Daily workouts, curly hair – what to do?!

[didalittlenamechange]

I've started going to the gym 6 days a week, and I'm loving it.

I feel great, my body's feeling stronger, and I'm actually having fun exercising.

BUT...

My chin-length curly hair is suffering. I lift heavy, so I sweat – and my scalp does too. I hate the feeling of dried sweat on my head, or knowing it's dirty as I walk about my day.

But I also am getting sick of the faff of washing it and having to dry it and style it every single day. It's also really bad for my curls to be constantly shampooing them, or having dry shampoo sit on top of the dirt...

Does anyone else deal with this? Is there any way around it?

I haven’t found it yet, so watching with interest

I have the same problem and go 7 days a week. My hair is happier if it isn't washed every day. Like you I do weight lifting and my hair is soaked in sweat afterwards so I'm hoping for some better solutions. I use John Frieda products.

It's grim, isn't it?

I used to go days between washes and would just refresh my curls with a little bit of water and product after sleeping on them.

Now I have to go fully wet every day and it takes forever to dry... plus no diffusers at the gym, so I have to choose between leaving either damp and bedraggled, or a little fluffy puffball.

Not the full answer but you can get a sock diffuser which will fit onto the gym hairdryer. I ended up sewing elastic round the bottom edge to keep it in place as it would sometimes fly off, but the basic principle is sound. It weighs next to nothing and is not expensive.

amzn.eu/d/09D7cBOs

I have thick curly hair to and have to wash straight after the gym, so I think washing every day is the only option as Dried sweat can cause block the follicles, use a really good curl shampoo and conditioner to help with hydration, then purchase a travel hairdryer with a diffuser attachment to use at the gym or when your at work.

Would washing it with conditioner only on some of the days help? Or is it long enough to tie back or plat while still damp?

having a keratin treatment has been a game changer for me. My hair is so much nicer and more manageable between washes and I often exercise twice a day. Now only need to wash my hair twice a week. My hair is fine and naturally curly so without the keratin treatment it

I have curly hair. Slightly longer than yours. I pile it up loosely on top of my head for the gym, it then gets less sweaty than if it’s hanging loose. I rinse it in the shower so it’s really quite wet through but not dripping and then add curl cream. It then only takes around 30-45 mins to dry instead of defusing and then 2 hours after that! I can’t wash it every day - as you say it’s time consuming and I find it dries my hair too much. I wash it twice a week.

This is really helpful! Which curl cream and which keratin treatment are people using?

I tried all the Only Curls, Merwave and Innersence products, and the only one I buy regularly and would not be without is Only Curls Curl Cream. It's brilliant. I use off the shelf shampoo, conditioner, mousse and gel, but wouldn't skimp on my curl cream. It's very good.

I wash my curly, dyed hair everyday, twice shampoo as well, I use hairdryer to dry but I only use a heat brush once a week or less. I use preshampoo mask like Philip Kingsley or Elvive Glycolic Acid and after shower I use a serum or leave in conditioner like Redken. They say daily washing of scalp washes away DHT which is something that makes hair fall out.

I just rinse my hair in the shower, only shampoo it once a fortnight or so. Leave it to air dry. Seems to work. It would be in a state if I washed it every day.

I have curly hair and dry shampoo is not only rubbish for curly hair but irritates my scalp. I've recently found that spraying micellar water onto my scalp makes it feel fresher and cleaner and doesn't irritate my scalp. You could try this on the days you don't want to wash your hair, maybe every other day.

I also have in the past used hand sanitizer, putting it onto my hands and fingers, and working onto my scalp, but I feel like that's probably not good for my scalp. Again, it does freshen and get rid of the slight smell.

I got fed up of dealing with it and chopped it all off! The best thing I ever did! I can wash every day if I choose to because it takes less than 10 mins to wash and dry, but I don't always need to because it actually holds better when it's not squeaky clean, rather than just looking lank when it was longer.

I took a picture of the hairdryers at my gym and found a diffuser for them online for less than £20! Game changer, I just keep the diffuser in my gym bag

I'm having the same issue except swimming means washing my hair three times week minimum or else it would be covered in chlorine 🤦‍♀️

I feel so much happier and healthier but my hair has never looked worse!

Let me know if you figure it out!

I use Flora and Curl products for my curly hair. I just dampen my hair after working out and apply the cream and gel, then leave it to dry naturally. It looks good and the products keep it in good condition. Not blow drying as much helps too!

Slightly different take but I have thick (not curly) hair and used to have all sorts of issues with my scalp. A few years ago I got an undercut and it's been such a game changer! Most of the back of my head is now shaved so all the weight of my hair is gone underneath but when my hair is down you would never know. For the gym I put it up in a high ponytail so all that shaved area can breathe and everything is a lot less sweaty than before. No more scalp problems and my hair is so much more manageable, less product, faster to dry etc.

Seperate the top layer of hair and just wash this either with shampoo or just with conditioner in between.
I sometimes just wash the front section as this makes it look and feel fresher.

I think products vary so much from person to person. I’ve tried only curls and the really expensive products my hairdresser uses with no luck. I use curl la la between washes now. https://www.superdrug.com/hair/curly-hair-products-/coils-curls-waves-curl-cream/aunt-jackies-curl-la-la-defining-curl-custard-15-oz/p/790356

hair does need to be quite wet for it to work well. If I need to touch up during the day I either use water or John Freida touch up cream. I use John Freida for washing and post wash curl cream and gel too. Then a clarifying shampoo every few weeks or so if my curls start getting stringy.

Thanks, everyone – I think at some point I just have to accept that if I don't want old sweat sitting on my scalp, the only answer is to wash it!

But I guess I could do every-other-day instead, and do a top-half refresh like you mentioned@Bumble2468.

@SoapCollector sadly my hair's chin-length and fine, so the only way I can tie it up is with little clips to get it off my face while I work out. When it's dry it's curly and pouffy, but when it's wet there's barely anything of it!

@Tulipsriver I have seen swim hats designed specifically for curly hair – they're bigger than normal ones so they don't squash your mop as much. Depending on how thick your hair is / what your curl pattern is, maybe that would be an option for you?

I had never thought of that!!! THANK YOU!! 🙏
what a brilliant idea! I have the same issue as OP and this seems great!