Hairstyles for working out, exercising and sports

**Stevy** · April 28th, 2008, 10:07 AM

I can't help because I never do outdoor exercise.

but my husband has a Buff and swears by it.

**Katze** · April 28th, 2008, 10:11 AM

Buffs don't work for me. I tried one on a long bike ride, French braided my hair and tried wearing the Buff like a wide headband, held in place with FOUR bobby pins, and it slid back the whole time - super annoying. I like the idea of the Buffs, but they are not very practical for me if they even fall off on a bike ride!

I can't even imagine wearing a Buff for Kung Fu! No way!

For kung fu or jogging a Ficcare or just a scrunchie works well. It depends on what state my hair is in. If I am wearing it down, and want to wear it down later, I put it in a high scrunchy bun. Lots of people are wearing these around now, and they don't look half bad.

If my hair is already up I keep it like it is - French twist, coronet braids, work really well for kung fu or jogging.

If my hair is getting dirty and I plan to wear it up later, I put it into two side braids.

**serenitygal** · April 28th, 2008, 10:38 AM

I run 3x/week and have hair about the same length as yours, morningstar, albeit somewhat more curly. I run in the morning before leaving for school, and wear my hair in a french braid at night. I just get up and go. At night, you might want to try a french braid with a hairnet over it; the hairnet will keep things a bit smoother for the AM. HTH!

**morningstar** · April 28th, 2008, 11:37 AM

Thank you all again those that are sharing tips.
I really think I need to learn how to do an English braid..yea I know but for some reason they baffle me. Uncoordinated!
I can do a French on my self although with layers I will get a headband. I might try a buff and see if I can just tie it around the braid to keep it from getting wind and sun burned.
My hair is so slippery that a scrunchy and a regular band eventually slips down my back. Two braids are nice but my hair is not long enough to keep them down my back and they bounce forward and annoy me.

**Sara_Smiles** · April 28th, 2008, 11:56 AM

I hate to hijack this thread, but I have a somewhat similar question. If you are a frequent excersizer, what do you do to keep your hair clean without damaging it? I'm about to start on a pretty intense, work out every day program and I tend to sweat. I don't want to wash it every day for obvious reasons, but I don't want it to be gross either. Help!
On subject I tend to wear my hair in an octopus clip during outside exercise because it keeps it out of my way and I feel like it protects the ends really well.

**Future CCC-SLP** · April 28th, 2008, 01:52 PM

I work out daily and what has helped me was to CWC every other day or every three days, and the in between days I CO. This helps to clean my hair yet not dry it out! It took about a week for me to get used to it, but my hair has adjusted well.

**Icedevimon13** · April 28th, 2008, 02:12 PM

Honestly, this is going to sound gross, but sweat is really good for your hair. When I was in marching band and we had a performance I had to shove it all up in my shaco (that's the hat with the plume) and by the time we were done it was moist and sweaty. After a few minutes and it dried off it ended up really soft and nice - no stench at all. When I worked out any other time I usually just looped it around my hand a few times and threw a scrunchie on it. The sweat didn't bother it much then.

**Anje** · April 28th, 2008, 03:03 PM

Sara_smiles, I also sweat when I work out. (DH doesn't. Lucky man.) The easy answers are to CO wash or just rinse your hair out. Sweat, after all, is mostly just water and salt, both of which come out easily with just water. Scrubbing your head a little under water gets rid of odor quite well, too, as anyone who's done WO washing for a while can tell you. Your scalp will smell like scalp, not shampoo or conditioner, but it won't smell like sweaty person either.