Hair before health?

Come on ladies!!

ESPECIALLY us ethnic women…no more excuses!! I’ve heard this time and time again, especially when I was in the search of a workout partner a few years back, and even to this day.

I chose to say ethnic because I’ve had this conversation with not only black/african women, but my latino, multi-racial, and Jewish friends (yes, a lot of jews have that kinky curls like us)…hi Shoshana!

The exchange usually goes a little something like this:

B: Hey, I need some motivation, you should come workout with me.

Friend: Workout? You mean like sweat?

B: Um yea, that’s usually what happens when you workout.

Friend: Maybe next week, I just got my hair done…I wish I would sweat out my $125 hair style.

B: Okay.

Fast forward to next week…

B: Hey girl, you ready to hit the gym?

Friend: I just washed and flat ironed my hair, I aint tryna get it all frizzy.

B: Okay, but you realize you said that you would come this week right?

Friend: Yea, but I got my hair done again and that would be a waste of money.

B: Alright.

Sooooo, at that point, I just stop asking. It’s for our own well-being to keep our bodies and minds healthy, sound and strong.

***

Studies show that 77 percent of black women are overweight or obese according to Amy J. McMichael, M.D., the lead investigator of a 2008 study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

McMichael, associate professor of dermatology, specializes in hair and scalp diseases, ethnic and pigmented skin diseases, and general dermatology and skin care. “I see a lot of African American women in our clinic and had noticed how many of them are overweight. This puts these women at risk for hypertension, diabetes and other serious problems.”

She continues to say, “I thought it would be interesting to look at what role their hair plays in their amount of exercise. Many African American women with coarser hair use either heat straighteners or chemical products to straighten their hair. Depending on how coarse or fragile their hair is, they can’t just wash their hair after exercise without having to go through the whole process again, and that can take hours. Over-washing fragile hair can make it break off easily.”

McMichael and the team of investigators from the Department of Dermatology, the Division of Public Health Sciences, and the medical school interviewed 103 black women about how much and what types of exercise they do – the time, expense and complications of caring for their hair. Sixty-four of the respondents had relaxed their hair by various means.

All of the respondents believed it was important for them to exercise. And 50 percent stated that they considered changing their hair to make it easier to exercise.
“We have now identified the problem – hair care does seem to be a factor – and it is one that is not easily solvable. Somebody might say, ‘Oh, just cut your hair,’ but that does not make sense. We have to figure out ways to address this issue, get some African American women in a forum or group meeting and talk about this,” McMichael said. “This is just a first step.”

***

Great study! Just goes to show that we can do it and want to do it, but many need to abandon the hair upkeep dillema – which is so easy, but a lot of women make it out to be such an obstacle. Do not allow your hair to become a fear! It should be more like a sign of assurance!

When you are walking out of the gym after an intense workout and you’ve got that sweat dripping down your forehead – walk with a vengeance! There is no better feeling of confidence and security than that.

So, lets start by first tossing these key phrases out of our vocabulary, when referring to making those trips to the gym:

• frizzes up
• sweats out

Oh, and ladies leave the scarves, doo rags, etc at home…invest in a good runner’s cap and a headband. Those items will soak up the sweat at a higher rate, leave you drier, and keep you from looking like a fool (yall didn’t think I was going to make a fashion point in this post?)

Nike Storm Featherlight Women's Hat - $25

Happy Sweating to you!!!