Showering/washing hair after gym

For those of you who train several times a week, how do you manage the hair washing after the gym? If I'm not training I usually wash my hair every second day, and when I hit the gym a few days in a row I hate washing it every day. I always wash it after cardio, but wondering are there people out there who just shower without washing their hair after a workout, or how do you mix all the gymming:showering/hair washing? Kinda vague, but interested to hear about others routines!
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Replies

  • Rachel0778
    Rachel0778 Posts: 1,701 Member
    For me, it depends on how much sweat gets in my hair. I use really thick headbands to keep the hair away from forehead/sweat. On days I don't wash my hair I also use a dry shampoo to help with any residue/grease. Hope that helps!
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,734 Member
    I have very fine hair that I color, so I have to be careful to protect it and not shampoo it too much. I shampoo it on Tues., Thur., and Sunday and use a dry shampoo on the other days. Experiment with a few dry shampoos. I've found some of the less expensive brands work better than the pricey ones.

    Note: if you do use dry shampoo, you CANNOT use it on wet, sweaty hair or you'll end up with a mess! Wait until your hair dries completely and then apply the dry shampoo. Needless to say, I learned this the hard way. Guess I should read directions sometimes.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    edited March 2016
    I, too, hate washing my hair too much - it's fine so I don't want to shampoo or blowdry it too much in case it damages it, plus it irritates my scalp. I try to tie my hair up so it's away from my forehead, ears and neck, and then if I'm doing light cardio or resistance training, I can USUALLY get away with either using dry shampoo once any minor sweat has dried out, or just washing my fringe. For swimming, I just tie it up, rinse and condition it, and let it dry naturally.

    If I'm running, it's gonna need a proper wash.

    I sometimes rearrange workouts with this in mind. So I'll do kettlebells or lifting one evening, and run first thing the following morning. The day after would be a rest day, so my hair only needs the one wash after the run.
  • foiensoi
    foiensoi Posts: 49 Member
    Thanks for your replies ladies! Should have said I'm not much of a fan of dry shampoo, I have very dark curly hair so it's hard to brush out and always looks grey! Just looking for what others do and it sounds good, on the days when I don't sweat too much like upper body days I won't feel bad for not washing. Thanks everyone!
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I only shampoo my hair on Thursdays and Sundays. The rest of the week I wet it and condition it in the shower. I have thick, straight hair. It works for me.
  • ald783
    ald783 Posts: 688 Member
    I shower every day but only wash my hair once every 3 days, no matter when I work out. My hair is pretty dry and thick so it gets really fried with too much washing/drying. Even when my hair gets sweaty, it's fine after it dries - it doesn't smell and I can just flat iron it and it looks normal again.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,734 Member
    @foiensoi, they DO have colored dry shampoo now so that you don't have to deal with the white, chalky residue. And I rarely brush my dry shampoo out. I just use my hands as if I was wet shampooing it. As long as you don't use too much it seems to work.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    I workout 6 days a week. I do one of the following:
    -dry shampoo
    -rinse my hair then brush and style as normal
    -rinse, condition, rinse, brush and style.
    -dry shampoo then style my hair up (pony tail, braid, etc.)
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    I think every sweat gland in my body is in my head. That combined with super short hair means I wash my hair after any cardio longer than 30 minutes. I recently read one of those "Alarming signs of low Vitamin D" articles on yahoo and it said head sweating was a sign of low vitamin D. It's probably woo, but now I'm taking the calcium supplement with the vitamin D in it since I already knew I was low calcium.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
    I color my hair - and I work out 6 days a week. I only wash my hair about 3 - 4 times a week as my hair is very fine. On the days I don't wash my hair, I use a shower cap - put your hair up in a high ponytail (if it's long) - use a headband to make sure all of your hair is back - wash your body, don't wash your hair. Your hair will 'thank you' for this! As others have mentioned - on the days I don't wash my hair, I use dry shampoo - works like a charm!
  • TalliFay
    TalliFay Posts: 7 Member
    My hair gets really dry too with all the washing, especially when swimming, which really dries it out. I use dry shampoo when I can, make sure your hair is dry, massage it in, then brush it out and your hair shouldn't look too grey! You can buy dry shampoo specially for brunettes though too.
  • JLG1986
    JLG1986 Posts: 212 Member
    When I weight lift, I don't sweat much, so I don't wash my hair those days (lift 3x a week, cardio 2-3x a week). I only do a full hair wash 1-2 times a week, although I let my flyaways get a bit damp in the shower. I have very long, dry curly hair.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    I wash my hair everyday. I shed the same amount weekly no matter how many times I wash my hair.
  • chelsea7162
    chelsea7162 Posts: 97 Member
    I try to train every day or at least every second day when I'm not sick. On days I don't break much of a sweat or my hair stays rather dry I'll just rinse my hair in the shower and focus on cleaning my body. If I'm sweating lots I'll use shampoo and conditioner, or sometimes just lots of water and conditioner. I have fairly thick coloured hair that doesn't get greasy so I only wash out sweat. I try not to wash constantly because my hair is brightly coloured and I don't have excessive hair leakage.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Batiste brand has dry shampoo for brunettes. That doesn't really help with the whole "do not brush curly hair" thing though.

    I have dark curly hair but it is short enough that I need to get it wet nearly every day in order to get it to look okay. If you don't want to wet it that often, try just rinsing your hair and then leaving a bit of conditioner in it when it dries.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    I just throw some of whatever soap is in the gym showers up in there.

    ;) #maleprivilege
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    foiensoi wrote: »
    For those of you who train several times a week, how do you manage the hair washing after the gym? If I'm not training I usually wash my hair every second day, and when I hit the gym a few days in a row I hate washing it every day. I always wash it after cardio, but wondering are there people out there who just shower without washing their hair after a workout, or how do you mix all the gymming:showering/hair washing? Kinda vague, but interested to hear about others routines!

    Every day. Right after. Otherwise I break out terribly and look like I'm 16 all over again.
  • JayRuby84
    JayRuby84 Posts: 557 Member
    I wash/ condition my hair almost every day. Sometimes let an extra day slip in there.
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    I wash my hair every day anyways. Naturally I have very curly hair so when I work out and I sweat a lot (which is pretty much every time) my hair will get kinda gross so I just wash my hair every day. I also use product in it, so after I put it up into a pony tail it just won't look or settle right without washing and re-styling. Unfortunately :( I wish I could wash it every other day.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I wash and condition my hair after every workout of 30 minutes or more. For under 20 minutes, I don't (sometimes I will dry shampoo afterwards if I'm going to work or out). This means I'm washing my hair about seven times a week, but I sweat a lot and I think everyone around me appreciates how often I wash it.