by Marcela De Vivo
Getting regular exercise is essential for maintaining optimal health however, rigorous workouts, while they may be good for your body, can wreak havoc on your hair.
Working out vigorously will cause you to sweat heavily, which could lead to dehydration if you aren’t careful. Dehydration can damage your hair, sapping it of its natural moisture.
If you spend time working out regularly, chances are you care about your appearance. Luckily, there are some things you can do to make sure your hair stays as healthy as possible, even if you have a rigorous workout schedule that you can’t alter.
Sun Damage
Working out in the sun can burn your skin and hair. You know you need to apply and reapply sunscreen often when outdoors, but caring for your hair can be a little more difficult. After all, they don’t really make sunscreen for hair.
To protect your hair when you’re working out outdoors, consider wearing a baseball cap, scarf or bandana tied around your head to protect it from the sun. You’ll also be protecting your scalp at the same time, which can easily get burned in the sun.
Chlorine
Pool-based exercises can be great for your body, and swimming is one of the few full-body exercises on the planet however, the chlorine in swimming pools can damage your hair, especially if you swim on a regular basis.
Covering your hair with a swimming cap can help keep your hair from drying out, but it may not keep all the chlorine out. Some swimmers coat their hair with petroleum jelly to keep the water from damaging it.
Cold Weather Workouts
Exercising in cold weather can cause your hair to become dry and brittle. Unfortunately, most people that exercise outdoors can’t simply stay inside in the fall and winter months, or on cool spring days.
What Else Can You Do?
Covering your hair when you’re outside in the hot sun or in the pool can help, but people that work out regularly may still need a little bit of extra help to keep their locks looking their best.
Once you get in the routine of caring for your hair, you’ll wonder why you ever dealt with brittle hair, split ends and the frizz that can come from exercise.
Biotin
Biotin is commonly referred to as a hair growth vitamin. In reality, biotin is simply a type of B-vitamin that may be able to promote hair growth, allowing you to shed dry, damaged strands, and replace them with new, healthier ones.
What is biotin though? It is sold as a supplement, and commonly includes other vitamins like A, C and D, as well as folic acid and pantothenic acid, all of which support healthy hair.
Take Your Vitamins
Along with biotin, taking vitamins can help keep your hair and whole body healthy, especially if you work out regularly and vigorously. When you exercise, you’ll be using a lot of the nutrients you get through food, and vitamins can help supplement anything you might be losing.
People that exercise regularly may also need more of certain vitamins like vitamin B to maintain their strength and energy level. For most people, a high-quality multi-vitamin is enough as long as a healthy, balanced diet is consumed.
Drink Plenty of Water
Your parents probably told you to drink eight glasses of water every single day when you were a kid, and that number may still be stuck in your head. Unfortunately, most doctors will tell you that the old eight-by-eight rule no longer applies, especially if you exercise a lot.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, most people should drink about three to six ounces of water for every 20 minutes of exercise. That number doesn’t include water that you drink throughout the day when you’re not exercising, however.
There’s no rule about how much water you should drink, but many trainers will tell athletes that if they’re thirsty, they’re not drinking enough water. Others will tell you to drink an ounce of water per pound of body weight.
Whatever works for you, you need to stay hydrated. Drinking water while you exercise is important, but you should try to keep a bottle or glass of water with you when you’re not working out too.
Drinking plenty of water is good for your health, and will help keep brittle hair and split ends at bay.
Use Special Hair Treatments
Special hair treatments like nourishing masks that contain moisturizing ingredients like avocado or egg yolks can also help keep your hair from drying out.
These special masks don’t need to be used every single day, but buying one or mixing one up about once per week could make a big difference in the way your hair looks and feels.
(Marcela De Vivo is founder of Gryffin Media, a social media marketing company, a yogi, and a mom of three. She enjoys writing articles about health and wellness, along with other subjects like tech and travel.)
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