In a recent survey, 31 percent of Black women admitted that they make the choice to exercise less because it damages their hairstyles. Another study done by Wake Forest University shows that 40 percent of African American women stay away from the gym to avoid messing up their hair.

Ladies. It’s time to stop making excuses for why we shouldn’t be working out. (Tweet this)

Your hair should definitely not be standing in the way between you and the gym. Don’t let society’s unrealistic beauty standards limit you! Working out is hands down one of the most important things we can do for our health. Especially because sadly, more than half of all Black women are overweight.

The good news is, you don’t have to choose between perfect hair or a bangin’ body. There are SO many ways to protect your hair while working out. It doesn’t matter whether your hair is relaxed, transitioning, or all natural. Here are five “sweat proof” suggestions that will help you manage your hair, so you can hit the gym whenever you want!

5 Sweat Proof Tips to Protect Your Hair

1. Cleanse to Eliminate Buildup

The best advice we can give for what to do with your hair while working out starts with your haircare routine. If you plan to work out on a regular basis, it is absolutely necessary that you cleanse and exfoliate your scalp to remove buildup around your hair follicles.

What buildup? Let’s take a look at what actually happens on your head when you work out. Everyone’s scalp naturally produces a substance called “sebum,” which is basically your natural hair oils. Sebum is the oily substance that can make a woman’s straight hair look shiny if she hasn’t washed it in a few days.

With curly African American hair however, sebum is not able to travel down the hair’s ridges. This means it gets stuck at the roots or follicles, where it only attracts more dirt to stick to it. Because of this, it’s essential to use Black hair care products in order to eliminate that buildup.  

To combat the buildup of all this dirt and sebum, you need to cleanse your hair weekly at the very least. To cleanse and exfoliate your scalp, try Design Essentials’ Gentle Balance Shampoo. Follow with the Rosemary & Mint Conditioner, and finish with the Kukui & Coconut Leave-In Conditioner.

2. Replenish Moisture to Combat Dryness

It’s also extremely important to keep your hair moisturized. It shouldn’t be a surprise that extensive exercise makes your scalp begin to sweat. But unlike the sebum that we talked about earlier, sweat travels very easily down your hair to your ends.

The ends of your hair are very absorbent, so you can imagine how salty sweat could make your hair extremely dehydrated and brittle. Protect your hair from this dryness by using something like this Argan Moisturizing Crème regularly.

Then after you work out, continue to replenish moisture in your hair with this Argan Moisture Replenishing Mist. This product works even better if used daily! Taking care of your hair is the only way to ensure that sweat won’t cause damage and make it brittle.

3. Get Creative with Hairstyles that Protect

Always sport a protective hairstyle when working out. Protective styles include braids, buns, and ponytails. Here are a few trendy examples of such styles. Any one of these would work when hitting the gym. (These are also great styles for transitioning hair, in case you’re in between relaxed and natural).  

Don’t forget to add a stylish silk or satin head wrap to your workout do. Why should you go with a head wrap made of these specific, soft materials? The reasoning behind this suggestion is that if you wear a cotton scarf, it will cause friction that dries out your sweaty hair. You don’t want to see the breakage that this can cause!

We know it can be especially hard to figure out how to style transitioning hair for a workout, and this is another reason why a head wrap is so convenient. For more advice on transitioning, check out this blog article.

4. Control Frizz by Drying Your Hair

Keep in mind that what you do to your hair before a workout is just as important as how you treat it after. After a good workout, while keeping your hair under a silk scarf allow it to air dry. This will help to control and eliminate frizz.

If you’re in a hurry to get your hair dry and air drying it seems to take forever, you can try using the cool option on a blow dryer. But remember to keep your hair wrapped until it is completely dry!

5. Nourish with Intensive Hair Treatments

If your hair is extremely dry, brittle, or damaged, you must treat it weekly. If you don’t do nourishing hair treatments, working out will only cause further damage, and again we never want your hair to be a reason for you not to have a healthy lifestyle and reach your fitness goals.

You can nourish your hair with the intensive Hydrience Argan Hair Repair Oil Treatment. This highly effective treatment heals and protects with its pure argan oil straight from Morocco, vitamin E, proteins, and antioxidants.

Hot oils and deep conditioning treatments renew hair strength, porosity, and its overall condition. Treatments like the one above need to be applied frequently and left in for some time so that your hair fully absorbs all the rich nutrients it needs to stay strong at the gym.

SEE ALSO: PROTECTIVE STYLING – TRANSITION STYLES FOR RELAXED TO NATURAL

You should now be better prepared to hit the gym no matter what your hair type. With these five helpful tips, you’ll be able to protect, nourish, and control your hair before, during, and after trips to the gym. Now go on and have a good workout!

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