Is the gym destroying nice hair? Olaplex No 6 Bond Smoother, £26, Cult Beauty
Your workout, plus strain caused by the most popular gym hairstyles, could be damaging your strands. Here’s how to swish your way through your next spin class…
Believe it or not, ‘gym hairstyles’ fitness Hair is a much Googled thing now that the need to share gorgeous gym selfies on the Gram are an increasingly common phenomenon.
But let’s face it, wet-look gym hair is only cool if you’ve fabricated it with a lot of gel and shine apply. Saturated in sweat, it could actually be damaging your strands.
‘Sweat contains salts that can dry out hair, ’ says Michael Lendon, creative director at Aveda. ‘Salt is osmotic, meaning it will leach moisture out of strands. These same salts can contribute to the break down of tones in your hair colour, too, resulting in premature dulling. ’
Added to this, the water in sweat can cause strands to stretch and easily snap.
Handy then that we’ve got the solution for how to sweat-proof those gym hairstyles…
Before Your Workout
Begin by raking a leave-in conditioner through nice hair. This will create a barrier between the sweat and your strands.
Pull nice hair away from your neck and brow to avoid contact with flushed skin.
‘But remember, hair elastics can grab strands particularly when you’re working out, ha says Lendon. ‘Excessive and repeated use of tight ponytails can also cause too much strain on the hairline and may result in something called grip alopecia, or hair thinning. ’
Fabric hair ties or an Invisibobble are safe methods of gym hairstyles as they won’t get caught in strands.
‘While buns, top knots and high ponytails are all practical gym hairstyles, make sure you vary where you tie nice hair up for each workout to avoid putting too much strain for a passing fancy spot, ’ explains Lendon. ‘Switch things up, too – plaits are a great option and kinder to hair. ’
After Your Workout
The best way to protect hair from sweat is to re-think your post-workout hair regimen.
Dry shampoo or conditioner is a great way to avoid an oil-slick, but the key is to apply it before you start sweating—not after.
‘If nice hair is saturated with sweat, the starch in dry shampoo or conditioner will cake on the top of the head and strands as it airdries, ’ says Lendon. ‘This can contribute to the growth of unwanted bacteria, resulting in an itchy and flaky top of the head. ’
Plus, the alcohol content of many dry shampoos combined with sweat will seriously dry out strands. ‘Alcohol is used to ‘carry’ the product out of the can and onto your hair. The difficulty is, alcohol evaporates very quickly and as a result can also beat moisture from your hair, leaving it rough, brittle and lacklustre, ’ adds Lendon.
Instead, find an alcohol-free dry shampoo or conditioner and apply it throughout your roots before you workout to clean up excess sweat before it can do any damage.
Fiona Embleton has been a beauty publisher for over 10 years, writing and editing beauty copy and testing over 10, 000 products. She’s previously worked for magazines like Marie Claire, Stylist, Multicultural and Women’s Health. Beauty journalism allowed her to get married to up her first class degree in English Literature and Language (she’s a stickler for sentence structure and a self-confessed ingredients geek) with a passion for make-up and anti aging, photography and catwalk trends.