Black Women Avoiding Exercise To Maintain Hairstyles: Study

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  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    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
    LaviMc Posts: 355 Member
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    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
    lesita75 Posts: 379 Member
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    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
    SatchGallamax Posts: 549 Member
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    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
    baldielove13 Posts: 219 Member
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    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
    angelh1908 Posts: 175 Member
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    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
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    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
    Shanel0916 Posts: 586 Member
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    bump
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    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
    mightyafrodyte Posts: 148 Member
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    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.
  • tennesseeleigh
    tennesseeleigh Posts: 169
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    I am not black but I have problem hair. It is extra thick and coarse and very dry. If I wash it every day it turns into straw. I have it cut in a chin length bob with layers and can wear it wavy or straight. I work out at lunch and have to go back to my office afterwards. I sweat buckets. What works for me is to rinse it when I shower at the gym and only really wash it every two or three days. Rinsing it gets the sweat out but doesn't strip it like shampoo. I bought a good hair dryer that stays in my gym bag that cuts my drying time down to around 5 minutes. If I absolutely don't have time rinse it and blow dry before going back to the office I wipe as much sweat as I can out of it and twist it into a knot on the back of my head.

    Like MoreBean said, the less product I use the less gross it gets. I mostly just use detangler unless I'm straigtening and then I use a heat protectant spray.
  • kittyr77
    kittyr77 Posts: 419 Member
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    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.

    me too!!!!! I have serious scalp and neck sweat lol! Would never stop me exercising tho.
  • k8eekins
    k8eekins Posts: 2,264 Member
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    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.

    I am a Southern Hemisphere black-islander, whose mixed race hair type is more Keri Russell meets Sydney (Tamiia) Poitier only fuller (hip-length when dry). My sister's is naturally straighter, thicker and more voluminous.

    It is regrettably disappointing to see that women would forgo their health/fitness because of their insecurities about their hair. It reminds me of => http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwySzkpyMfI

    I must agree that I have noticed a revival, without the penchant for harshness, but simply - a renewed sense of comfort with one's natural state of being and identity through one's hair, which is odd to pen down, but is moot amongst our African-American communities.
  • cindiva65
    cindiva65 Posts: 335 Member
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    < White chick that looks like a hot mess after working out!!! LOL Hair is a mess but oh well my body will eventually look better! :laugh:
  • bsix3
    bsix3 Posts: 291
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    uhh oh...
  • ElleBee615
    ElleBee615 Posts: 177
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    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.

    ^^This!!
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    That's what ponytails are for. I have what is considered "good hair", really hate that term because my hair has never been good to me, very thin and fine, can't wear braids which sucks and it won't hold a curl, natural or otherwise. In warmer weather I go natural and in colder weather, I go straight in cold, after I workout, I put a little shea butter or coconut oil in it and blow dry it straight, takes about 15 minutes. I only wash my hair once a month, weekly I saturate it with conditioner and rinse it out.
  • Spunkyset
    Spunkyset Posts: 1 Member
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    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:

    Yes it is real. I remembered about 15 years ago Oprah had a show about black women and our love affair with hair and it was noted that many black women do not know how to swim because we do not want our hair getting wet, whether it is natural but straightened hair, permed or weaves. I have a weave with human hair and do Insanity and wear a bandana around my head to hold the hair off my neck. I wanted to wash it as I knew my scalp would be sweaty but the hairdresser freaked and told me no. She gave me a dry shampoo which dealt with sweaty scalp but it broke my heart as it meant I could not go swimming. It makes me regret getting a weave as my health is important
  • flobeedoodle
    flobeedoodle Posts: 176 Member
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    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.

    ^^This!!

    I kinda think this is part of the problem, though. People feel pressured to conform to standards of beauty, and make choices like a cheap, high-maintenance weave that limits their activities, because they cannot afford a sturdier and more expensive styling option that still meets the beauty standard. I see two real issues/questions here. The first is enormous, and way beyond my ability to address, and that is widespread preference against natural hair. 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?
  • toshi89
    toshi89 Posts: 101 Member
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    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.

    Exactly. We know that every race, gender, etc. has hair issues, but a lot of black women do try to use it as an excuse.

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