Heeeeeelp!   I washed my hair last night the normal way- in fact I even conditioned more than I usually do (I normally use a normal conditioner, this time I substitued it for Tresemme's deep conditioning masque since I knew I would be putting it up in rags) and pat towel-dried the rough off and let the rest dry naturally as per normal.  When it was mostly dry, but still damp, I then put my hair up in rags.  This is the first time I've done it myself - I think the last time I had my hair in rags I was 12 and my mum put them in... admittedly I did put in too many (I ended up with frizz as opposed to ringlets, but you live and learn).  However, my hair which is very fine and is normally silky smooth now feels very dry and brittle.  Is this a by-product of the ragging?  Should I forget about ringlets and stick to emphasizing my natural waves by merely plaiting my damp hair instead?  Or did I do something wrong?  And what should I do about my hair now?

My first guess would be the conditioner.  If it has protein in it, you may have a buildup from that which would cause brittleness.  Try a vinegar rinse to remove any build up.

The fabric may have had something that reacted to the conditioner on your hair.  Specifically a fabric softner on the fabric. Depending on how damp your hair was, your conditioner and the fabric softner could intermingle and cause the brittleness.  This should be temporary - shampooing and/or a vinegar rinse should resolve it.

I've also found that if I have small braids, or used too small of rollers, my hair will be frizzy and feel dry and brittle.  A quick dunk in water will usually return my hair to its normal softness.