How To Look After Your Hair While Working Out

The New Year always signifies a time of great excitement with new opportunities for a better year. For people that do make New Year’s resolutions, there is at least one goal that focuses on either improving health, fitness or losing weight. This is evident by the increase in gym memberships every year in January as people rush to the gym with the renewed motivation to create a healthier and fitter version of themselves (source).

However, according to research conducted by the University of Scranton, only 8% commit and complete their New Year goals (source). As the weeks and months continue, people begin to lose momentum and the excuses start to reel in, and soon that health and fitness goal has fallen by the wayside, only to be retrieved again in the upcoming New Year. Health and fitness should not be a goal, but a way of being and normal part of our lifestyles. It should be something you do subconsciously, like brushing your teeth or moisturising your hair ;-) To encourage you to see health and fitness as a way of life, we have put together some tips on how to look after your hair when you working out. At Black Hair Essentials, we understand very well how our hair can easily become an excuse to not take care of our health, so hopefully these tips will help.

The annoying fact about sweat is that it dries out hair, makes it frizzy and can make it feel and appear limb. Nevertheless, the best way to deal with sweat is to have a hair regimen that takes into consideration one’s workout regimen so you can best protect your hair in the most effective way.

Below are 5 tips to practice in conjunction with your workouts:-

    1. Air-drying

People may think they should wash their hair after every workout session. However, this is not ideal as too much washing will remove the hair’s natural oils, which can lead to dryness and breakage from continuous manipulation. Rather than washing your hair after every workout opt for air-drying instead. Once it is dry you can refresh your hair by lightly spritzing it with water and styling as usual. Spritzing your hair is also a good way to add extra hydration between wash days.

   2. Wash your hair 1-3 times a week

When you have a consistent workout program it is best to wash your hair no more than 1-3 times a week. How many times you wash your hair depends on the number of times you workout and the intensity of each workout routine. If you are doing gentle exercises and do not generate much sweat, you may feel it is not necessary to wash your hair three times a week. However, if you are doing HIIT workouts (High-Intensity Interval Training) 5-6 times a week, then you may want to wash your hair more frequently. If you do a combination of moderate to intense workouts, perhaps reserving your wash days for the times you sweat the most is easiest. Regardless of how many times you wash your hair, it is about devising the best wash day schedule that fits around your workout routine. In any case, if you are working out 3+ times a week, washing your hair once a week should be sufficient for most.

    3. Remember to co-wash, clarify and use protein treatments

If you decide to wash your hair at least twice a week, make sure you utilise co-washing to help replenish moisture to your hair. You can also use sulfate-free shampoos, which are not as drying. Using a clarifying shampoo once a month can remove the build-up caused by excessive sweat. This can also be a good way to reboot the scalp for the next month of workouts. If you are undertaking a rigorous a workout schedule that is causing your hair to be continuously damp, your hair may become limp and mushy due to the extra moisture. To counteract this, incorporate protein treatments to maintain your hair’s moisture/protein balance.

    4. Protective styling

Braid outs, twist outs, buns, and ponytails are great ways to protect and maintain your hair while working out. These styles are low-maintenance and practical because they do not require a great deal of styling after your workouts.

     5. Use silk scarfs and headbands

You can use a silk scarf to flatten your hair to tame frizz and maintain your edges and hairstyle. Headbands are also a great way to absorb excess sweat and protect the hair. In addition, you can try using hair grips to help pin down and flatten your hair before you put on your silk scarf or headband. This will also assist in maintaining your hairstyle.

This may sound like a lot to consider but in practice, it is very straightforward and once incorporated into your lifestyle, it will be second nature. There are so many great benefits to working out; one of them includes hair growth because your heart rate increases blood circulation around your body, which stimulates the scalp.

Let us end this post by promising to make 2017 the year health and fitness is a natural and enjoyable part of our lives, rather than an unattainable goal that has to be attained every New Year.