May 11, 2012
By: Shaila Strayhorn
Exercising has been an important way of staying in shape and relieving my stress. Anything from kick boxing, Pilates, and running the treadmill; I find to be a relaxing and invigorating experience. However, when I have asked some of my friends, family members, and even colleagues to come join me in this experience; they often respond with these horrid words “I can’t go exercise; I will sweat my hair out!” Even our own US surgeon general, Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, can relate to this topic when she stated during an interview that “When [women] start to exercise, you look for reasons not to, and sometimes the hair is one of those reasons.”
As African American women, it has been programmed within our minds at a young age that we need to take a great amount of precautions in order to keep our hair beautiful. From being taught how to wrap our hair, to needing to sleep in a certain position to keep our hair looking nice for the next day, these “hair” precautions that we developed still exist during adulthood. For example, many African American women spend a disproportionate amount of time and money on hair care compared to going to a gym and working out . One study conducted by the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center found that 31% of 103 African American women that were surveyed, stated that they would exercise less because it may harm their hairstyles.
In order to avoid being a part of this statistic I have found the following resolutions helpful when working out and still maintaining my hair style:
I engage in my workout activities before my beauty shop appointments
I talk with my beautician about products I can use in order to maintain my hairstyle after a heavy work out
I use a cotton head band to prevent the sweat from making my edges to frizzy
To counteract the effects of sweat use a leave in conditioner before working out
For non-natural hair, WRAP IT UP!!! Use a silk scarf or head wrap to maintain hair style
Between your hair and a good sweaty work out; the fact still remains that only one can lead to lifelong health benefits. Which will you choose?
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Shaila Strayhorn is a supporter of BGR! and she loves to engage in zumba, pilates, and club boxing. She is a current first year graduate student at The University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is pursuing a Master’s in Public Health and enjoys exercising and spending time with her family and friends.
May 2, 2012
Thank you to the Business, Beauty & Fitness Editors at Essence Online for the opportunity! To read Toni & Ashley’s Interview with Essence, click here: Q&A with Ashley Hicks & Toni Carey of Black Girls RUN!
August 4, 2011
By Lauren Elmore
The New York Times recently published an article about Black women who are becoming online entrepreneurs by posting videos and blog posts about products and procedures to educate women about their natural hair. These women fill a gap created by overpriced “natural” hair salons and hair care products that don’t help women make healthy choices about their natural hair.
The article brought me back to my own hair beginnings. It was 2003 and I was living in Harlem, New York. At the time, Harlem was going through an economic resurgence. Young professionals were renovating the beautiful and neglected brownstones. New restaurants, lounges, and boutique clothing stores opened…along with the chain stores that now deemed Harlem “safe enough.” Local magazines and newspapers featured black owners of coffee shops extolling the virtues of owning a business in one’s community. President Clinton had moved his foundation offices to a building on West 125th Street two years prior. People (don’t ask me which people) called it the “New Harlem Renaissance.” Read more
January 19, 2011
Do you guys remember superlatives in high school? Back in the day, we would nominate and vote for the people who we thought were most likely to succeed and best looking. If I were still eligible for an award, up until about two weeks ago, I would have nominated myself and WON best hair. (Ok, maybe not, but I would have been a contender) After nine months of transitioning, a chop in May and months of “learning” how to care for my natural hair, I thought my fro was the flyyest fro ever. All of that confidence and cockiness came to a crashing halt recently. I now understand what everyone is talking about when they speak of the winter hair blues. Not to mention, running outside has exponentially compounded my winter hair problems. Now, my once curly and bouncy fro feels like straw and looks just as frizzy and disheveled as James Brown’s mug shot.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m not the only one trying to figure out a winter hair routine. Our blogging friend, Tina, posted a question about winter hair care for naturals on our Facebook page, and wrote a post on her blog. Specifically, she was wondering how runners and athletes care for their natural hair during the winter months. Since this is my first winter being fully natural, I have no answers. So, I’m posing the question to you guys. What are your tips for winter hair care? Running outside in the cold seems to make my hair even frizzier, what are some good products that I can use to fight the frizz? What do you do to your hair when you are running and working out? Are you protecting it with a silk bonnet or scarf, or leaving it exposed to the elements? Thanks for sharing the knowledge ladies!
December 27, 2010
Historically, I’m not a lady with much patience. I hate waiting. Absolutely hate it. I’m pretty sure that this is an affliction that I’ve suffered with during the majority of my life. Instant gratification is the way I roll. We even moved our wedding up four months because I couldn’t wait.
Read more
July 14, 2010
Co-Wash For On-the-Go look
Unlike Ashley I have neither the patience or guts to go natural, so I usually co-wash throughout the year, but mostly in the summer. With the humidity and high temps, my relaxed hair usually stays in a ponytail on most days. Co-washing gives me a fun, on-the-go look and allows me to wash my hair a few times during the week so my hair doesn’t smell like a dirty gym bag.
Read more
June 3, 2010
“Girl I do NOT want to sweat out my hair!!” You will hear this same mantra repeated by many women of color whether their hair is relaxed or natural! Many of us don’t take to kindly to sweating out a $50 deep condition, blow dry and style, and the same applies to natural ladies who have spent a few hours putting two strand twist in their hair in hopes of achieving the perfect twist out. Burning serious calories equals sweating and there is nothing quite like the sweat produced when pounding the pavement and running.
Whether you want to call it highly textured hair, natural hair, kinky hair, curly hair or nappy hair, the result is the same after a long run…a scalp filled with salt and sweat which is a lethal combination for your tresses. The salt that sweat produces dries out your scalp and can leave your hair looking dull, brittle and lifeless if you don’t care for your hair properly.
So how do you care for your locks and still get your fitness on???? The answer is water…good old fashioned H2O. This is what works for me and several other ladies I know who “run while natural.” Each of us will have to find what works for our specific hair, but I think my routine is as good place as any to start with.
I will not allow sweat and salt to sit on my scalp for more than 2 days without rinsing my scalp with plain old water. This means if I run two days in a row, on the second day after my run I will rinse my scalp and hair with water while in the shower. I do not use shampoo or conditioner since my hair really isn’t dirty, my scalp simply needs to be cleansed. On the day that I do my long run (for me 7 miles or more) I co-wash my hair in the shower after the run. Co-washing means to wash your hair using only conditioner. I rinse my hair with water and then saturate it with my favorite moisturizing conditioner and let it sit on my hair while I handle the rest of my showering business and then simply rinse out the conditioner in the shower. It’s important to use a moisturizing conditioner because textured hair craves moisture whether your hair is relaxed or natural.
I wash my hair once a week using a sulfate free shampoo and follow up the shampoo with a deep conditioning treatment. Anytime I rinse, co-wash or wash my hair I always follow up with a good leave-in conditioner! Maintaining well moisturized, soft kinks and curls is very important to achieving and maintaining healthy hair. You have to get the salt and dirt off your scalp in order to do that. No one wants their hair feeling like a brillo pad and if you leave sweat and salt sitting on your scalp for to long, that is exactly what you will end up with…a birllo puff…not cute ☹
Head over to www.kinkycurlynikki.blogspot.com to read more about natural hair care.
December 22, 2009
Post Workout Hair
For most of us, maintaining a cute hairstyle on days that we run can be pretty difficult. Well, I feel like I made things even more challenging when I decided to go natural four months ago. The first few months weren’t so bad, but I am finally at the point where it’s getting a little more difficult to manage and the allure of the creamy crack is starting to entice me. Luckily I have found tons of blogs and information on the Internet to help me transition. However, the hardest part is that a lot of the styles and information don’t take into consideration an active lifestyle aka sweating out blowouts, flat irons, roller sets, etc. I’ve found that I have to wet my hair almost every day that I run so that I can comb through it. This isn’t so bad for the new growth, but my permed hair gets really dry. HELP! To those who have transitioned or are natural, I really need advice on products and techniques to keep my hair healthy as I transistion.
Here are a few problems that I am having:
1. Frizz – I have been doing two stranded twists and roller sets, but my hair is a frizz ball by the end of the day and completely frizzed out after my run. I’m not sure if I’m using the wrong products or what.
2. Lack of Moisture – After I work out, I usually have to wet my hair in order to comb through it. I need a product that adds moisture to both the natural and permed hair and makes it a little easier to manage.
3. Detangler vs Leave-In Conditioner – I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of hair care products that claim to strengthen, detangle, soften, restructure, moisturize and do all of the above. I’ve been been using 2-3 conditioners every time I wash my hair (and I usually just wash with conditioner) because my roots need a detangler, and my ends need a deep conditioner. Is there a product that can solve both problems?
Products that I have tried:
1. Giovanni Conditioner
2. Organics Shampoo and Conditioner
3. Jane Carter Shampoo and Leave-In Conditioner
4. Pantene Pro-V Shampoo and Conditioner
5. Carol’s Daughter Shampoo
Natural ladies, what products do you recommend? Do you wash your hair after every workout and did you transition or big chop?
October 29, 2009
I would say that one of the primary reasons black women don’t run is because we don’t want to sweat out our hair. Ashley recently told me about one of her male friends who applauded Black Girls Run! for reassuring black women that it is okay to get their hair sweaty for the sake of working out and running. I’m not sure at what point black women became convinced that our hair must be perfect at all times, but while in the process of dispelling myths, we might as well dispel this one too.
A few years ago, I began experimenting with what I now know as co-washing. Co-washing is a technique used by women that gives them the ability to wash their hair without shampooing it. There’s several products on the market and different techniques to do this. I’ve had the most success with Matrix Curl Life and Redken Fresh Curls. When using the co-washing technique, it’s important not to wash your hair more than twice a week.
To co-wash use the following steps:
1. Shampoo your hair as you normally would
2. Apply conditioner to your hair. I recommend using
Queen Helene mixed with 100% protein. You can find both at your local beauty supply or Sally’s. Apply the mixture to damp hair and cover with a plastic cap. Sit with the conditioner on your hair for approximately 15 minutes. If possible, sit under a dryer.
3. Rinse hair thoroughly.
4. Comb out hair using a paddle brush.
5. Once you have combed through your hair, apply either
Matrix Curl Life or
Redken Fresh Curls according to the instructions on the packaging.
6. Either blow dry your hair with a diffuser or let it air try. Try not to apply too much heat because it will make your hair frizzy.
7. Instead of shampooing your hair after each run, simply rinse and condition and style hair using the technique above.
There’s a couple of things to keep in mind about co-washing. You won’t nail it the first time you try it. Each person has a different grade and/or texture of hair. What might work for me, might not work for you. It truly is trial and error, but don’t give up. Also, it’s best not to use oil when styling your hair with the Redken or Matrix products. The oil will make your curls limp. Also, be sure to sleep with a satin scarf on your hair which will help prevent breakage.
September 16, 2009
There’s a fine line between 70s cool and 70s dork. And when it comes to sweatbands and headbands, the line is even thinner between functional and fashionable.
For months, my boyfriend has been trying to convince me to wear a sweat absorbent headband to help with my excessive sweating. It worked for him as a college track star, why wouldn’t it work for me?
The one and only reason. I have to be cute while I run. My refusal to wear a sweatband even prompted him to pull out his from his glory days. I think back in the day it was probably white, but could only currently be described as ……vintage.
I digress. From the picture above, sweatbands for women are tricky. Worn incorrectly you could be mistaken for an extra in “Anchor Man”.
However, while doing my research, I came across a woman who has become my headband role model. Candace Parker. She wears headbands all the time…..and fashionably. I experimented with some different types to perfect what I have dubbed as the “Candace Parker.”
- DO try “Stay Put headwraps. They can be found at Target.
- DO wear your hair down if you have shorter hair
- DO wear fun colors
MY FAVORITE LOOK
I’ve seen Candace wearing this recently in her advertising campaign. Not only is it functional, but it’s chic. To get the look, put your hair in a ponytail and put two Goody “Ouchless” headwraps around your nape and position on the top of your head. They can be found at Target.
By: Shaila Strayhorn
sweatbands, however pull your hair back in a ponytail to avoid the “70s dork” look.
