Hiya, any advice on after gym hair care please…is co-washing good enough to get the hair clean or is shampoo better? Also when hair’s in braids do you have to wash them each time after gym or can you do a weekly wash and somehow freshen/cleanse in between?

I go to about 3 times a week and sweat quite a bit -  air conditionings crap   in fact have learnt from experience not to go in with leave in conditioner in my hair as within seconds its dripping down my face - not pleasant..anyway grateful for any thoughts. Thanks

I do about 2 bouts of exercise a week and find cowashing weekly is fine enough….but this week has been a bit hective, and I’m doing 4 days, 2 hours each!
Darn netball training…

Anyhoo, what I do is cowash twice weekly - Once after the first session at the beginning of the first week, but it’s really light and quick, like me running water and conditioner through, rub rub rub, rinse, rinse, rinse, RINSE! And then I’m done. My second co-wash I’m going to use a gentle sugar scrub, because I find working out affects my scalp more than it does my actual hair.
I’m also going to shampoo as well, because if I only cowash, I don’t want lint and random debris sticking to my hair, now that it’s hotter.

I hope that helps a little, I wrote it in a rush!

You could also try using dry shampoos, to freshen hair in the week, if u dn’t want to or don’t have the time to use water. Organic root stimulator make one called ‘herbal cleanse.”

Thanks for the tip Lela7, I’ll definitely give it a go when I’ve my braids/cornrows on, they take soooo long to dry after a proper wash. I use root stimulator anyway and I like the brand - good quality and also reasonably priced.

angel_sista - 21 April 2010 09:41 AM

Anyhoo, what I do is cowash twice weekly - Once after the first session at the beginning of the first week, but it’s really light and quick, like me running water and conditioner through, rub rub rub, rinse, rinse, rinse, RINSE! And then I’m done. My second co-wash I’m going to use a gentle sugar scrub, because I find working out affects my scalp more than it does my actual hair. !

Hi angel_sista, thanks, I thought sweat was bad for the hair as it dried it, making it weak and brittle (my hair’s prone to breakage.) It’s interesting that you’ve said it affects your scalp mostly, not your hair, admittedly I can’t say mine has suffered too much - I really ought to stop being so paranoid! In fact, having read about the 4a hair type (dry at ends) sweating may be a natural/cheap way of keeping hair ends moisturised

Re co-washing, I have been a bit over-enthusiastic with the conditioner, I’m finding my hair feels weighed down after a co-wash especially with a leave-in and curl enhancer, still trying to find a good product balance - I have ordered some curlicious curls cleansing cream I’m going to give that a go for after gym.

Love your photo btw!

catz - 21 April 2010 08:03 PM

angel_sista - 21 April 2010 09:41 AM

Anyhoo, what I do is cowash twice weekly - Once after the first session at the beginning of the first week, but it’s really light and quick, like me running water and conditioner through, rub rub rub, rinse, rinse, rinse, RINSE! And then I’m done. My second co-wash I’m going to use a gentle sugar scrub, because I find working out affects my scalp more than it does my actual hair. !

Hi angel_sista, thanks, I thought sweat was bad for the hair as it dried it, making it weak and brittle (my hair’s prone to breakage.) It’s interesting that you’ve said it affects your scalp mostly, not your hair, admittedly I can’t say mine has suffered too much - I really ought to stop being so paranoid! In fact, having read about the 4a hair type (dry at ends) sweating may be a natural/cheap way of keeping hair ends moisturised

Re co-washing, I have been a bit over-enthusiastic with the conditioner, I’m finding my hair feels weighed down after a co-wash especially with a leave-in and curl enhancer, still trying to find a good product balance - I have ordered some curlicious curls cleansing cream I’m going to give that a go for after gym.

Love your photo btw!

Thank you!
And I think the scrub kind of affects the hair at the base as well, because mine has a bit of soap/shampoo in it, and some oil at the same time….not sure how that works, as shampoo is supposed to dissolve oil….oohh, the science is boggling! o.O

Back in the day when I used to work harder in the gym (ha ha) I would give my hair a rinse thru with water.  The aim for me was getting the salt out of the hair and off the scalp as best as possible.  Followed by a leave-in conditioner, moisturiser etc.

The salt does do damage (so’s my old hairdresser told me) so you should co-wash or whatever after each gym session.

catz - 21 April 2010 08:03 PM

angel_sista - 21 April 2010 09:41 AM

Anyhoo, what I do is cowash twice weekly - Once after the first session at the beginning of the first week, but it’s really light and quick, like me running water and conditioner through, rub rub rub, rinse, rinse, rinse, RINSE! And then I’m done. My second co-wash I’m going to use a gentle sugar scrub, because I find working out affects my scalp more than it does my actual hair. !

Hi angel_sista, thanks, I thought sweat was bad for the hair as it dried it, making it weak and brittle (my hair’s prone to breakage.) It’s interesting that you’ve said it affects your scalp mostly, not your hair, admittedly I can’t say mine has suffered too much - I really ought to stop being so paranoid! In fact, having read about the 4a hair type (dry at ends) sweating may be a natural/cheap way of keeping hair ends moisturised

Re co-washing, I have been a bit over-enthusiastic with the conditioner, I’m finding my hair feels weighed down after a co-wash especially with a leave-in and curl enhancer, still trying to find a good product balance - I have ordered some curlicious curls cleansing cream I’m going to give that a go for after gym.

Love your photo btw!

Catz just to say loving your avi! Great hair!!

Yeah, lovin’ your hair in your avi too Katz! 

Sheesh - sorry - meant catz! 

carmengirl - 22 April 2010 12:53 PM

Back in the day when I used to work harder in the gym (ha ha) I would give my hair a rinse thru with water.  The aim for me was getting the salt out of the hair and off the scalp as best as possible.  Followed by a leave-in conditioner, moisturiser etc.

The salt does do damage (so’s my old hairdresser told me) so you should co-wash or whatever after each gym session.

Hi carmengirl, truthfully, air-conditionings broken so I ‘glow’ quite profusely - I don’t work as hard as I used to either, but we do what we can

I just realised (having read the GC article here) most of my products contain petroleum jelly/petrolatum among other nasties so it’s no wonder my hair’s being weighed down! Also why in the past, just rinsing never fully got rid of all the product residue.

I’ve ordered the CURLS cleanser and coconut sublime from the emporium (don’t they smell delicious?) so I’ll be giving them a go tomorrow. Hopefully that’ll do the trick!

Thank you very much curlyhairmich & CrystalTips!

mmm got back to work 20 minutes late today after gym - i spent way too long in the shower with the washing , conditioning, combing, rinsing…have to do better next time! Maybe just rinse as suggested. Hair feels light, soft and clean with the CURLS products though. Thanks curlies!

lela7 - 21 April 2010 10:30 AM

You could also try using dry shampoos, to freshen hair in the week, if u dn’t want to or don’t have the time to use water. Organic root stimulator make one called ‘herbal cleanse.”

I like the Baptiste dry shampoo in Tropical (it smells delish!!) http://www.batistedryshampoo.co.uk/ You just have to make sure you roosh (spelling?!) it into your hair a bit othewise it can leave a white-ish residue. But it disappears with the - ahem - rooshing. Rusche?! haha

I also used to use a product that they did in my old hairdressers made mainly for braids if you weren’t intending to wash them. That was a liquid spray-on, but I can’t remember what it’s called!

I like the Baptiste dry shampoo in Tropical (it smells delish!!) http://www.batistedryshampoo.co.uk/ You just have to make sure you roosh (spelling?!) it into your hair a bit othewise it can leave a white-ish residue. But it disappears with the - ahem - rooshing. Rusche?! haha

I also used to use a product that they did in my old hairdressers made mainly for braids if you weren’t intending to wash them. That was a liquid spray-on, but I can’t remember what it’s called!

Thanks for that, great that they are easy to get hold of. Really good reviews too! Haven’t got braids yet so right now am co-washing midweek and doing a shampoo or co-wash & deep condition at the week-end, but will definitely look out for them the next time I’m shopping.

I find that mixing a couple drops of shampoo into my normal CO-wash gives me added cleansing without stripping. I always run some jojoba or coconut oil through the lengths of my hair beforehand though, just in case.