Easy Tips For Working Out With Natural Hair
Have you ever skipped working out because you didn’t want to mess up your hair? Yeah, we’ve been there too. A research study by Amy McMichael, MD, senior researcher and dermatologist at Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine, found that two out of five Black women avoid working out with natural hair. There are multiple ways you can exercise, maintain healthy natural hair, and still preserve your hairstyle. Don’t skip out on leg day because our tips below will keep your hair in tip-top shape.
How To Style And Maintain Your Natural Hair For Your Next Workout
When exercising with natural hair the best thing to do is to wear a protective style or tie your hair up. Hairstyles like buns, puffs, ponytails, braids, or twists are great ways to keep your natural hair protected and helps reduce skin contact against sweat. To protect and avoid sweating out your edges, try using a satin scarf or a satin headband to help prevent them from frizzing up. The less contact your hair has with your skin and the more it is protected and tucked away, the best chance you can preserve your hairstyle.
Check out how to do a twist-out as a protective style with your natural hair below.
How To Care For Your Hair Post-Workout
Congratulations, you finished a much-needed workout! The first step – allow your hair to dry if some parts are wet from sweat and allow your scalp to breathe as well. Take down your puff or ponytail to fully dry your hair to avoid potential bacteria growth. Manipulating your hair while it’s still wet will result in more frizz so leave it alone and let it dry.
Sweat can cause dryness, breakage, and buildup for natural hair so if you are working out multiple times a week you must keep your hair and scalp cleansed and moisturized. A key way to accomplish that is by co-washing your hair mid-week and shampoo your hair at the end of each week. Try our sulfate-free shampoo Cleansed which effectively removes dirt and buildup without drying out your hair. Stay clear from daily shampooing as that will cause more dryness because the natural oils in your hair will be stripped. A mid-week co-wash will condition your hair while removing sweat.
To keep your hair moisturized throughout the week, use a moisturizing leave-in conditioner like Lavish or a refresher spray like Boost to activate your curls and/or restore moisture for your protective styles.
Now you have no excuses! You can still work on your fitness and look good doing it with no consequences. Don’t sacrifice the health of your hair. Build a hair regimen that works for you.
Tell us, do you regularly exercise? If so, how do you protect your natural hair and preserve your styles? Let us know in the comments below!
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