Black Women Avoiding Exercise To Maintain Hairstyles: Study

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.

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.

uhh oh...

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.

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?

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????

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

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.

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.

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.

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 ><

Heeheehehee

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.

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.

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