....Girl look at that body, I work out....

Me after my workout today, please don't hate on the muscles.....

 I am always amazed at how influential hair is in our daily decisions, especially our decision to work out.  I have heard many women state that Black women's concern with their hair keeps them from exercising.  Of course, this then gives the illusion that once a woman goes natural she will then be able to work out without concern for her hair.  Well, I would like to say that people who think that way are WRONG.  I think that as far as working out goes I take my hair into consideration more now than I did when it was relaxed.  Of course this isn't a problem when I do a wash and go, but honey when I have a good looking twist out I am not trying to destroy it with sweat.  So, what's a natural beauty to do?  Well, there are a couple of options for preserving a style-out while working out.  

1. If working out in the morning, leave your hair in the style that you wore to preserve it at night.  I braid my hair at night and it is not cute so this option does not work out for me unless I work out at home.  However, if you put your hair in cute braids at night, a puff, or pineapple then this option may be suitable for you fellow gym goers.  
2. If working out once you have styled your hair for the day, where your hair in a high ponytail, pineapple or puff.  This is the option that works best for me.  I usually go to the gym in the afternoon/evening so that I can be less concerned with my hair.

 

The goal of both of these options is to keep as much hair as possible away from your scalp.  Your scalp is where the sweat will be; therefore, the less amount of hair that comes in contact with your scalp the less amount of hair you that will be exposed to sweat.  By keeping your hair from coming in contact with the sweat you will decrease the chance of frizz and ruin of your style-out.    

My preference for preserving my twist outs during sweaty workouts, and boy do I sweat, is to wear a headband and my hair in a high ponytail.  Until my hair grows back more I use a ribbon to hold it up in my high ponytail until I can use a hair twisty.

Whichever option works best for you there are two additional things that you should do to help preserve your style.  It is important to preserve the edges of your hair.  I like to do this by wearing a sweatband, headband, or scarf which will absorb some of the sweat.  The second important thing to do, and this is crucial, is to be sure that your hair dries COMPLETELY, or as close to completely as you have time for, before you take your hair out.  By take your hair out I mean removing your hair out of whatever style you have done to preserve it during your work out.  For example, for me, I wait for my hair to dry completely before I take my high ponytail down and before I remove my headband/sweatband/scarf.  

 

If you find  there to be too much frizz around the edges try flat twisting the edges, especially the front, ans again be sure to leave this in until your hair has dried.  

 

Once your hair has dried you are good to go to style as usual.  

 

I hope this helps.  

Tootles for now.......