Real Talk: Are you choosing Hair over Health?

Frankenbarbie01

BUT! I still skip workouts during lunch because I don't want to go back to work all frizzy and yucky.

I have the same issue. I'm a SWEATER!! And there is NO mid day workout for this girl. No amount of body spray is gonna help LOL.

KDGODSUNLIMITED

Once upon a time I was guilty of this, however, for the summer I went for the "sew in". When I exercise I wrap my hair and do the damn thing. I'm determine to lose 56 lbs and NOTHING OR NOBODY WILL STOP ME!!!!! :happy:

DancinSMartiPants

Yes! The solutions I have found are:

1. In the Winter I wear my hair in pincurls while I run. I swear it was a revelation. I just don't touch it until I'm sure it's all dried out and when i take it down it's like -- SHAZAM!

2. Ponytail when it's hot. Sad, but true.

Izable2011

After reading the article I found that interesting. My hair however is pretty boring all the time. I usually wear it straight b/c it already is naturally. When I go to the gym I go there straight from waking up.. greasy from bed head and .. messy too. I don't care what anyone thinks and when I get home I make myself pretty. lol

walkdmc

Not anymore but I used to be worried about that. I have a relatively easy "do" and use dry powder spray from Sally (Rock On-good stuff, btw) after a workout if I don't have time to wash my hair. I've also learned the art of just dampening my hair and using a blow dryer for a 2 minute style. I'm white with medium thickness hair with a lot of wave which I straighten. <<<don't know if any of that matters

tonilizzy88

nope, never. I usually throw it up in a haphazard ponytail as out of my face as possible. I could care less how disheveled I get, as long as I have a good, hard workout.

im with you on this one. i find it rather bizzar to be honest. its only sweat?? shower takes 5min

sgirl29

Honestly I am guilty of this somewhat…. I will not exercise as hard the first couple of days after getting my hair done but I will do some form of exercise. Don’t judge me, hair is expensive lol…

aablacknell

I love this topic. I too was educated by the "Good Hair" dvd. I had been thinking about going natural and giving up the "creamy crack". That dvd educated me let me see that I was cleaning up my life in so many areas but not with my hair care. I have been an active vegetarian for nearly 22 years, gave up dairy with the exception of cheese occasionally (from northern Illinois near cheese country) for the past 4 years and I am very green environmentally started about 12 years ago.

I have always been active/working out never worried about what my hair would look like because it holds up very well even with my serious workouts. I just believe that sometimes the things we do to ourselves in the name of beauty are so damaging to our health as well as our own self image. I cannot say that going natural has been easy because it has been a longtime since I have went without a perm. I have very healthy hair but when I say it is thick I mean Diane Ross reach out your hands and touch somebody thick:laugh:. It is a work in progress just as I am. I say do what you need to do with your hair that makes you feel good but if you don't take care of your body your hair will be the last thing in the world you will need to worry about.

Good Luck Everyone on Your Journey!!!

mssweetjay

Ha ha back in the day I would say yes but now since I chose the freedom of no hair which means no worries for me!!! I'm loving the feeling of not have to worry about my hairstyle " Just cut and go "

mssweetjay

Ha ha back in the day I would say yes but now since I chose the freedom of no hair which means no worries for me!!! I'm loving the feeling of not have to worry about my hairstyle " Just cut and go "

mrspenton2009

Thankfully, my hair doesn't sweat out much when I work out. There are many solutions: ponytails, weaves, wigs, braids, and boy cuts but please ladies whatever you do...don't stop working out.

Good luck!!

glittermouse

Everyday I come to work looking crazy because I exercise in the morning. I sweat in my hair badly and it curls up as soon as I think about sweating. My co worker talks about me but I would prefer to lose weight over having decent hair. My last workout is on Saturday morning before I go to the salon, so I have cute hair Saturday and Sunday for church and back to looking ridiculous on Monday. I'm thinking about getting braids, but I don't feel like sitting that long. I don't know I'll think of something.

This makes me so angry--the coworker that talks about you/your hair. :noway: Some people!! As I said in my blog, I'm not really going to get into it, but MAN that makes me mad. :grumble:

glittermouse

Right there with ya on that one! The amount of time, effort and money that is spent to maintain "good hair" blew me away! And, to the previous commenter who chose to write a blog topic...the socio-economic-political aspect of the whole thing is certainly a topic worthy of discussion.

Yes it is! A book could be written on the topic!

Cait_Sidhe

Yeah, can't say that has ever been a concern of mine.

fiberartist219

I'm a wash and go kind of girl. Granted, if I just took a shower, I'm not going to work out, but usually that's not an issue for me.

I don't do much more than detangle my hair. I don't use blow dryers, flat irons or anything of that nature. Since my hair is already low maintenance, this isn't a big deal. If I had to actually "style" my hair, then yes, I might skip a workout to preserve it. I've contemplated getting a flat iron and putting more effort into my look, but after reading this, I'll save my money.

mznikab

I'm happy I posted this forum, looks like this dialogue needed to happen to ENLIGHTEN some. Thanks for the input!!!...Hopefully this info will have a positive ripple effect as it already has viewing by the responses.

I would be lying to myself if I said that my hair at times never prevented me from exercising. I've lost sleep on account of worrying about my hair. Lol I am of the opinion that a great number of women of all ethnicities weigh the costs of sweating their hair out during exercise--whether the cost be a frizz out or more time spent grooming oneself.

India Arie said it best: "I am not my hair, I am not my skin, I am the woman deep within" Love that song...

I wish you ALL the best of luck on your weight-loss journey!!! :flowerforyou:

LexieSweetheart

I have been guilty of this! I am NOT sweating out my freshly pressed hair or brand new sew-in. I go mostly natural now and sometimes I wear micros.

ritajean3

I own a straightener and my hair has never stopped my but I live in the tropics where you sweat 24/7 so maybe I am just used to the idea of being sweaty

ursy87

Just sweat, theres no point stressing if my hair is right, its just another thing to concentrate on when doing your workout! My hair has a life of its own anyway, so it'll do what it wants with or without myintervention. I weirdly like feeling the sweat on th back of my neck, shows me I am doing something!

Troy67

I used to have that problem. Now I've decided to keep my hair in the shower drain and the sink.

Yeah. I was going to say my hair looks the same pre workout and post workout. lol

tattereds

My hair and just having to stop my day to take a shower- I hate it. I have to plan a huge chunk of time for working out because I haveeee to take a shower immediately and then start the whole wet hair/get dressed routine

^^ this is me too. It's such a pain when I have a really full on day and I know that doing even just 30 min of cardio will take actually take an hour and a half all up by the time I do all the shower/dry/hair business afterwards! :ohwell: Gotta be done tho...

loladrew

great topic!

my hair is wavy/frizzy and i typically have to use some sort of heat to get it looking decent. i'm definitely not a wash & go kinda girl- unfortunately.

when my hair was longer, i could wash it twice a week and just sort of touch it up each day, but now that i'm working out i realize i have to wash it more, thanks to the sweat. as much of a pain in the *kitten* it is, it hasn't stopped me.

so... i cut it, and although i'm still having to wash it more, i've been wearing it curly more (that may have something to do with age, too.) there's been plenty of times when it was straightened that i didn't want to go swimming, or would get mad when people splash me in the pool.

i guess priorities have changed for me, and i figured out one way to adapt. : ) i never worked out before, so didn't even think of it, and definitely didn't consider how much more challenging and time consuming it is for people with different hair types.

Get your sweat on, ladies! Figure out how to make it work for you, our bodies are worth it.

Matiara

I'm happy I posted this forum, looks like this dialogue needed to happen to ENLIGHTEN some. Thanks for the input!!!...Hopefully this info will have a positive ripple effect as it already has viewing by the responses.

I would be lying to myself if I said that my hair at times never prevented me from exercising. I've lost sleep on account of worrying about my hair. Lol I am of the opinion that a great number of women of all ethnicities weigh the costs of sweating their hair out during exercise--whether the cost be a frizz out or more time spent grooming oneself.

India Arie said it best: "I am not my hair, I am not my skin, I am the woman deep within" Love that song...

I wish you ALL the best of luck on your weight-loss journey!!! :flowerforyou:

I have a wave noveau (do they stll call it that?), so I don't worry about it. My hair actually looks better right after I've washed it or sweat in it because the moisture creates spiral curls. I wash my hair every 3-4 days, but my hair doesn't get stinky quickly. I'd have to go a week or more without washing it for that.

I invested in a flat iron for when I want to wear my hair bone straight because the idea of paying $60-$80 to have it done at the salon only to have it revert the second I sweat in it or wash it within a few days is insane.

This thread has made it abundantly clear that a lot of people don't understand the complications of black hair care and maintenance (which is what the article is about), but that's understandable since they haven't had to deal with it. I could write a book about what it takes to keep my hair presentable. If I wasn't vain, I'd shave it off altogether. :laugh:

hazelnutflav

no not a problem for me.

i dont allow myself any excuse to not work out, i have micro braids and my sister showed me how to wash and condition it regularly to avoid that musty smell that you will get if you dont wash your hair from sweating so much after working out.

so no its not a problem i have been wearing the braid all my life.

NaturalinCO

I went natural for that very reason

justmaxine2

Great topic! I used to chosses hair over health because I was spending anywhere from $80-120 per month to keep it looking good. Then 3 years ago and I decided to go natural. I now keep a low, tight fade so sweat or no sweat, my hair always looks good.
Now I am working on getting a body too match the hair! ;-)

zeeeb

No, I don't care. my hair is frizzy and cr@p after the gym, but it doesn't stop me, that's the least of my worries. i don't even have time to shower after the gym. i just dose up with deodorant and keep my armpits away from people....

my hair is a lot less than ideal these days, i go to the gym every morning, and don't re-do my hair most days unless i'm going somewhere worthy of showering and re-doing hair...

LexieSweetheart

Great topic! I used to chose hair over health because I was spending anywhere from $80-120 per month to keep it looking good

YES!! PLUS YOU CAN SPEND LIKE 8 HOURS AT THE BEAUTY SHOP DEPENDING ON YOUR HAIRSTYLE.