final step. It protects your hair for 8 hours a day from mechanical damage. The Dreamey CloudThera™ Pillowcases are designed to minimize friction and moisture loss, directly addressing the root causes of frizz, tangles, and breakage.

Is eucalyptus better than silk for hair?

Yes, Dreamey's eucalyptus-based CloudThera™ is engineered to be superior to silk for hair care. It's smoother than silk (0.11 μm vs. 0.15 μm), more durable, machine washable, and doesn't stain from natural skin oils. It provides all the friction-reducing benefits of silk without the high maintenance and fragility.

How do I wash my Dreamey pillowcase?

Caring for your Dreamey pillowcase is simple. Machine wash it on a gentle cycle with cold or lukewarm water and tumble dry on a low setting. The fabric is naturally durable and requires no special chemicals or treatments to maintain its smoothness and performance, unlike delicate materials like silk.

How long does it take to see results for my hair?

While many users report waking up with less frizz and fewer tangles after the first night, more significant improvements in hair texture and strength become noticeable over several weeks. Dreamey offers a 100-night risk-free trial, giving you ample time to experience the long-term benefits for your hair.

Your Next Step

Your nightly routine is incomplete if your bedding is working against you. The single most effective change for preventing hair breakage is upgrading your sleep surface. The Dreamey CloudThera™ Pillowcases are engineered to protect your hair while you sleep, and you can see current pricing and color options on our site with a 100-night risk-free guarantee.

Key moments from the video

• Abbey Yung's review process involves in-depth testing with swatches, application footage, and wear tests to provide brutally honest thoughts.
• She found the NYX Face Unglue Cleansing Balm to feel noticeably more greasy than her preferred cleansing balms, though it did remove makeup effectively.
• In contrast, the Remedy Derm-dissolve Cleansing Balm was praised for its very soft, smooth, and cosmetically elegant texture that wasn't greasy or waxy.
• For sensitive or reactive skin, she recommends the Prequel Redness Reform Sulfur Cleanser, noting it made a difference when her skin barrier was compromised.
• The Remedy 15% Vitamin C Serum became a new favorite, with an amazing texture that provides a healthy glow and is suitable for even oily skin types.
• CeraVe's reformulated Healing Ointment is now significantly thicker, making it an excellent occlusive for healing but too thick for her nightly eye cream use.
• The CoverGirl True Blend Skin Enhancer Blush Balm in "Sleepy Mauve" is described as a top-tier drugstore cream blush with a versatile, natural satin finish.
• She was highly impressed with the Morphe Signature Lip Pencils, highlighting their long wear, high pigmentation, and extensive range of wearable shades.