(Hair) Health Related Issue

[Smilie]

What is the difference in having short or long hair when you sweat? Your scalp would be gross either way.

I have long wavy hair, and I wash every day, and on heavy workout nights wash then as well. Just wash your scalp as that is what gets your roots of your hair yucky. Squiggy the shampoo out of your hair and condition. If your hair dries out on the ends, use a leave in conditioner.

[GLC1968]

I had long, super thick, curly hair up until a few months ago (when I chopped it short and donated it). After bike rides, I would just rinse my hair. In fact, I went for about 2 years with never using shampoo at all and I tend to be oily (hair and skin).

Yes, your scalp will feel weird at first, but once the oil production regulates, it works great. Basically, when you shampoo daily (or more than daily), your scalp produces oil on overdrive to compensate and keep your scalp healthy. If you stop stripping the oil away all the time, eventually the oil production returns to normal and it's no longer a problem to not wash all the time.

When I wasn't using shampoo, I would 'wash' my hair with a clean rinsing conditioner. Worked great at getting off the grime without stripping my hair. I would only 'wash' with conditioner about twice a week. All the other times I showered, I just rinsed well and applied a little conditioner to the ends (and did not rinse it out). The trick to this is to make sure your conditioner and ALL of your styling products are free of any ingredient ending in 'cone' (like dimethecone). These are typically in products that promise 'smoothing' or 'defrizz'. They do this by coating the hair and sheilding it from moisture in the environment. The problem is that they, by nature, are not water soluble, so if you are not using a soap/shampoo, they will build up and cause your hair to be dull and dry and limp.

For me, I gave up on the long hair mostly because the huge mass of hair was just too hot. Plus, I like what I look like with short hair better (though many people I know disagree with me...whatever ).

[Blueberry]

What is the difference in having short or long hair when you sweat? Your scalp would be gross either way.

True - but I can wash my hair in a sink if need be, and it's short enough that shampooing it multiple times per day isn't gonna hurt it. When it's short, you don't have to worry about split ends and other forms of damage.

CA

[Zen]

You can always wear a wig

[JennyPi]

I'm with SouthernBelle on this. I occasionally use the baby powder trick. My mom told me about it a long time ago and it's always stuck with me. It does help to absorb some sweat and oil, but I think it works best when the hair has dried off a bit. A quick towel dry should do. My hair is a little shorter than shoulder length and it is on the finer side. It's not the best way to cleanliness, since it will stick to your scalp and require a wash as soon as you get home, but if you're in a situation where you can't have soiled hair (ie: work) it'll give your hair a matte appearance. You can also re-apply if you feel like you've got major sheen going on. A good tip would be to put the baby powder on your hands and then pat it onto the most oily areas. If you shake it directly onto the hair you might get a visible white patch on your hair and scalp. Not so good if you plan on leaving your hair down.

[OakLeaf]

When my hair was long I would do my post-run or post-ride shower and try to keep the shampoo just on my head. Rinsed that off, then put some... conditioner on the ends of my hair (only the ends!) and rinse that off.

yeah, I'd forgotten, but that's just what I used to do when I had long hair (below the waist). Even when I only had one shower a day, the ends only got shampoo once or twice a week.

[OakLeaf]

Yes, your scalp will feel weird at first, but once the oil production regulates, it works great. Basically, when you shampoo daily (or more than daily), your scalp produces oil on overdrive to compensate and keep your scalp healthy. If you stop stripping the oil away all the time, eventually the oil production returns to normal and it's no longer a problem to not wash all the time.

Doesn't work for everyone.

Let's just say that in my childhood and early teens, I wasn't taught much about personal hygiene. My scalp and hair never stopped being caked with oil.

Another thing, though, is diet. Whatever fat I eat - particularly saturated fats and homemade trans fats (fry oil) - comes straight out the pores on my face and scalp. It's gross, really, I can wipe my face with a tissue and it comes away looking like I've dipped it in olive oil. Definitely an incentive to limit my saturated fat intake!

[shootingstar]

I credit the Internet for expanding knowledge in ways never dreamt of.

Baby powder on hair. Whoa, should I try it on black hair.. ? Maybe if i did the Asian bleached blonde chick look first...

No, I absolutely must wash my scalp and hair all the way through. Otherwise just skip day of washing hair altogether. which I've done on certain camping & cycling trips.

[dex]

Baby powder on hair. Whoa, should I try it on black hair.. ?

Baby powder on black hair definitely doesn't work. Well, I shouldn't say it doesn't work, because it certainly does get rid of any oily stuff...but it also makes the hair look like a dusted gray wig. (I tried it once in college just out of curiosity.)

Now, once I'd adopted the "Asian bleached blonde chick look", the baby powder trick was awesome. It's also great on light pink hair, but not as great on darker pink hair.

[shootingstar]

Baby powder on black hair definitely doesn't work. Well, I shouldn't say it doesn't work, because it certainly does get rid of any oily stuff...but it also makes the hair look like a dusted gray wig. (I tried it once in college just out of curiosity.

We could do a strange masquerade party and come with dusty hair and cobwebs..