Curly Hair and Working Out

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Hiya fellow curlies - question for you all, what do you do with your hair when working out?

I'm anywhere between a 3a to 3c depending on the weather, my wash day, the product used, how I'm feeling, etc. Usually, I throw it in a pony (I sleep with it a pineapple but only recently has it been long enough to grab the back part into a full pony) and workout. I also have curly bangs which can be really annoying (but super cute). Because I try to only wash my hair every 4-5 days I usually just end up washing my bangs after particularly sweaty workouts.

Anyone with curly hair discovered anything amazing for day 3ish when your scalp is starting to get kinda gross but you can't bring yourself to do the wash routine? (I swear I'm not a gross person, I shower more than I wash my hair!)
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Replies

  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
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    I'm not big on product if I can avoid it. Mind you I also have a basket of hair products that I've tried #curlylife.

    When I'm not locked up or protective styling, I do a water only "wash n go" type deal then spritz with The Honest Company's "Conditioning detangler with sweet orange vanilla scent" (I get mine on Amazon) as a refresher on Day 2 or Day 3 hair

    So basically, the standard L-C-O layers (liquid, cream, oil). In summer, my hair likes it as follows...

    Liquid: water
    Cream: Shealoe (diy recipe)
    Oil: EVOO or a bit more shea on the ends

    That's likely too heavy on cream and oil for your curls but experimenting is the name of the game with curls.

    Good luck!
  • GabiV125
    GabiV125 Posts: 3,116 Member
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    For me is trying in the morning to make it look normal-ish, getting fed up by 10 and clip/ponytail/bun for the rest of the day. Every time I see pretty coiffed ladies I get a little jealous, but I learned the hard way that medium length requires the most work. I guess I just don’t want it hard enough to commit to 20 minutes every morning.
    I was the only one in the house growing up with wavy hair , then I married a guy with straight hair and bam 2 kids with his hair.
    Freshly washed my hair it’s mostly civil, but if I fall asleep with it wet, I’ll wake up a lion. And it’s not even curly, just wavy.
    Without products it looks ugly frizzy, but if the products reach my scalp then it gets super itchy. So for me the solution is leave in, spray on ends conditioner.
    I had many years with very short haircuts and many with it so long , that it was always in a grandma bun.
    I wash it when it looks or feels weird, usually every other in the summer and every third in the winter.
    Sorry for not having the solution and I agree with MaltedTea just play around until you find what looks best, or is the easiest to follow routine.
  • dreaming13000
    dreaming13000 Posts: 68 Member
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    It depends on the day for me. I have a mixture of 2c, 3a and 3b (some 3c on a good hair day :) Short cut with bangs (currently growing out) I do not pineapple or wear a protective covering at night as this just squashes my curls entirely. If I do Max 30 at home, my hair is super sweaty and I have to clip my bangs back or they will poke my eyeballs. during my shower I can sometimes just use water on my hands to re activate the LA looks blue gel that I use. (the sweat actually reactivates quite nicely on the bottom layers) If hair is not salvageable in that manner, then I will re wet entirely upside down, add a tiny bit of leave in ( NYM yellow cond.) and blue LA looks gel, plop and set like I would on a wash day. I also tend to wash only once or maximum twice a week, but I do re wet often. This morning I ran, hair was relatively dry (no sweat) and so I was able to just smooth frizz with a little water on the hands and go. As I grow out, not sure how anything would change, except I am fully CG and do not use rubberbands in my hair, clips or nothing.
  • fstrickl
    fstrickl Posts: 883 Member
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    Thanks for the comments everyone! I could seriously talk about curly hair for hours.

    @dreaming13000 ive never heard of LA Looks gel. But ever since there was all that controversy with Deva Curl I’ve been looking for a new gel. Using gel on my hair was a game changer!

    @MaltedTea I love that you have your own DIY cream recipe! Sounds like you you’ve got your routine down!

    @GabiV125 I don’t have kids, but if I did and they had straight hair I feel like I’d have to learn from scratch!
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    I do dry shampoo at night and pineapple it, and then that next day when it needs a wash but it's just not practical I do a deep side part and braid back one side and do a ponytail. Gets a bit of dimension so not just slapped back from the forehead and gets me through one more day. A tiny bit of hair spray and a fine comb, run over the style but not through, gets the flyaways.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    I have long hair, so it lives in a bun most of the time. Before the gyms closed, I ended my workouts with a swim most days so I was forced to wash it. I can only get one good day out of my curls. After I’ve slept on them, they are trash and it goes up or in a braid.
  • dreaming13000
    dreaming13000 Posts: 68 Member
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    fstrickl wrote: »
    Thanks for the comments everyone! I could seriously talk about curly hair for hours.

    @dreaming13000 ive never heard of LA Looks gel. But ever since there was all that controversy with Deva Curl I’ve been looking for a new gel. Using gel on my hair was a game changer!

    I either use LA looks blue gel or Herbel essence totally twisted gel (both are CG friendly). The LA looks is old school and you can find it just about anywhere, it is bottom shelf so really in expensive.
  • hlr1987
    hlr1987 Posts: 151 Member
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    I'm four months into working out what works for my 2b - 3a waves/curls but I've mostly been massaging my scalp post work out to spread the sweat out a bit (I figure it's actually cleaning my hair a bit?), and then spritzing with water and mousse to reform the curls when I'm less hot/ sweaty. If its really aweful I might run the shower over it to refresh. I use bobby pins to pin my fringe (bangs) off my face usually, into two loose twists but having cut my hair short for the summer I don't need bobbles/s crunchy for the length.
  • hlr1987
    hlr1987 Posts: 151 Member
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    There should be a "share your post-workout frizz ball selfie" thread to commiserate with other curly haired people...
  • fstrickl
    fstrickl Posts: 883 Member
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    @hlr1987 a curly hair selfie thread would be amazing! 😂

    Sometimes I get so sweaty though it’s less frizz and more just dripping... 😬
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited August 2020
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    Mine is 3a.

    My secret weapon is a tiny bit of macadamia oil if my hair gets wiry/dry/frizzy.
  • dreaming13000
    dreaming13000 Posts: 68 Member
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    Orphia wrote: »
    Mine is 3a.

    My secret weapon is a tiny bit of macadamia oil if my hair gets wiry/dry/frizzy.

    Is your hair course or fine? I have baby fine 3a curls and I have tried just about every oil and they all weigh down my curls but I haven't tried this one, so I might give it a go.

    @fstrickl A curly girl selfie thread sounds amazing!!!
  • fstrickl
    fstrickl Posts: 883 Member
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    Orphia wrote: »
    Mine is 3a.

    My secret weapon is a tiny bit of macadamia oil if my hair gets wiry/dry/frizzy.

    Is your hair course or fine? I have baby fine 3a curls and I have tried just about every oil and they all weigh down my curls but I haven't tried this one, so I might give it a go.

    @fstrickl A curly girl selfie thread sounds amazing!!!

    My curls are super fine too, any oil anywhere besides the ends and they fall flat.

    Haha, okay maybe when I’m back from camping l I’ll start a curly thread. No one wants to see my non-washed non-styled camping curls now though. 😬
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,586 Member
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    My hair is more wavy and thick, it's prone to fizzing. I usually put my hair in a ponytail and take out when done. My head doesn't get very sweaty so I'll spray a refresher in it and add jojoba oil with essential oils added if it needs some extra moisture. You can make a spritz out of diluted conditioner as well. Now that I'm working out at home I'll do oil treatments and face masks, can't get away with that at the gym!
  • saltysparkle
    saltysparkle Posts: 145 Member
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    I also only get one good day out of my curls. When I work out, I have to put my hair up because it's long and thick and way too hot and annoying to keep down. Day 3, if I'm not gonna do a full treatment, I have to at a minimum give my scalp a good rinse and massage, and then moisturize again.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
    edited August 2020
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    My hair is long, so it's a bun for workouts and then just a water rinse(scalp only) or water/conditioner if not wash day. I'll spray with water and scrunch, but it is fluffy when not fully soaked. I've tried a lot of products, but anything sticky just makes it tangle worse. A leave in, like not your mother's smoothing cream, is usually my go to.
    I'll wear my hair in a ponytail or side braid for work if its crazy down.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
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    I'm a 3a/2c. My hair is chin-length and doesn't go into a full ponytail.

    I wear it loose or in a headband at the gym, unless it is wash day then I'll do a half pony.

    I shower after every workout but I wash my hair twice a week, I just use either a shower cap or just wing it and let it get damp.

    I wash and condition almost every time I wash my hair, it's low porosity so it doesn't do CO wash very well. I use a leave in or a curl cream, then a mist of spray oil, then gel - I use either LA looks gel (oldie, but goodie), Deva curl gel (haven't had any issues) or Eco gel (the Argan oil one). Plop (for ease) then either diffuse or air dry. Diffuse looks better but frizzier. I sleep in a satin bonnet.

    I got a Deva Cut in early June and I don't think I've had a bad hair day since.
  • dreaming13000
    dreaming13000 Posts: 68 Member
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    @ExistingFish I am envious of your deva cut. I have to drive like 4 hours one way to find a deva stylist......... There have been a couple ladies locally who have tried to work with me, like dry curl by curl cuts etc., but we just haven't found the holy grail. Plus now that I am growing out I will only get a trim every 8 weeks. My curls do LOVE trims!

    @fstrickl I just went camping for a week with limited shower opportunities (except the lake washings we did in the evenings) and my hair was wild !!! Good motivation to grow it out so I can just braid it or pull it up!
  • hlr1987
    hlr1987 Posts: 151 Member
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    I feel the camping hair pain. I'm going camping and kayaking this weekend and I'd ordered a jessiecurl deep conditioner so I could prepare tonight.. It hasn't come thanks to slow mail and my husband is not sympathetic to the pain of having run out of deep conditioner and being outside for days.
  • afua45
    afua45 Posts: 11 Member
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    Sorry I dont have any suggestions but to say that your comment is a good one and it's a struggle. I honestly time my workouts to my wash days. I'm a serious sweater so the tend to not work out right after a wash. Other than that its hat day or I pull off a "cool" scarf wrap.