Sweat it Up, Not Out: Caring for Your Hair When You Workout

Whether you wear weaves, braids, relaxer, or keep it natural when working out a real concern for women with afro hair is sweat! How many times have you gone hard at it at the gym all the while thinking "My body's gonna be in check but my hair's gonna look a wreck", or perhaps not even bothered working out because the thought of sacrificing the 'do' was all too much. Well if you're fed up of having to choose between  hot bod or hot hair, here are some tips to help you prevent your crowning glory from becoming collateral damage when you workout.

First off, we need to know what we're dealing with, so just what the heck is sweat?

Sweat is a mixture of water, sodium chloride (salt), and potassium.  It is brought to the surface by water produced within your sweat glands. Your body produces two types of sweat: Eccrine and Apocrine. Apocrine is type of sweat that occurs on your scalp and anywhere else on your body where there plenty of follicles. It is a thicker type of sweat, made up of the above ingredients plus fatty acids, ammonia and urea. Surprise: Sweat doesn't actually smell; the nasty odour is created as a result of the substances in apocrine sweat mixing with bacteria on the skin. Nice.

How does sweat affect my scalp and hair?

Generally sweat is not so good for our hair and scalps. The salty build-up of apocrine sweat can block pores, cause hair dryness and breakage, contribute to odour, and if left for long periods it can even cause fungus- Eww.

So, what can we do? 

Well the easy answer is to wash your hair immediately after an intensive workout. This is not always going to be the most convenient thing to do. Plus if you workout regularly, excessive washing may lead to drying anyway.  Here are some tips on how to look after your hair when exercising and useful tips when washing.

When exercising:

·         Keep hair away from face, tied in a pony, bun, plaited into cornrows etc.

·         Use a scarf or sweat band to keep sweat away from the hairline. The Save Your Do Gym Wrap  is an excellent choice for this; It allows the heat out and keeps the sweat at bay!

• Keep a towel handy, wipe sweat away during breaks

• Switch up your weekly workout regime: mix intense cardio with some low impact training exercise. This way you can alternate and make time to wash hair on intense cardio days, but not low impact training days.

When washing:

• Use a clarifying shampoo, with a balanced PH and sulphate free to prevent hair feeling stripped. Kera Care's 1st Lather shampoo, or Aubery Organics Swimmers Shampoo are great options.

• Afterwards use a serum or leave in conditioner to restore moisture. Try Moroccan Oil a light oil great for relaxed hair, or Sunny Isle Black Castor oil a heavier oil great for natural afro hair; or Mahogany Naturals' Leave-in conditioner suitable for all hair types.

• As part of your long-term/monthly hair care regime alternate between hot oil treatments, moisturising hair masks, and protein masks. If you have natural hair, you can opt for milder protein products, like Trésemme Split End Remedy range. If your hair is relaxed, you might want to for a stronger protein treatment  Aphogee's Two-Step Treatment.

If your hair is in a weave or in braids...

• If you wear a weave or braids, and love to workout, it's best to stick to low impact stuff and intensify your workouts when you're due to take out your extensions.

• Regularly change your weave/braids. It might seem an arduous/expensive thing to do, but if you want to care for your body and your hair properly, it's a must do!

• To prevent a hazardous build up of sweat and toxins, You need to be able get at your own hair and scalp underneath your weave. Your hair will be crying out for some of the above mentioned TLC especially if you like to workout. If you're able to leave a 1/2 week gap in between re-attachment, that's even better.

• Weaves left for months on end on a heavily worked out body could develop a nasty fungus- yes ladies your hair could go moldy under there, so keep it as fresh as possible.

• Invest that time and that money and remember the healthier your hair, the better the weave can look. And if maintaining a weave becomes too much, checkout other options like wigs or clip-in extensions. I recently did a post about the wonderful versatility of clip-ins which you can checkout here.

Hope this helps you to sweat it up without sweatin' it out.
Love, B x

Music- SZA Teen Spirit

Check out this brooding, angsty track by TDE's latest signing and one of my favourite music discoveries of 2013, SZA (pronounced, si-zza). Her music combines a variety genres and styles and is a little in the vein of  the alternative R&B sound that's coming up right now, with artists like Jhené Aiko, Solange Knowles and Sampha. SZA's lyrics are as abstract and vivid as her gorgeous voice. And she has the most beautiful heap of natural curls, win! Peep the video for Teen Spirit below.

Music: The Weave-lovers' Anthem?

Huh? An empowerment track for weave lovers everywhere?! Yup, you read right. If you ever wanted a great way to tell 'weave-cynics' to get off your back here it is: when they shout: "It's not your hair!" you come back with: "I bought it, so sort it!"- it works for rising London rapper, Lady Lykez on her infectious track 'Not Your Hair'.

I Love the message of this. And don't be fooled by the light, cartoon style delivery of this track, Lady Lykez gives us a playful, clever, and defiant reminder that no one can dictate your style to you. People are going to judge you no matter what, so it's better to be comfortable in your skin. 'Not Your Hair' is about having the courage and freedom to wear your hair, your way, no matter if it's natural, relaxed, dreds, weave, braids, whatever! Just do you, and do it right.

Check out Lady Lykez performing 'Not Your Hair' for Amazing Radio.

The Wonder of Clip-In Hair Extensions

I'm dedicating this post the the majesty of hair extension clips. OK, they might seem like old news to those who keep a finger firmly on the hair and beauty pulse, but there's always cause to celebrate a great product whether it's' brand new, nearly new, or just plain old, so that's what I'm doing.

Extension clips are tiny metal hair saviors (in my humble opinion). They are a really fab and easy way to add extra volume and length to your hair, and are a great alternative to weaving or bonding, which is also great for those who, like me, suffer from 'weave-o-phobia' (not a fear of weaves on others, but a fear of not being able to access my scalp and any given time, kind of like scalp claustrophobia, if you will)- despite the fact I just made up the phrase, it's a real thing, seriously, fellow suffers get in touch. Anyway, extension clips are a gift from the beauty gods to all who want to be able to switch-up their hair without it being too permanent or too costly.

My love affair with extension clips began about 2 years ago. I had just cut my shoulder-length relaxed hair into a bob following a (self-inflicted) dye job that went horribly wrong. My hair was slowly repairing itself but it was still a little thin and I wanted to add some volume for a night on the town. Feeling creative and not knowing extension clips existed, I decided to make my own clip-in hair extensions using hair grips and some old Premium Plus hair I found hiding at the back of my wardrobe. Unable to cornrow my own hair, I parted my hair into sections and twisted in a few tracks, then attached the hair wefts using the grips. It actually worked, I loved the result and my hair looked great for the evening. Here's a pic of said night out, complete with make-shift clip-ins...

The picture is not great but I had added length right at the front so the long hair at the side of my hair is actually one of my make-shift clip-ins. I can't lie though, I was a little paranoid about just how secure the extensions were. I kept checking the dance floor for AWOL wefts all night. I mean we've all seen stray braids lying in parks and on street corners. I certainly didn't want to be a victim of a weft-gone-rogue, that would've really ruined night. It was then, I thought: "there must be a better way of doing this".

The next day I investigated (went on YouTube) and discovered the wonder of clip-in extensions. After this, I decided to get myself some clips, and some new hair and to be a little more ambitious by adding length as well as volume to more of my head. Here's the result of my first attempt...

I used black Gossip Weaving Clips, in large, and a £25 bag of 16 inch Premium Now hair, in colour 2. You can sleep with the clips in, but I took these ones out every night because I wasn't wearing them everyday, and it helped to preserve the quality of the extensions. Having used these for a few weeks I thought I'd try using some virgin hair from Beyond Hair. Their hair is great quality, and it washes and styles really well. I used 16 inch Brazilian straight/wavy hair to achieve this look...

I was able to dye this hair to more closely match my own hair colour and I've not looked back since. Because the virgin hair is so versatile, I was able to occasionally sleep with the clips in, wash it regularly, curl it, and straighten it, and  if I wanted to wear a ponytail or a bun, I just used less clip-in wefts. I was so in love that I decided to give my own hair a break from the relaxer for a few months. I would just wash and treat my hair, then apply the clips-ins afterward. This worked wonders and my hair grew back stronger than ever. After six months I was able to cut the remnants of my horrible dye out of my hair completely, and go for a cool long-crop instead....

So, clip-in extensions can also make a great alternative transitioning solution too. Anyway months passed and as my crop started to grow out, I began to get bored of the "inbetweeny" stage. So what did I do? Well, I dyed it again, but just a bit; I attempted to ombré the tips blonde, see...

I was happy with the outcome but this only kept me entertained for about a week, so I reached for my trusty clip-ins again. I decided to give my hair another relaxer break, and so far haven't re-touched my hair since April 2013. Here are some pics of how I've worn my clip-ins between then and now...

Your Turn!

The whole process is pretty simple but a little time consuming, however once the initial phase is done you're able to clip-in and clip-out as you please. Here are 3 easy steps for attaching clip-in extensions:

1. Measure and cut hair wefts according to where you want to place the tracks on your head. 
2. Thread needle and sew clip to hair weft by pushing the needle through the seam of the hair. Apply two or three clips depending on how long each particular hair track is.





3. Once all extensions are attached to clips, start at the back of your head parting your own hair into horizontal sections and slide the clip-in onto the bottom side of the parting. Comb another horizontal section of your hair over the seam of the track to cover it, and then repeat this step over until you reach your crown. Comb your own hair down over your final weft and style as desired. 

Some useful tips:

• The trickiest part is attaching the hair wefts to the clips. Most of the videos I watched said to use the holes on either side of the clip, but I found that the needle was actually too big to fit, so I looped the thread around around the backbone of the clip instead. I find this also holds the clip more steadily in place too. (see above pic)
• Don't forget to buy a needle. Most clips are sold with thread included but you'll need either a fully curved or tip curved weaving needle to get going.
• I use Gossip Weaving Clips. They are about £10 for 36 large clips.
• Extension clips are made out of coated metal and come in black, brown and yellow. Pick the colour that best matches your hair colour at the root.





• Clips come in different sizes I find the large ones best because they are stronger, easier to thread and kinder to my hair because the wider teeth lessen the snagging hazard.
• Keep the clips healthy. Over time the metal clips will begin to lose their coating and may start to irritate your scalp. be sure to change your clips if this happens to protect your own hair and maintain a healthy scalp.
• Avoid using clip-ins on freshly relaxed hair. After applying any kind of chemical treatment, you don't want to stress your hair out any further straight away. Instead wait for a little new growth to come through before attaching extension clips. You'll find that your hair will hold the attached wefts more securely too. 
• Practice makes perfect! For your first attempts maybe use reasonable priced hair, then as your confidence grows, switch to better quality hair that you can use again and again and just replace the clips as and when.
• Do use hair that closely matches your colour and texture for a sleeker, more convincing look.
• Nobody needs to see behind the magic: Make sure you properly cover your crowning weft, there's nothing worse than exposed tracks, work in good light so you can be sure of the finished look.  
• DID YOU KNOW you can boost your 'fro too? Mane Divas do great a line of pre-made afro hair textured, clip-ins.

Well that's it go forth into the world of clip-in extensions and experience the wonder for yourselves. Let me know how you get on... Love B x