The gym and hair prep? Wait, what? You’re just excited you actually got up for the gym but to think about hair prep that early in the morning, is it necessary?
The go-to tight and slicked back ponytail has been your trusted gym BFF and that’s about as far as any hair prep goes, right? The truth is, we sweat which then causes an odor and if you are in an intense cardio class chances are your hair is accumulating tons of tangles. So why are we not preventing and protecting? It’s ok to spend a little time getting ready for the gym, no it doesn't’t need to be a full glam and get ready session, but we do recommend a little prep.
SWEAT:
While exercising, our heart rate goes up and causes our bodies to sweat, we immediately think YES I’m kicking butt today! But here’s the draw back with sweat...other than the smell, it dries out our hair! Sweat is made up of water but also includes chemicals like ammonia, urea and contains salts which all make up the perfect mixture to suck all the moisture out from your hair.
So how do we prevent our hair from drying out?
• Prior to your workout, apply a dime sized amount of Redken Diamond Oil to the ends of your hair, this will lock in moisture and prevent the hair from frizzing out at the bottoms.
• Keep your hair UP! By keeping the ends of your hair off your skin, you prevent the hair from soaking up the sweat and potentially causing your ends to become dry a brittle.
• But what about your roots? Our bodies create natural oils that replenish the hair and come up through the scalp. These oils are what keep our roots from drying out and breaking, that is why we focus primarily on the ends of the hair.
• Now if you tend to sweat a lot, you can apply a small amount of dry shampoo at the scalp to help with oils, but we strongly recommend only using a small amount. This will also help with any odors caused by the sweat.
GYM HAIRSTYLES:
When we are at the gym we just want our hair out of the way, but pulling the hair into a style that is too tight may be causing more damage than you think.
• The Ponytail is the quickest and easiest gym hairstyle, so go for a looser pony that won’t pull or break the hair. Placing it about mid way down the back of the head will keep the ends of the hair off the skin as well.
• The Bun is another go-to style that we all love. Refrain from styling your into a wet bun though, this is where the breakage happens.
• Braids are one of my personal favorites; it gets the hair out of the face and for the most part off the skin, while still looking stylish. Try going for a side French braid or once the hair is placed in a ponytail, braid the tail part and this will prevent the hair from tangling – double whammy!
Now you may think you need to wash your hair after every single gym session but that’s false. Again, over washing will cause the hair to dry out as well. Going 2-3 days in-between your wash is ideal.
HOT TIP: Once you get home, grab your blow dryer and immediately blast the hair on cool air, with a low airflow. This will dry the hair and prevent from build up and itching at the scalp.
Caring for your hair pre and post gym session will make a huge difference! It’s all about improving our health, right? Part of that health routine should be for your hair!
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