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alittle722
February 14th, 2011, 12:56 PM
I have been working out regularly (5-6 days per week) for the last three months or so and have been trying to find the best way to care for my hair. I have very fine hair that is also thin (only about 2.25 inches in circumference!) so it does tend to get the greasies if I do not wash regularly.
Usually I CWC everyday-- I know, I know, BAD. But, I am trying to get away from washing so frequently. So I have been experimenting with CO-ing and it doesn't seem to be working for me. I wonder if I am doing something wrong? It usually just ends up feeling greasy or waxy and just sort of clumps together so I keep going back to CWC everyday. :(
I really need to figure something out here because I sweat a lot when I work out so my hair is pretty soaked through and it looks awful if I just let it dry. (haha, sorry thats pretty gross)

So, I am wondering if anyone else has the same problems and what their solutions are?

If this question has already been answered I apologize, I am not very saavy when it comes to searching forums for info.
Thanks in advance!!

Medievalmaniac
February 14th, 2011, 01:08 PM
DON'T wash it every day. I have medium to fine hair, and I run 4-5 times a week, from 2-10 miles a session. So I definitely know about post-workout sweaty hair!!

I leave my hair alone, brushing it once it is dry, and still only wash once a week, oiling and putting it up every other day if it is grungy-looking down. I do rinse it well if it smells bad once it is dry - but in my experience, using the oil keeps the "I just ran five miles" smell down, and I don't have any trouble with just putting it up until wash day. If you just can't stomach that, then instead of washing, just rinse your hair out with warm and then cold water, and then oil lightly. Try also an ACV rinse once or twice a week. Get away from the C-W-C so much, you are training your scalp to make more oil, and if you want that to stop you have to break the cycle.

Hope that helps!! Good luck!

SpinDance
February 14th, 2011, 01:21 PM
I didn't have any luck with CO until I stopped using 'cones. Now it works very well. Do you really need to wash it with shampoo after every workout? You might find that a rinse, or rinse with a little conditioner is all you need most days, and only CWC or whatever when it really needs it to get oils/sebum out.

Unfortunately it does take time to figure out a routine that works, but it's well worth it! Keep trying things, slowly, changing only one thing at a time, until your hair 'tells' you what it likes.

supermanok03
February 14th, 2011, 01:21 PM
Just rinse with water post-workout and then limit the real washing. I don't have any trouble just rinsing out the sweat with water. I would skip the shampoo totally if I were you, I used to CWC but then realized all I didn't even need shampoo since I don't use product other than oil in my hair. So once or twice a week I'll condition and then ACV rinse, but after my runs/gym I just rinse with conditioner and then maybe ACV.

FluffSpider
February 14th, 2011, 01:28 PM
If you're that addicted to the clean feeling, I'd say make a transition from CWC to C-COW-C then to CO
C-COW-C(or the moo wash) means diluting your shampoo with water and conditioner, so it goes like this:
1)wet hair, apply first C
2(apply shampoo with condish already mixed in
3.another c
I feel this is a rather mild wash, comparable to CO, and you can gradually lower the shampoo proportion 'til you're out of the woods.
You might get greasies from your CO if:
scalp condish has cones/oils OR you don't rinse properly.

spidermom
February 14th, 2011, 01:33 PM
I dilute my shampoo in water for CWC. It does not dry out my hair.

It's good to work out with a high ponytail, then hold the ponytail out of the way and rinse the scalp. Leave the pony in while the scalp dries. (unfortunately, hair can become too long and heavy for this)

Vorvolaka
February 14th, 2011, 02:43 PM
I work out a lot too and I have pretty similar hair type to you.

I wash every second day, rinse on the days in between if I'm sweaty. It's better than washing everyday but I just can't stretch to the third day even when I persevere for weeks.

I'd love to be one of those folks who wash their hair once a week or so but I'm not.

jasper
February 14th, 2011, 02:55 PM
Yeah, water rinsing after you work out should work for stretching washes.

mellie89
February 14th, 2011, 03:35 PM
First of all, 2.25 inches is not thin! That's in the ii range for sure.

I work out about three times a week, but I don't plan it around my hair care or vice versa. I try to only wash every other day, but if it needs to be washed two days in a row, that's fine too. Most of the time, rinsing it is good enough to make it look okay after a workout.

Or, I sometimes do a "lazy CO," as I call it: I massage a little bit of conditioner into my roots and then rinse it out without leaving it sit or worrying about the length. Cone-free conditioners work best for me. This helps eliminate any smell and gets the roots looking clean enough until the next day, when I shampoo.

alittle722
February 14th, 2011, 08:54 PM
First of all, 2.25 inches is not thin! That's in the ii range for sure.

I work out about three times a week, but I don't plan it around my hair care or vice versa. I try to only wash every other day, but if it needs to be washed two days in a row, that's fine too. Most of the time, rinsing it is good enough to make it look okay after a workout.

Or, I sometimes do a "lazy CO," as I call it: I massage a little bit of conditioner into my roots and then rinse it out without leaving it sit or worrying about the length. Cone-free conditioners work best for me. This helps eliminate any smell and gets the roots looking clean enough until the next day, when I shampoo.



Well, 2.25 feels really thin and people have told me that all my life so I guess I am tainted! :p

alittle722
February 14th, 2011, 08:58 PM
DON'T wash it every day. I have medium to fine hair, and I run 4-5 times a week, from 2-10 miles a session. So I definitely know about post-workout sweaty hair!!

I leave my hair alone, brushing it once it is dry, and still only wash once a week, oiling and putting it up every other day if it is grungy-looking down. I do rinse it well if it smells bad once it is dry - but in my experience, using the oil keeps the "I just ran five miles" smell down, and I don't have any trouble with just putting it up until wash day. If you just can't stomach that, then instead of washing, just rinse your hair out with warm and then cold water, and then oil lightly. Try also an ACV rinse once or twice a week. Get away from the C-W-C so much, you are training your scalp to make more oil, and if you want that to stop you have to break the cycle.

Hope that helps!! Good luck!

This helps so much! Thank you for giving me some advice! I do realize that I need to get away from the CWC all the time, and, I definitely think that I have trained my scalp! Sometimes you just need someone to tell you what you don't want to hear, you know? Prior to my workout revelation I was washing two to three times per week which was less but the sweatiness was just getting bad when I started working out a lot. I'll have to experiment to see if oiling keeps the smell down because that is one of my other concerns (well maybe not mine but the boyfriend is NOT a fan, haha)

alittle722
February 14th, 2011, 09:00 PM
I work out a lot too and I have pretty similar hair type to you.

I wash every second day, rinse on the days in between if I'm sweaty. It's better than washing everyday but I just can't stretch to the third day even when I persevere for weeks.

I'd love to be one of those folks who wash their hair once a week or so but I'm not.

You do have a similar hair type to me so I think I am going to take a bit of advice from everyone and spend the next few weeks experimenting to see what works best for me.


To everyone else: Thank you so much for all the great advice! I knew I was destroying my locks but I am glad I asked what everyone else does so I can have a list of options to play with! :)

Hiriel
February 15th, 2011, 07:39 AM
My hair isn't that similar to yours, but anyway.

I exercise both in the morning and afternoon 3 days a week at the moment. I run for about 30 minutes in the morning, which doesn't make me too horribly sweaty, so I put my hair up while showering after the run and leave it alone. In the afternoons I do intense aerobics for an hour, and this usually makes me very sweaty. I usually rinse my hair with water after that, though I don't need to do it every time. I wash my hair once a week.

I find that hair doesn't really get that sweaty, as long as you keep it off your neck when exercising :)

scorpio_rising
February 15th, 2011, 08:11 AM
I do Bikram yoga 5 - 7 days a week. When I am done with yoga my hair is dripping with sweat. My whole body looks like someone dumped a bucket of water over me. I am literally soaked with sweat. I just rinse off in the shower and once or twice a week I will do an ACV rinse. No problems with gross, stinky hair here!

carabean
February 15th, 2011, 08:17 AM
I workout every day, too and bike most places. Braids are my best friends. English braids and ponytail braids in winter and french braids in summer (my hair has to be damp for these to hold.) Otherwise, I pretty much follow Midievalmaniacs advice to a t -- except I oil and wash my hair twice a week!

morecowbell
February 15th, 2011, 10:08 AM
Another vote for rinses here. :) Sweat is just saltwater, and a quick rinse off in the shower should be all you need to get your hair clean feeling/smelling. The salt is what makes your hair clump together (that's why some companies make saltwater sprays for 'texturizing').
I've found that my hair gets dried out if I do a water only rinse, so I usually dilute my lightest conditioner in water, and pour it over my scalp, do a quick massage, and rinse out. Voila! :)
Here's hoping you find a solution! :)