Black Women Avoiding Exercise To Maintain Hairstyles: Study

peterdt

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/black-women-hair-avoid-exercise_n_2321539.html

I heard about this study on radio this morning.

I wear a hat most of the day. Then I go to the gym with major hat hair.

Sorry to hear about this study though. I hope this trend changes and the emphasis for all people is to get fit and have a better lifestyle.

magerum

This is going to be good.

ktrn0312

Put your hair in a ponytail and a sweatband then you are good to go.

pcdoctor01

I wear a bandana in the morning so I don't have to worry about my hair. When I used to go to the gym at 6AM, I would wear a bandana also. I guess if I was doing insanity I would worry about my hair looking like I just ran a 10K.

toshi89

Put your hair in a ponytail and a sweatband then you are good to go.

^^ This, or don't pay $100 for hair that gets messed up that easy. I'm sorry, but if working out messes up your hair, your stylist is wac! But this is something I have realized before that people do.

I am natural, so after I workout, & take a shower I can spray my hair down and comb it out. (IF I don't have braids or twists)

mstjmack26

I have no problem with working out and my hair. I workout pretty darn hard. I wash my hair very often. My hair isn't natural but it is naturally curly but even if it wasn't, hair would never stand in way of my fitness!

LaviMc

I don't have this problem and I tend to sweat a lot in my hair/scalp. I will admit that I've stopped straightening my hair, partially due to exercise, but I never really had that much of a concern with hair in the past. However, I will also admit that I have heard this complaint before, but it wasn't just from Black women, although they were included. I've heard it from Hispanic and White women as well. Vanity crosses all color lines!

mdcoug

I don't have this problem and I tend to sweat a lot in my hair/scalp. I will admit that I've stopped straightening my hair, partially due to exercise, but I never really had that much of a concern with hair in the past. However, I will also admit that I have heard this complaint before, but it wasn't just from Black women, although they were included. I've heard it from Hispanic and White women as well. Vanity crosses all color lines!

I'm white and about halfway through Insanity last spring I went to my hair stylist and asked her to teach me how to fix it curly. I used to straighten my hair, and while it took 30+ min. to do, I could make it last 2-3 days, so it was worth it. If I worked out, I could generally dry it and keep it somewhat straight. Insanity put an end to that! I called it my "Insanity cut." LOL

meshashesha2012

this is real.. imagine the ripples of shock and horror amongst my non jock black friends when i joined the swim team in high school. first thing out of their mouths was "OMG what about your hair?" :laugh:

i dont relax now but even when i did it wasnt that big of a deal to me, but then again i've nver worn those super ornate hairstyles that some of my friends would wear either. with that said i dont wear a many "set" styles either like roller sets, twist outs, braid outs etc. when my hair is out it's either in a pony puff or a BAA, both of which are muss proof

also like others have said this isnt just a black thing. unfortunately curly and kinky hair isn't the fashion norm, so anyone who feels the need to fight to get their hair stick straight will have this same issue when it comes to working out. but i have heard it more from black women. especially those who dont want people to know they have fresh off the boat afro textured hair and not that good hair like their indian princess great great grandma :laugh:

peterdt

I did not want to comment at all on this topic since I'm a white guy. I thought just to post it and let it be food for thought. I guess what you say is true for all woman. LIke to see a survey about this topic for all woman and I wonder why they singled out black woman.

BondBomb

This is no surprise. But I think the younger generation is more concerned with staying fit and healthy.
Natural hair is now more mainstream as well. I mean even as early as a few years ago I remember a character on "A Different World" who wore her hair natural but was forced to straighten it for a job interview. Silly by today's standards.

BondBomb

this is real.. imagine the ripples of shock and horror amongst my non jock black friends when i joined the swim team in high school. first thing out of their mouths was "OMG what about your hair?" :laugh:

i dont relax now but even when i did it wasnt that big of a deal to me, but then again i've nver worn those super ornate hairstyles that some of my friends would wear either. with that said i dont wear a many "set" styles either like roller sets, twist outs, braid outs etc. when my hair is out it's either in a pony puff or a BAA, both of which are muss proof

also like others have said this isnt just a black thing. unfortunately curly and kinky hair isn't the fashion norm, so anyone who feels the need to fight to get their hair stick straight will have this same issue when it comes to working out

HAH I got the same thing when I joined the diving team.

Zumaria1

I thinks its true for some, but I wish the article would acknowledge the HUGE amounts of black women who DO workout and how we manage our hair, as opposed to always the negative when it comes to black women.

As others have said, I find ways to keep it clean without drying it out. I wear my hair natural, I have a spray bottle with water and aloe vera juice, after I work out, I sprtiz my hair and scalp with it ( usually keep twists in while working out) then moisturize and massage with my oil mixture that has lavender and rosemary essential oils, so my scalp and hair feel clean and smells great. Once a week I wash, deep condition and continue to spritz after workouts

I think that going natural is what triggered me to get healthy in other ways as well. The more I learned about the horrible chemicals that are in relaxers for black women, the more I learned about healthy ways to maintain my hair, and this translated into research into what I was eating. The logic I had to follow was: if I'm buying natural healthy organic products for my hair, why am I eating crap?? Made no sense.

Its been a wonderful, liberating experience. I think many black women feel the way I do, they are all over Youtube, many going thru natural hair journeys and losing weight, and just becoming more healthy in general. I wise they would post an article about that, as opposed to what we are NOT doing.

angelams1019

this is real.. imagine the ripples of shock and horror amongst my non jock black friends when i joined the swim team in high school. first thing out of their mouths was "OMG what about your hair?" :laugh:

i dont relax now but even when i did it wasnt that big of a deal to me, but then again i've nver worn those super ornate hairstyles that some of my friends would wear either. with that said i dont wear a many "set" styles either like roller sets, twist outs, braid outs etc. when my hair is out it's either in a pony puff or a BAA, both of which are muss proof

also like others have said this isnt just a black thing. unfortunately curly and kinky hair isn't the fashion norm, so anyone who feels the need to fight to get their hair stick straight will have this same issue when it comes to working out

HAH I got the same thing when I joined the diving team.

'hahahahaha! When I used to relax my hair you would have thought I was the wicked witch of the west when it came to water and my hair! Now that I've gone natural, bring it on!! BUT- I never avoided working out because of my hair. I just had to wash it and straighten it more often.

JossFit

I did not want to comment at all on this topic since I'm a white guy. I thought just to post it and let it be food for thought. I guess what you say is true for all woman. LIke to see a survey about this topic for all woman and I wonder why they singled out black woman.

"They" singled out black women because the author of the study is herself a black woman and noticed that among her and her friends it was an issue. She was curious to see how wide spread of a concern it was.

It clearly states that in the first few sentences of the article.

DrMAvDPhD

I only wash my hair once a week. I wear a sweatband to keep my bangs and the hair at the back of my neck from getting damp. My forehead and neck sweat but not my scalp. Do many people have sweaty scalps??

Mokey41

I only wash my hair once a week. I wear a sweatband to keep my bangs and the hair at the back of my neck from getting damp. My forehead and neck sweat but not my scalp. Do many people have sweaty scalps??

Yeah, I'm a sweaty mess so hair washing goes with working out for me. That's why my hair is short and just needs a comb through it.

SoViLicious

I rather be fit with bad hair than to be overweight with pretty hair. Right now my focus is on a stronger body. I will slap a wig on if need be.

MoreBean13

Why is this only black women?! I feel excluded. My hair is a real PITA to do, too!!! :sad:


*kicks rocks and leaves*

Fittreelol

I only wash my hair once a week. I wear a sweatband to keep my bangs and the hair at the back of my neck from getting damp. My forehead and neck sweat but not my scalp. Do many people have sweaty scalps??

I have waist length hair I usually braid when I workout. I always envision a chunk of hair from a messy bun getting wrapped around a bar when I'm squatting, me having to dump the bar, and then having a bald patch. During the summer the end of my braid will often be dripping during a particularly intense workout. Groooooooooooss

JAT74

I used to relax my hair but I live in a hot climate where it's anything up to 35-40+ degrees around 6 months of the year and I was fed up of trying to keep it straight and looking perfect even when I wasn't working out. It was horrible to dry/style after I washed it as the bathroom was so hot and with the hair dryer and straighteners it was unbearable and every summer I would avoid going swimming and struggled to keep it looking nice.

After many years of this I decided to cut it all off and go natural again and I am sooo glad I did! It never used to stop me using the gym but it did take a very long time after workouts to get it back to 'normal' again. Now I don't even have to think about it and if I get a little sweaty it soon dries off and doesn't really look a lot different to before. It now takes me a grand total of 5 minutes every morning to get it looking nice and when I wash it I just condition it, throw on some mousse and let it dry naturally.

ArroganceInStep

I'm half Samoan, when I let my hair grow out I end up with a pretty gnarly afro. I kind of miss lifting with puff hair because it was a great queue for squatting. When your hair bounces in the top position, that means you were explosive enough.

LaviMc

Why is this only black women?! I feel excluded. My hair is a real PITA to do, too!!! :sad:


*kicks rocks and leaves*

\

THANK YOU! My point EXACTLY!

lesita75

Never avoided working out because of my hair. Most people I know who "can't get their hair wet" usually had a cheap *** $5 weave that looks like a birds nest when it gets wet.

SatchGallamax

I only wash my hair once a week. I wear a sweatband to keep my bangs and the hair at the back of my neck from getting damp. My forehead and neck sweat but not my scalp. Do many people have sweaty scalps??

Oh yeah... and I sweat a lot. For running I had to switch from a basic ponytail to a bun because the ponytail would be literally be dripping sweat down my back and then swishing it around.

I know, I'm pretty much super sexy when I workout.

baldielove13

Put your hair in a ponytail and a sweatband then you are good to go.

^^ This, or don't pay $100 for hair that gets messed up that easy. I'm sorry, but if working out messes up your hair, your stylist is wac! But this is something I have realized before that people do.

I am natural, so after I workout, & take a shower I can spray my hair down and comb it out. (IF I don't have braids or twists)

I know that's right girl! Put that hair up and get in that gym.

angelh1908

I sweat profusely when I work out, scalp included. My hair is very thick and very long, so there is no way that I would ever maintain a hairstyle at the gym. That being said, I choose instead to walk outside for exercise. Although I still work up a sweat, the air outside helps to keep my scalp sweat at a minimum, so this helps out a lot. If I go to the gym, then I'm already headed for the stylist in a day or so, so it doesn't matter much.

I'm transitioning from relaxed to natural hair now, so finding balance between the two textures when working out is key.

MoreBean13

Why is this only black women?! I feel excluded. My hair is a real PITA to do, too!!! :sad:


*kicks rocks and leaves*

\

THANK YOU! My point EXACTLY!

Seriously, My hair takes 2-3 hrs of work to look decent. I only wash it 2x a week. The rest of the time I just wear it in a ponytail and touch up the flat ironing around my hairline. It's SO thick that it doesn't really get greasy looking or smell- I just rock it dirty post workout. I do ~2 really intense runs a week, and those are the days I wash it afterwards, because it gets soaked with sweat.

One thing I've found, and this probably isn't applicable to black girls' hair, is that the less product I use, the less gross it gets. I don't use any hair product at all on it post-conditioner, just iron it damp.

Shanel0916

bump

meshashesha2012

Why is this only black women?! I feel excluded. My hair is a real PITA to do, too!!! :sad:


*kicks rocks and leaves*

because the point of the article isnt whose hair is more difficult to deal with, it's who is using hair as an excuse not to exercise.
and sorry to say, that is majority black women.

mightyafrodyte

I'm team natural for this very reason. Now, I hate to say that if I press my hair (Chemical free for 7 years now) I have to think about sweating. (I guess I have a sweaty scalp.) So I modify my workout accordingly, but I can't remember the last time I seriously pressed my hair.

So... it's not a really good excuse to not get a good workout in.
You can have beautiful hair in your casket.