The Baggy Method

The baggy method is when you add moisturizer or oil and wear a plastic cap or bag for a period of time to keep moisture in your hair.  Some baggy overnight while sleeping, others baggy for a few hours at a time.  Some baggy just the ends of their hair, while others baggy the whole head.  I mentioned baggying in my low porosity post, but I really haven't done it much.  Baggying overnight doesn't work for me, because I usually wake up with wet, mushy hair.  However, doing it for a few hours at a time makes my hair moist and soft.

Still on my continuous quest for hair moisture, I've started to incorporate baggying into my regimen.  My hair is naturally dry anyway, but the monthly henna and the cold, dry winter doesn't help.  The other day, I applied some Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner to my hair, and twisted it.  I put on a plastic cap for a couple of hours, and when I took it off, my hair was moisturized from root to tip.  Yesterday, I worked from home, so I wore a cap for the majority of the day.  I didn't worry about my hair getting wet since I wasn't going anywhere, and I knew being in the house with the dry heat would really make my hair dry. After about 4 hours, my hair wasn't even wet!

It was 3 degrees this morning.  Yes, I wrote 3 degrees!  I usually put a satin scarf on under my wool hat, but for today's commute, I wore a plastic bag under my hat.  The only product I applied was a little shea butter to take my twists out.  When I got to work and took my hat and plastic hat off, my hair was so moist and soft.  I did have a little shrinkage, but I'd much rather moist shrunken hair than dry stretched hair.

I've decided to baggy daily, if even just for my commute to work, or for a few hours before I go to bed.  I'm hoping this give me moisture, shine and length retention and less shedding and breakage.

Again, be careful of over moisturized, mushy hair.  It could lead to breakage.  I've read that some women also get an itchy scalp from baggying.

What has been your experience with baggying?  What is your method and how long do you baggy?