Would you put your hair above your health?
It may sound strange – the idea of putting your hair above your health – but that’s what a lot of black women do. It seems they avoid the gym to keep their hairstyles intact.
If you think this is something that’s done by one or two people, think again. A survey of 103 black women from North Carolina revealed 40 per cent of women admitted to avoiding exercise because they didn’t want to ruin their hair-dos.
Any black woman will tell you that maintaining their hair can be tedious and costly. While that shouldn’t negate the importance of exercise, the survey findings reveal that maintaining good health stands a distant second to looking good.
So why are these women really avoiding the gym? Many of them cite costly salon visits, the need for frequent washes, and messed up hairstyles as the reason many women don’t hit the gym.
If you think this is a United States problem, think again. Here in Barbados many owners of hair salons and fitness centres expressed the same concerns, as they have witnessed the problem first-hand with their clients.
With chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses, along with obesity, wreaking havoc among our population, one would think that exercise would be the first option for many people.
“People don’t understand how to care for their hair when exercising so that their hair doesn’t smell or the style holds up,” says a local hairstylist. “There are women who exercise and will come to me every week to get their hair washed. But there are people who are not committed and they don’t want to go the extra mile and therefore don’t want to be bothered.”
The local stylist says there are many things women can do to keep their styles intact when exercising, especially when it comes to weaves or braids.
“I can’t understand why some women would do this, but they do,” she adds. “It seems to me that if your whole body is looking and feeling good, that would be your priority. But that isn’t the case.”
It isn’t only hairstylists who see this trend; it is fitness trainers at local gyms who corroborate this account.
“I actually at once point and time thought about opening a hair shop because I became aware of how much money black women were spending on weaves, wigs and so on, but someone beat me to it,” says George Griffith, managing director of Surfside Fitness.
“Sometimes in my teaching classes I would come and find a piece of hair on the floor. I’ve seen women in the gym with their hair wrapped up. Some come in rollers, but women who have just recently had a weave do not come to the gym at all because they don’t want to sweat out the weave.”
In a country where 22 per cent of all adults over age 25 are hypertensive, 14 per cent of adults over age 25 are diabetic or have impaired glucose tolerance, and 17 per cent of adults over 40 have diabetes, and where heart disease, stroke and diabetes have been the leading three causes of death, one would think people would be flocking to the gym. But that is not the case.
“Your hair should not be a justification not to exercise,” Griffith said. “If you look at it from a bigger perspective, it is far more important that you keep your blood glucose down, your cholesterol and blood pressure down and manage your weight than whether your weave looks good.”
So what can women do to have the best of both worlds, maintaining their health and looking good at the same time?
• Use a sweatband
While working out and sweating go hand in hand, you can keep moisture away from your hair by using sweat-absorbent headbands that focus on your forehead and the back of your neck.
• Dry shampoo
It’s no doubt that sweating creates the need for more frequent washes. A good way to wash your hair without damaging your style is to dry shampoo. A few spritzes of shampoo will absorb sweat and oil and freshen up your hair.
• Wrap hair with thin satin scarf
Nothing soaks up the sweat while you work out and protects your style like a satin scarf. If you don’t want to cover your entire head, try folding the scarf in half and using it as a headband.
• Putting on the spritz
A light spritz of your scalp with olive oil before you exercise, shea butter spray or Argan oil to rejuvenate hair, reduce fritz and offer a sweet natural smell.
Clinging to a beauty stereotype shouldn’t cause you to make foolish health decisions. Sweating is a part of life, especially when you exercise. So either you decided to sweat and deal with your hair later on, or suffer the health consequences.
“When women are trying to grow out their hair and they use weaves or braids and do it naturally, they can’t wash their hair. The hair smells bad once you sweat,” Griffith said.
“If you’re willing to die in the name of fashion, that’s fine, but obviously I don’t think that’s something that one should be doing.”
