Finally, a post on maintaining natural hair while working out! You would have thought I would have already created this, right? It would only make sense being that I am training for a half marathon (and have already completed one) which means I’m constantly running, training and in gym clothes.
And though I’ve posted an article on hairstyles that could best serve women with natural hair while they workout, I never really posted the styles that I wear during the week. You all see me style my hair week in and week out, but the maintenance while working out is what I’ve failed to display (partly because my ass was lazy and not really working out). Not to worry, I’m back out there hitting the concrete and took the time to document my hairstyles! In this post, I will show you the day-to-day of maintaining natural hair while working out.
Check out this video below for the full day-to-day:
Sunday – Wash Day
Most weeks, my wash day falls on Sunday. This is where I go through my regimen and set my hair. I set my hair in braids for a braid out… and well…
Monday – Workout
After my workout, my hair wasn’t completely dry so that braid out I thought I was going to rock? Didn’t happen. You can see more about that here. Since my hair was in braids while I worked out I didn’t have to worry about loose hair.
That night, I just went to sleep on my satin pillowcase – no head wraps.
Tuesday – Workout, Set Style
My hair was loose from the day before and stayed loose during my workout. During my workouts I wear a cut t-shirt sleeve around my head to absorb the sweat. This works well for me, especially when I had shorter hair because it kept my tapered cut very tapered looking without much effort in styling. Now that my hair is a little longer, I still adore the tapered look so I don’t mind the shrinkage that occurs post workout.
Later that night, I set my hair on rods and went to sleep, again, not wrapping my hair. I’ll show you the process in another post.
Wednesday – Light workout
I didn’t workout too hard this day, but still I didn’t want to chance my hair being wet during the takedown of this style, so I opted to wear a turban/headwrap instead of taking my hair down. It’s a great style alternative for lazy naturals (lol).
That night, I just slept on a satin pillowcase.
Thursday – Rest Day
Since I didn’t have to work out today, I took down my hair and styled it accordingly. The style is a variation of the faux straw set I completed before, but this one actually came out successful! Full tutorial on THIS hairstyle can be found here.
At night, like pretty much every night, I slept on a satin pillowcase – no head wrap.
Friday – Workout
Yep, I worked out even though I had just set my hair and it was Friday – whhhhhhhhaaaaaaattttttt? After my workout, my curls were kinda worn, but still in tact enough to enjoy.
That night? You got it. Slept on a satin pillowcase with no head wrap.
Saturday – Workout
After enjoying a long bike ride with my hubby, I came home to a hot ness of a hairstyle. My hair was under the helmet the whole time and I didn’t twist it, braid it, or set it into style. It looked ridiculous! Being that I had a concert to attend that night, I needed to do something to my hair and quick!
I set my dry hair with a bun and some twists with perm rods at the ends. When it was time to head out the door, I took down the twists and rocked it out!
When I got home, I slept on a satin pillowcase.
Sunday – Rest Day
And just like that, Sunday came back around. I went to the fair so I had to have my hair in tact for that. I just kept the bun and pinned back the loose hair to create a pompadour updo. It was easy, quick, and chic.
My hairstyles change from week to week, day-to-day, and protective styling just isn’t my thing right now (prefer my hair loose). I still manage to make my hair work for me so that I don’t have to compromise my healthy living habits.
My best advice for anyone trying to figure out which styles to wear: DON’T LET YOUR HAIR STOP YOU FROM WORKING OUT! There will be sweat, there will be frizz, there will be shrinkage and then there will be you busting your ass to be the best version of you possible. All that hair stuff can go on hold while you work out for your life. Plan your hairstyles around your workout schedule or be like me and just go with the flow. Whatever your desires, keep in mind you won’t have the strength to hold your arms up to even do your hair if you don’t exercise!
How do you maintain your hair during workouts?
Awesome!! I am a lazy natural with colored hair & I really need to start preserving my hair properly at night! Awesome video! Your editing skills are so dope!!!🙌🏽 which classes did you take to learn these tricks ?
Hey Ashley! Thank you!! everything I do is self taught – Final Cut Pro X is what I use.
I am a colored natural and a workout fanatic training for a full marathon. I just let my hair do what it wants to do. Some days I’m cute at the gym. Some days I’m Celie from The Color Purple. But workouts come first.