Black Women Avoiding Exercise To Maintain Hairstyles: Study

dajonmiller

As a Black Woman who wears her hair natural (but keeps it wrapped; straight or a soft set) I can totally relate! I do not know one single Female who doesn't have this problem, especially if they are a professional. I get a blowout every week due to my extreme workout; by Friday/Saturday it's not as cute. I have meetings all week; I do put a bandanna and put it in a ponytails, but those roots don't stay completly straight. So either some of my sisters are not keeping it real or they wear braids/twists/Afro/weave, etc... Being healthy is what is most important????

wizzyg

Because it easier to talk about hair rather than other things..........just saying. This is interesting although I've experienced more of "my" female black friends avoid working out..., especially with weights, out of fear of looking like Serena Williams or losing their booty, more than messing up their hair.

islandbeauty81

I don't let my hair stop me. I put it in a ponytail and call it a day.

ktrichards06

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


*kicks rocks and leaves*

haha too funny!

Justthisgirl1994

My hair is kinda high maintenance so I'll admit I used to avoid exercising b/c of my hair. I don't worry about it much now though. I put it in a pony tail go work out and then go home and wash it. I just tend to work out after I've done everything I have to do for the day. If it weren't for my hair I would work out in the mornings before school/work.

Princesa4u

I'm Hispanic and I can totally relate to this topic. I have curly hair, and until recently, was very long. I didn't go to the salon much because of the cost, I don't straighten my hair much because of how much time it takes, so before I invest my time or money, I have to consider possibly not working out for about a week so that the style would last. Sweat and curly/frizzy hair don't go well, doesn't matter how straight or how much flat iron it gets. I've had to truly decide between nice hair or nice body, thanks God I like my curls, because my health and aiming for that nice body is more important to me. I can totally understand though why they would choose not to work out after spending tons of money on their hair. I just hope they can find a happy medium or other alternative like walking.

Zumaria1

Yeah, I sweat a ton in my scalp, that's why I wear twists while I work out, and when I spray with water and moisturize it keeps my hair manageable. When I go out I just take the twists down and it looks really nice.

I cannot wear straight styles since I've been working out, my hair would just frizz back up. I do my own hair at home, I'm so happy I've learned how to twist, flat twist, and do other styles, so I can still look cute but get healthy too, lol. I think I only wear straight styles like twice a year, all the heat from blow drying and flat ironing breaks my hair off anyway if I do it too much. Braids were what I used to wear and they are really easy maintenance.

pnkpassion

This is one of my biggest woes..
Being a black female with natural hair, it can be a pain in the butt to have any moisture get to my hair. I have avoided exercise and prefer to work out in the cold just so I wouldn't sweat. My biggest problem with my hair becoming a poof ball after a workout is I have to go to work in a corporate office and its just doesnt look good.

My solution is braids and lots of it...it will be the only way I can get my exercise in and still look good.

meshashesha2012

The first is enormous, and way beyond my ability to address, and that is widespread preference against natural hair.

but one doesn't have to be natural to exercise regularly. washing and blow drying can work with relaxed hair too as long as your hair is cut into an actual style.

plus, dealing with wet natural hair isn't always pleasant. i know i for one can't let my loose hair dry wet unless i want to deal with a zillion tangles :laugh: i could get away with that when my hair was shorter but at this length even if i take a braid out without paying attention i end up with tangles

The second question is much more narrow, and can be seen as relevant to many choices that people make, including ones that have nothing to do with hair: why are some beauty standards given priority over others? Why one type of hair is preferable over another type of hair is too vast a topic, but why is hairstyle trumping fitness, which also impacts mate value? What other factors, beyond relative impact to mate value, influence the choices of which standards to follow and which to ignore? How do people assess the relative costs and benefits of their lifestyle choices?

good question. two things i can think of
-some people are just latching on to ANY excuse to not get fit and hair is as just a good an excuse as anything else.

-hair is a HUGE issue with black women. we're only about 6% of the us population we spend upwards of 8 billion dollars (!!!!!) per year on hair stuff which is more than double the amount what other ethnicities spend on their hair. people can't be willing to spend that much money on hair products and not trying to chase some idea of perfection. i think those women would be hard pressed to do anything that would mes up their hair.

joyesq135

Braids are the way to go. Put them up in a pony tail or bun. No worries. Love my braids.

Fittreelol

The second question is much more narrow, and can be seen as relevant to many choices that people make, including ones that have nothing to do with hair: why are some beauty standards given priority over others? Why one type of hair is preferable over another type of hair is too vast a topic, but why is hairstyle trumping fitness, which also impacts mate value? What other factors, beyond relative impact to mate value, influence the choices of which standards to follow and which to ignore? How do people assess the relative costs and benefits of their lifestyle choices?

A lot of times it's not about finding a mate; it's about having and getting ahead in a career.
As other posters stated:

As a Black Woman who wears her hair natural (but keeps it wrapped; straight or a soft set) I can totally relate! I do not know one single Female who doesn't have this problem, especially if they are a professional. I get a blowout every week due to my extreme workout; by Friday/Saturday it's not as cute. I have meetings all week; I do put a bandanna and put it in a ponytails, but those roots don't stay completly straight. So either some of my sisters are not keeping it real or they wear braids/twists/Afro/weave, etc... Being healthy is what is most important

This is one of my biggest woes..
Being a black female with natural hair, it can be a pain in the butt to have any moisture get to my hair. I have avoided exercise and prefer to work out in the cold just so I wouldn't sweat. My biggest problem with my hair becoming a poof ball after a workout is I have to go to work in a corporate office and its just doesnt look good.

My solution is braids and lots of it...it will be the only way I can get my exercise in and still look good.

I think a big root of it is subtle or maybe not so subtle racism. Sadly we live in a society (at least those of us in the US) where black women's (or men's for that matter) natural hair can be seen as "unprofessional." In fact, any non-euro standard hair is often considered "unprofessional" including white women's curls. Fortunately this attitude seems to be slowly changing, but who can fault someone for doing what they feel is necessary to get ahead at work. There was a big blog explosion 5-6 years ago when a Glamour editor failed at life and gave a speech at a law school saying "political hair" which in her comments was basically synonymous with "natural hair" was a big no-no in the professional world. Even though the Glamour editor was completely in the wrong (and a huge racist jerk face) it doesn't mean their aren't other racist jerk faces looking for a reason not to give someone a promotion. It's not all law offices and investment firms frowning on natural hair: last year 6 Flags denied an engineering student a job because of her dreadlocks. 6 Flags response? "We have a very conservative dress code," a company representative said. "We don’t discriminate based on gender, age, or race." :huh: :noway:

Because it easier to talk about hair rather than other things..........just saying. This is interesting although I've experienced more of "my" female black friends avoid working out..., especially with weights, out of fear of looking like Serena Williams or losing their booty, more than messing up their hair.

Unrelated to the rest of my post- there is no one I'd rather be than me. If some crazed scientist forced me to have Serena's body I wouldn't be complaining too much.:laugh:

edit to close tags ><

LaviMc

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.

Which majority is that? Maybe it's the majority of black women YOU know. No one ever came up to me and asked me to participate in a study.

amy1612

Heeheehehee

nessagrace22

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.

The survey was on 103 black women, now in your world this may be a majority but not mine!

Natural or weave, black or white, theres always an excuse not to exercise. I look a hot mess at the gym but when my body finally looks tight nobody's gonna be looking at my head!!

msamcoates

This is exactly what I do, workout outside or head to the gym when I know I'm headed to the stylist in a few days. I'm not natural nor am I thinking of going natural but I also enjoy working out. I've also invested in "saveyoudo" .. it helps to keep my edges from getting so sweaty.

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.

FabulouslyFitTam

I brought a "save your do" head wrap - and it helps my edges! I wear it and keep my hair in a ponytail. But, I'm willing to sacrifice gorgeous hair for the gym.

brownshuga30

WOW! I know we will fight you if you get our hair do wet at the pool lol but never heard it being used as an excuse not to workout. Ponytail to keep your hair out of your face and get to working.

tricelive

I love being a cutie but to hake with my hair right now, I am focused. I have solely been wearing wigs. I have one on now and my workout wig is in my gym bag...

And I might add my natural hair is well passed my shoulders, so just because you see black women wearing wigs and weaves does make them bald and nappy headed. More than likely they workout and those options are easily maintained. Such as celebrities who all wear hairs pieces and have vigorous exercise regimens.

sofulnaturalee

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)
[/quote]

Me too. Hair and exercise is not a problem for me either

bonsaiblossom

I exercise even though I hardly ever log it because I don't eat back my calories, my hair doesn't prevent me from exercising, I have really long hair and just put it in a ponytail when im exercising