How to Refresh Hair After Exercising
If you’re like me and work out almost every day then you likely know the struggle of “to wash my hair, or to not wash my hair? That is the question.”
I work out 5-6 times weekly. I either do my Bodyboss Method workout at home or I hit up the gym and do my 20/20/20/20 workout – 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 on the treadmill, 20 on a bike, and 20 minutes of muscle focus and stretching. They are all high-cardio, high-intensity workouts – so I get pretty sweaty during my workouts.
For a time, I did wash my hair after each and every workout, but I quickly realized that it was drying out my hair and also – that I didn’t really have time to wash, blow-dry, and style my hair every single day.
I have long hair – that’s a huge time commitment! I realized pretty quickly that I needed to figure out how to get fresh hair after a workout without washing it.
[easy-image-collage id=6947]How To Get Fresh Hair After a Workout Without Washing
Step 1: Get a Spray Bottle.
Rather than wash my hair now after a workout, I instead rinse off and keep my hair up and away from the water. Then, once I am out of the shower, I use a spray bottle full of water to spritz the roots of my hair.
[easy-image-collage id=6948]I simply just purchased a spray bottle at the dollar store, but you can use an empty bottle you have at home (just be sure to rinse it out thoroughly before using it) and then filled it with water.
**I actually had a super cute hair-specific spray bottle before, but somehow we lost it in our 700 SQFT apartment – I know, I don’t know how that even happens.
Step 2: Towel Dry Your Roots
Once I’ve doused the roots of my hair, I then use a towel to gently squeeze the roots of my hair to remove any excess water.
I never like to blow dry my hair when it’s super wet, so even when I wash all my hair, I usually wait an hour or so before I go in with my blow dryer. The reason I like to wait until my hair is semi-dry is to avoid some of the heat damage caused by blow-drying.
Step 3: Blow Dry Your Roots
Once my roots have dried a bit on their own, I then blow dry them. Since I haven’t wet my entire head, this only takes about 5 minutes, and then I am all good to go. Easy peasy!
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[easy-image-collage id=6949]Step 4: Add in a bit of Dry Shampoo!
If I feel like my hair is still laying a bit flat then I’ll go ahead and add in a bit of dry shampoo.
The Drybar Dry Shampoo has been my go-to dry shampoo for the last few years. It works great, and it gives your roots a bit of lift which I love.
[easy-image-collage id=6950]
Step 5: Add in a bit of Texturizing Spray
After that, I’ll often add in a bit of my favourite texturizing spray. I discovered the Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray last year, and since then it’s been one of my top go-to hair products. It adds texture and volume to my hair without leaving it feeling sticky, heavy, or super knotted.
[easy-image-collage id=6951]How often do I wash my hair?
Now, I still fully wash my hair a couple of times a week (like 2-3 depending on my workouts), but my new “after a workout” haircare routine really cuts down on the amount of time I spend on my hair each day.
Also, this routine reduces damage and breakage to my (already weak) hair, and it allows me to maintain my workout routine without it feeling like a 2 to 4-hour commitment.
I’m going to have to try this! I always worry that wetting my fine thin hair will just cause a disaster and I’ll be in a worse place than I started lol
Interesting idea – will have to try this. I hate that “sweaty head” feeling after working out and my hair is uber thick, so it gets bad. And who wants stinky hair – I always worry about it smelling after sweating. Thanks! Happy fall!