We Tried Pineappling, and This is Why It's Not for Everyone

If you frequent curly hair forums, the curly social media community, or even read our articles, it's easy to feel like EVERYONE PINEAPPLES.

Some people pineapple and find that it gives them their best chances of successful second and third day hair. Some people use bonnets or scarves, some sleep on a satin pillow, some twist their hair at night, some braid it.There are so many techniques that I would hate to think you feel like pineappling works for everyone - except you. The truth is, there is no one thing that works for every curly across the board.  It depends on how long your hair is, how tightly it curls or coils, how you style it, how much time you're willing to spend on your hair before you go to sleep, and what your morning routine is.

To drive this home I thought it'd be fun for our team to experiment with the nighttime routine. I asked my NaturallyCurly teammates what pineappling means to them, and why they do (or don't) have a place for it in their routine.

Nikki

Do you pineapple at night?

No, when I'm wearing braids I just sleep with them loose. I have been sleeping on a satin pillowcase, but I always do that so it's nothing special or new for me. I don't use a satin scarf, bonnet or really bother protecting my braids because I feel like my own hair was already protected by the braids, and I'm not worried about protecting the braids. It's just weave, and these braids were actually too tight so I didn't want to prolong the style.

I do put my hair up in a pineapple to shower and to work out because it's hot, and I'd tuck the ends in to a loose bun just to keep it out of my face.

Leslie

Do you pineapple at night?

It depends where I am in my wash week. If I washed my hair that day I'll sleep with it in a high bun or pineapple, it helps preserve fullness and my waves. If we're working with 2-3 day-old hair, I just wear it down when I sleep. It does flatten it but I just fluff it out in the morning.

During the day if my hair's not down it's pretty much always in a pinapple, bun or 2 buns if I can't find a few of my 100x bobby pins. It's my go-to.

Cristina

Do you pineapple at night?

No, I'm too used to sleeping with my hair loose. I don't find it as comfortable to sleep with my hair in a pineapple. I have a mix of 2c waves and 3a curls, and tying them up kind of stretches out the bottom layer. After working on this article I'm starting to think I should at least try sleeping on a satin pillowcase. Sometimes I pineapple my hair as a hairstyle when I want to put my hair up in something other than a boring ponytail or bun.

Gerilyn

Do you pineapple at night?

No, but I do pineapple when I shower because I don't want to get the braids wet – it takes them so long to dry! And it makes the braids fray more easily because they lose a little bit of their integrity every time they get wet. To pineapple I flip my head over, put it in a ponytail at the top, then twist it into a bun, and wrap a scarf around my head. That was it, nothing elaborate.

I don't pineapple at night because it feels awkward for me to have long hair anyway, so to then tie it up and have this weight on my head is uncomfortable. So I just got a satin pillowcase and I sleep on that instead. I don't even bother wrapping it up because I don't like it.

Alexandra

Do you pineapple at night?

Whether I'm wearing my hair out or in a protective style, I simply tie my hair up with a scarf to preserve my  curls at night. I don't pineapple because my hair is too short, so I prefer to use a scarf.

April

Do you pineapple at night?

I don't! When my hair's in a protective style like my crochet braids, it's way too heavy and unwieldy for me to sleep in. And when my hair's out and free, my curl pattern and density are too much for a single scrunchie to keep organized at night—to say nothing of the fact that I'm too coily to have it fall back into shape the next day. Pineapples for me are for taking baths and doing facial treatments only.

When my hair is out or in smaller protective styles I use a silk bonnet from Adorabella baby, and when it's in a bigger protective style like my current one I use a Satin hidden zipper pillowcase.

I'll also twist every night when my hair is out unless I'm SUPER drained, in which case it's satin scrunchies and two puffs, it's ouble-pineappling. When I wear two pineapples on the side of my head it's much easier to separate out when I'm getting ready the next day without looking like it'd been molded into a Smurf hat.

Cara

Do you pineapple at night?

I'm too low maintenance for that. Also I worry my hair would tangle in the hair tie, so I just sweep my hair up off my neck in a pineapple effect. I do wear my hair in a pineapple-like style most days just because I like to put my hair on top of my head. It's not exactly pineappling, but that's just how I wear my hair all the time. I pineapple when I shower, and when I eat I like to put it up to get it out of my face

Lauren

Do you pineapple at night?

I do! I create 3 pineapples and then put a satin cap on.

I've tried retwisting my hair at night, but found that it stretched my already-stretched hair too much. Pineappling for me helps preserve my wash and go's and my protective styles, by allowing me to still have volume in the morning when I take my hair down. Plus, the 3 pineapples are easier to sleep on.

To take down my pineapple I use a curl refresher spray at my roots, just to create some volume there. My favorite right now is by One Little Parrot. After that, I push my hair back together with my fingertips and use my pick to create my shape. I can probably get up to 4th day hair with this method.

As you can see, not everyone pineapples at night. Out of 8 of NaturallyCurly team members, only one wears a traditional pineapple to sleep. One wears a double pineapple, another wears a triple pineapple, and the rest of us don't pineapple at night at all. I was surprised to learn that even when they don't pineapple at night, a lot of people do pineapple when they shower, work out, or just during the day.

As with all things textured hair, you just have to find what works for you and your lifestyle. If you don't want to pineapple, you absolutely do not have to. If you want to pineapple but you feel like you can't, I'd recommend trying out a double or triple pineapple! It works well for short hair, can be more comfortable to sleep on, and can be easier to take down.

Here are some more resources for anyone interested in pineappling: