Why You Need To Protect Your Hair from Acidic Sweat When Working Out
By Katie Muirhead
Staying active is a crucial part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Working out is beneficial to not only our physical health, but also our mental wellbeing. However, if you workout regularly you have likely faced the classic exercise dilemma: sweaty hair.
Not only can post-workout hair be a stress on your already busy schedule, it can actually affect the balance of your hair and scalp. While avoiding sweat should never be a reason to skip working out, it is important to understand how sweat affects our hair health and how best to manage it.
The Damaging Effects Of Sweat On Hair
While sweat itself isn’t inherently bad for the hair (and the increased blood circulation is likely very good for it!), sweat that is left to dry can have a negative effect on the health of your scalp and hair.
Scalp Bacteria & Clogged Follicles
When left to dry, sweat can mix with the impurities on your scalp and cause a buildup. This interferes with your scalp’s health, potentially leading to clogged hair follicles and the development of unpleasant fungal infections. Over time, both of these can halt hair growth or contribute to hair loss.
Lactic Acid
While lactic acid is natural and can be useful in some instances, it can be damaging to your hair in excessive quantities or when left to accumulate on the scalp over a long period. Lactic acid can gradually break down your hair’s protective layers which, in time, causes the hair follicles to shrink and become much less productive. This can lead to brittle, fragile hair… No thanks!
Salt & Minerals
When you sweat you lose mostly water, but also some of the salt and various minerals from within the body. Just like salty water from the ocean can leave your hair dehydrated and rough, so too can sweat. Prolonged contact with salt can deplete your hair’s oils and moisture, leading to dryness. Color-treated hair can also experience quicker fading and become generally lacklustre.
Ways To Protect Your Hair When Working Out
1. Choose The Right Hairstyle
When heading to the gym, make sure to not tie your hair up too tightly. Your hair is most fragile when wet, so you want to make sure that the sweat can easily dry to prevent excess damage.
Long Hair: Try a low braid - start by tying your hair back into a low ponytail, then braid the lengths and secure it with a damage-free hair tie.
Layered, Medium & Short Hair: Tie hair that is long enough into a loose top knot or bun, and sweep any shorter hairs back with a hair band.
2. Schedule Your Wash Day
Finding the balance of keeping your hair and scalp clean without overwashing it is one of the great challenges of haircare, and one that can deliver unparalleled results. The trick is to plan your wash days as best as you can to fall right after your high-intensity workouts. While you may not want to wash it every day, washing it after a sweaty boxing session is more important than after restorative yoga. Using a sulphate-free quality shampoo will avoid any - this means no gym products!
3. Go Lightly On The Dry Shampoo
While it can be very tempting to load your post-gym hair up with dry shampoo, it’s worth taking a measured approach. The mix of sweat and powdery dry shampoo on your scalp can exacerbate the follicle clogging caused by sweat. Instead, try applying it sparingly before a workout - this way it will prevent your hair from ever getting too wet, and it is less likely to collect near the scalp.
Prevention Is The Key
Our MAY11 Revitalizing and Restoring Oils work to actively prevent damage and protect your hair during those sweaty workouts. Our advanced, silicone-free formulas naturally seal the cuticle and deliver moisture. This protects your hair against the weakening effects of acidic sweat, as well as taming undesired frizz and preventing color fading.
Before exercise, apply 4-6 pumps of MAY11 Revitalizing Hair Oil or Blonde Restoring Hair Oil on dry hair from roots to tips. After your workout, just shampoo as usual and use conditioner if necessary. This is an effective preventative treatment for all hair types, textures, and lengths.
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