african american hair and exercise???

chiera88
chiera88 Posts: 155
edited October 6 in Fitness and Exercise
:bigsmile: hey everybody,

i'm an african american girl with medium length permed and straightened hair. i'm curious of what other girls like me do with their hair during and right after excercise. sweating a lot is totally messing up my hair and driving me crazy but i'm not gunna stop working out :bigsmile: and i don't want to just cut my hair of like my gym teacher suggests... lol

i need ideas from personal experience. thanks
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Replies

  • wish21
    wish21 Posts: 602 Member
    I put my in a pony tail and keep on trucking. Normally I wear a pony tail in my hair, my hair used to be really long and thick but its thinning out some so its pass my shoulders but soo thin. But my hair is thick at the roots so when I sweat so does my scalp.
  • mandypooh2103
    mandypooh2103 Posts: 289 Member
    Omg I really need answers I am in the same position
  • raindropwishes
    raindropwishes Posts: 182
    you know, I've ended up cutting my hair off and starting again natural lol
  • chiera88
    chiera88 Posts: 155
    thanks for the responses so far :bigsmile:

    let me add more information. i currently just wear it in a ponytail during exercise but wear it down otherwise. i don't like ponytails lol
    and i'm too lazy to go natural ha

    i've seen some women wearing wraps of some sort but never got around to asking them about it...
  • SheWillNotFail46_5
    SheWillNotFail46_5 Posts: 17 Member
    Well I have no shame in wearing a cute scarf in public. When i had a perm I would wrap my hair and throw a scarf on with some cute earrings and work it out. Just don't tie that scarf like aunt jemima! :-) After exercising i left my scarf on and my hair wrapped until it was completely dry (I sweat ALOT). Once i combed it out and sprayed on some sheen it was pretty straight. I bumped the ends a few times a week. This worked for me up until about 6 weeks post relaxer. After that my roots were not having it. A Tight ponytail will work ok. It will keep your roots from getting puffy. Once again don't undo your ponytail until hair is completely dry. I did microbraids alot back in the day too. Don't know if they are still in style....I don't see them much these days.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    I don't like to wear my hair down. I usually wear my hair in a ponytail.
  • knharper08
    knharper08 Posts: 1 Member
    Hey! That was a major concern for me, as I do boot camp at my college every tuesday and thursday morning--I sweat a TONNN!

    What I find keeps my edges smooth and minimal poofiness (I'm as natural as a newborn baby lol), is using Carol's Daughter Hold & Control Smoother along the edges, brush it down gently around the edges with fingers or back of a comb (be gentle!!), and put a tad bit of some tea tree oil in some places as I wear a weave sometimes.

    I either wrap my hair or do pin curls, and I bought an inexpensive workout "du rag" from Wal-mart, it has holes/ventilation in it so that my hair doesnt sweat and poof up. After my workout, I do a quick blowdry on low setting to get the majority of the moisture out, and I let it wait until after my shower to let it completely dry.

    My roommate and I were amazed how nicely my hair came out, especially since our boot camp instructor works us out HARD and I loved my result!
  • BeingJamela365
    BeingJamela365 Posts: 6 Member
    This is a BIG issue for us African American beauties! I usually wrap my hair and put my scarf on while working out. I let it completely dry then I'm good. I am considering braids because this method doesn't allow me to work out in the mornings as I sweat alot and my hair is shoulder length and pretty thick.

    I am really contemplating going natural....
  • MsBaby117
    MsBaby117 Posts: 201 Member
    I either wrap mine or put it in a ponytail....
  • Neize
    Neize Posts: 301 Member
    This is a BIG issue for us African American beauties! I usually wrap my hair and put my scarf on while working out. I let it completely dry then I'm good. I am considering braids because this method doesn't allow me to work out in the mornings as I sweat alot and my hair is shoulder length and pretty thick.

    I am really contemplating going natural....

    Totally agree with you! I'm thinking about going nautural as well! :smile:
  • bonnynblithe04
    bonnynblithe04 Posts: 123 Member
    My hair is relaxed too but am considering going natural. My last touch-up was on Sunday and I went to the gym several times this week (AM) in my scarf and hard rollers. I have no shame, LOL!
  • Iwillshyne
    Iwillshyne Posts: 245
    I too have relaxed hair but I wear a lot of diffrent braiding styles: cornrows, sew ins, singles, micros ect. I love my braids. But I have lots of friends who decided to go natural and they love it.
  • ShellyBrowne
    ShellyBrowne Posts: 27 Member
    I'm not sure what the right answer is.

    I run 4-5 days a week, and after my runs my entire body including my head/hair is soaked. I live in Houston so I don't just experience the heat but the humidity as well. I wash my hair after every single run because there's no way I'm putting up with the smell. My hair is relaxed and short (top of shoulders length) so it's a fairly easy process of washing/conditioning but it's thick so it takes about 4-5 hours to air dry (no ponytail).

    The only magic trick I have is that I have a really great cut that doesn't look too horrible during the drying process. I haven't found the magic trick to making it cute or sexy but I'm more concerned about my health than about how I look at work.
  • keesh1123
    keesh1123 Posts: 229 Member
    This is a BIG issue for us African American beauties! I usually wrap my hair and put my scarf on while working out. I let it completely dry then I'm good. I am considering braids because this method doesn't allow me to work out in the mornings as I sweat alot and my hair is shoulder length and pretty thick.

    I am really contemplating going natural....

    THIS... and this is why i mainly workout at night (if I workout in the morning its usually very light with minimal sweat or b/c I know I will stay home for the rest of the day).

    I wear my hair wrapped, so I just wrap it up before I workout, my scarf is usually completely wet when I'm done, so I switch it up with a dry scarf so it will dry quicker. Its usually almost bedtime when I'm done, so I just allow it to dry while I sleep.

    Most mornings I wake up and it's just fine unless I am due for a shampoo. at first I wouldn't work out for about a week after first getting a new relaxer b/c I didn't want to mess up my hair! But this method works great. Because of the workouts I wash and condition my hair weekly and this really helps with keeping my hair fresh.

    Ive also heard that pinning your curls up with bobby pins before a workout works well. Oh yea, and if you don't like to put much heat on your hair, a roller set works great! I live by them when I am due for a relaxer, roll it up before the workout and allow it to dry! they hide the naps and allow me to keep my workouts strong!

    I hope that you find something that works for you because this is such a hassle!
  • nay038
    nay038 Posts: 5 Member
    Omg I am so glad to see this post because this is definitely a problem I wear sew ins a lot and wrap it and pin it down braids work best if your edges can stand it mine can't I'm with the majority I would like to go natural but that would seriouly take some getting use to thanks for sharing
  • MsTanya77
    MsTanya77 Posts: 357 Member
    I sweat alot too and I am transitioning to natural hair, no weaves here: What I do is, blow dry my hair w/ a comb immediately after I work out. If I am not going to work right away or if I am working out at home, I wrap my hair and leave it wrapped until I need to style it. If I am heading straight to work, I spray my hair w/ light oil sheen and flat iron it. I get my hair treated once a week at a salon and I have had no problems w/ my hair at all. Styling my hair after blow drying literally takes likes 10 minutes. I work out daily 5-6 days a week and I am a heavy sweater, sometimes still sweating while I'm drying out my hair.
  • healthyyme
    healthyyme Posts: 22 Member
    I'm natural, but a thick headband or scarf definitely helps :)
  • Wilma0706
    Wilma0706 Posts: 9
    tie it back!
  • daterminedfatburnerX
    daterminedfatburnerX Posts: 346 Member
    i just keep mines in a ponytail...and i dont straighten my hair unless theres a special occasion since it does alot of damage..
    so i just keep it curly for the restt of the week since i know im going to be sweating like a piggy
  • juicymama08
    juicymama08 Posts: 38 Member
    Well I have no shame in wearing a cute scarf in public. When i had a perm I would wrap my hair and throw a scarf on with some cute earrings and work it out. Just don't tie that scarf like aunt jemima! :-) After exercising i left my scarf on and my hair wrapped until it was completely dry (I sweat ALOT). Once i combed it out and sprayed on some sheen it was pretty straight. I bumped the ends a few times a week. This worked for me up until about 6 weeks post relaxer. After that my roots were not having it. A Tight ponytail will work ok. It will keep your roots from getting puffy. Once again don't undo your ponytail until hair is completely dry. I did microbraids alot back in the day too. Don't know if they are still in style....I don't see them much these days.

    This ^^^^^
    Olive Oil Edge control......Pull it in a tight ponytail w/ scarf.....workout.....let hair completely dry before taking off scarf.... If you don't have time to wait for it to dry naturally, use the blowdryer with the big round brush...softens and straightens 4 perfect hair! :bigsmile:
  • therenegadeangel
    therenegadeangel Posts: 36 Member
    Thank God I'm not relaxed anymore...sweet freedom.
  • Phoenix1401
    Phoenix1401 Posts: 711 Member
    bump
  • raindropwishes
    raindropwishes Posts: 182
    Thank God I'm not relaxed anymore...sweet freedom.
    I know right?! lol :happy:
  • BeingJamela365
    BeingJamela365 Posts: 6 Member
    Thank God I'm not relaxed anymore...sweet freedom.


    How was your journey to natural?
  • FinerthanB433
    FinerthanB433 Posts: 51
    I was natural for over a year and while some love it, I HATED it! I went back to permed hair about two months ago! For me and working out, this has worked the BEST! I sweat a lot, but my hair is in a ponytail while I workout, and then I wear it down afterward with NO problem, and my hair is VERY thick! I am so glad I went back to a perm, because my hair is so thick that at natural, it took me HOURS to do it every morning, and I still was not happy with it. Natural is not for everyone! If you are considering going natural, I would do it because it is right for you, not because it is popular. I did it because it was popular, and I would never do it again! Find out what is right for you, and do that!
  • canegrovern
    canegrovern Posts: 21 Member
    I shaved my hair off and kept running but I now wear my hair in a kinky twist style when my hair grow back i will be doing two strand twist. I am less concern of how my hair look and care more about not getting high blood pressure and not becoming diabetic because of being obese.
  • chiera88
    chiera88 Posts: 155
    thanks for all the comments so far. it's sounding like the trick is to let it dry in the pony tail or wrapped up. (since i do not have time to blow dry it and wouldn't want to daily anyway)

    when wrapping it up, is the scarf knot in the front or back???
  • ummlovelovesyou
    ummlovelovesyou Posts: 1,024 Member
    HA! I just straightened my hair yesterday. I can't do anything with it, it sucks. I go au natural...and embrace my curly q's.
    I only straighten my hair 2-3 times a year for a few days at a time...

    With straight hair I can't sweat at all lol.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    I have really coarse texture hair. So to an extent, I can relate a little. I have had relaxers in my hair and I have to blowout my hair before I iron it. When my hair is "did", I like to use those dry shampoos to freshen it up. They work really well. My hair is too short to wear it curly right now :-( You can wear wide cotton headbands while at the gym to whick away sweat and keep those roots straight.
  • may5220
    may5220 Posts: 101 Member
    I am natural and after working out, I will put my hair in a puff or a bun, depending on if I have twists or braids or wigging it.
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