We all know them – girls, who look flawless after their workout. Somehow they manage to pull off a one-hour training session without even a hint of perspiration, I’m talking perfect makeup and flawless post-workout hair. I don’t know how they do it because going to the gym often leads to some serious hair damage. We don’t realize how much we strain them by doing things that seem natural to us. Today I’d like to concentrate on some anti-hair mistakes we’re making during our workouts and what we can do to fix them.
You don’t prepare your hair pre-workout.
It seems like a hassle to prep your hair before going to the gym. But believe me, spending a little bit of time preparing your hair before you get yourselves all sweaty is the best thing you can do. Take your favorite dry shampoo, I always go for Batiste, and use it on your roots before your gym session. What it does is it prevents excess moisture from saturating your hair and scalp with sweat. You know that exasperating feeling of an itchy scalp right into your warm-up? Well, that’ll be gone, trust me.
You use shampoo after every single workout.
What you do after your workout is as essential as what you do prior to it. I used to shampoo after every workout because why not right? You feel grimy and sweaty and all you want to do is jump into the gym shower and get it all off. But, apparently shampooing after every workout is a big NO when it comes to healthy strands. Shampoo dries out your hair, strips away the natural oil and little by little damages your scalp and roots. An amazing alternative is a so-called cleansing conditioner like the WEN by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioner. It’ll do the cleaning whilst leaving your natural oils where it belongs. It’s the best of both worlds, really.
Your ponytail is way too tight.
This is something I know a lot of girls do and I myself have been doing it for ages. Long hair can be a blessing but also a curse especially in the gym. The only way we girls know how to effectively keep them out of harm’s way is to pull them into a tight ponytail. But the pain, the pain that comes with this violent attack on both our scalp and hair is just a side effect of the damage we do. The result is a strained scalp and we all know, if your scalp isn’t healthy, how can we expect our hair to grow in the proper way? The solution to this is surprisingly easy: Opt for braid! I got used to doing a little side braid whenever I go to the gym. It does the job and is incredibly gentle to both hair and scalp.
It’s always the little things that sometimes can amount to a huge pile of bad. The only thing we can do is to spot them and fix them one by one.
