Managing my Natural Hair While Working Out at the Gym

[tamathews]

I work out at least 4 to 5 days/wk and I need guidance on how to manage my natural hair while at the gym. I have only been wearing my natural hair with no braid extensions or weaves for 3 days, so any guidance on maintanence will be most helpful

[Ksuccess]

I have only started working out recently (okay four days ago) and I found that wear a bandana around my hair seems to help as far as managing the fuzziness. I have not amped up my hair washing because I don't want to dry my hair out. Do you wrap you hair while you work out or just let it go?

[LovelyJaded]

If I do not flat iron my hair, I just let it go and give it a good rinse or co-wash if it gets too sweaty.

[NRB229]

We do not advocate using heat to change the texture of your hair on this site. Please check the main page and refer to the rules.

Twists (two strand or flat twists) and cornrows (or even tuck and go styles where you pin your hair up with combs or hair pins) are great for those who workout regularly. I twist my hair on Sunday and wear it that way for the week (including rinsing and cowashing).

*right now i'm wearing Kinky twists for the winter

[Moderator Q]

Thanks naturallyreborn217!

@LovelyJaded, please reference -------> NP Home Page.

[empowered]

As a fitness instructor I can tell you this...don't be afraid to wash your hair after your work-out. I don't encourage any head wear (especially cotton/wool) because it can cause dryness and breakage. I agree with naturallyreborn217, put your hair in two strand twist, a bun, plaits, etc...I don't know your hair length, but do some sort of easy protective style before your work-out. Lately I have been getting in the habit of doing big two strand twist and then gently washing my hair at the end of the day (I have at least 3-5 classes a day). I may do a twist out or braid out at the end of the day. On weekends I have maybe one class, but that's when I really take the time to do a jazzy style.

Good luck!

[TheSuperCoya]

If I work out, I just rinse my hair afterwards, esp. at a shorter length.

Rinse it out, re-apply moisture and seal it in.

If your hair feels really nasty, just co-wash it. It's easy peasy.

[candycoatedreams]

When i am feeling up to working out, i usually just do some flat twists (about 4-5 really fast, sometimes kinda sloppy). I have seen some girls come in with 2 strand twists, braids, a bun, a simple puff, or a silk scarf.

[tab06]

When I workout I put my hair up in a bun. Sometimes I do the princess leia look when I'm feeling spunky. But the norm is just a simple bun. I haven't tried wearing twists when I work out, but that sounds like a good idea as well.

[afrochica]

I usually just do a puff so that my hair is off of my face.