A definitive guide to hair care: Pre and post workout routine for the summer

IT IS SO HOT! This seems like an understatement at this point. Most days we take a sweat-shower as soon as we come out of a proper shower and 5 minutes without any fan or AC and it would look like you’ve probably worked out for 40 minutes. Speaking of working out, those of us who work out on a regular basis, this heat genuinely does a number on our hair. I mean if we sweat this much without working out, the workout would definitely turn the hair into a greasy mess. While we all wish we could wash our hair every day, hair experts everywhere advice against it. 

Washing your hair every day dries out your scalp, strips your hair of its natural oils, and accelerates hair fall two-fold. So what do we do then? How to deal with the soppy mess our hair turns into after we work out? Well here’s a hair care routine which if you master, you won’t feel the need to wash your hair every day. This routine isn’t just pre-and-post workout you can follow this routine even if you have a long day or like now if it’s just super hot. 

Pre-workout

Step 1

Dry shampoo is your best friend. If you don’t have any, here’s a way to DIY some. An hour or so before you are slated to work out just put some dry shampoo in your hair and work it into your scalp with your fingers thoroughly. Take your time with this and make sure you get every section properly. Don’t do it very early on because the dry shampoo is what will absorb a lot of your scalp sweat when you work out, so you want it to be fresh. 

Step 2

Learn ways to tie your hair up as you work out. I usually don’t recommend super high ponytails while working out because that tension and body movement could result in a lot of unnecessary breakages. Instead, I always recommend a braid. Double dutch braids are my favourite. There are many tutorials to create the braids but if you don’t want to then you can also tie a bun on the top of your head or a sleek low bun. The idea is to keep your hair off your face but also getting the sweat to help style your hair. Try and not use tight headbands cause they might leave a kink in your crown that you wouldn’t be able to get rid of without washing your hair and that is what we are trying to avoid! Now go work out. 

Post-workout

Step 3

It’s time now to see the handiwork the dry shampoo and your hairstyle have done. If you have braided your hair, you should have some fun beach waves. Once you take your hair out of the braids or the bun, just massage your scalp once again and then brush through from root to tip. Now part your hair at the crown and dab on the scalp it with a towel or a tissue.

Step 4

This is an optional step, but it does help me a lot. Take a blow drier on cold setting and just dry your roots and the bottom of your neck (just above the nape)  to get the last bit of grease and sweat of your scalp. You could totally leave your hair to air dry after the previous step, but I like the cool air and it is soothing in the heat.

Step 5

Lastly, just add some serum to the ends of your hair to restore the shine and reduce the frizz. 

That’s basically it. I follow this routine personally and even in this heat I have managed to keep at least a 3-day gap in between my washes. Here’s another pro-tip though. If you think you are going to wash your hair on a particular day, instead of the dry shampoo apply some hair oil or a hair conditioning treatment before you work out and tie the braid or the bun. The body heat will ensure the treatments soaks deep into the scalp.