How To Avoid An Oily And Itchy Scalp After Your Workout
It’s the summer and we want to look our best by working out regularly. But this workout comes with its own set of challenges and can lead to various scalp problems.
Even if you don’t have that beach body, you still want to workout during the summer and build up a good sweat. It reduces stress, increases blood circulation and makes you feel recharged. And if you workout regularly, you generally want to cool off after and might be tempted to wash your hair every day. This method of dealing with scalp sweating can lead to various issues and even leave us with an itchy scalp. It’s important to understand your scalp and hair care after gym or a workout.
What Happens To Your Hair When You Workout?
When you workout your body, and especially your scalp, sweats. Excessive scalp sweating can dry out your scalp and if you don’t deal with that sweat on your scalp it can clog your hair follicles. This can send a signal to your body to produce more oil on the scalp, which can lead to an itchy scalp. But the weather might not be the root cause, as it could be dandruff. In the summer your scalp is exposed to external elements, which can aggravate a dandruff problem. This could also be the cause of an itchy scalp when you workout.
Tying your hair in a tight bun can also cause dry ends and splitting. The salt that is naturally present in your sweat causes your hair to weaken and become brittle, which can sometimes lead to hair loss. Sweaty hair after workout can sometimes also make your hair look greasy and oily.
What Causes Excessive Scalp Sweating?
Sweat is a natural response by your body to cool itself down. But sometimes it can feel like you’re suffering from excessive scalp sweating. This is called Craniofacial Hyperhidrosis, which can be cause by an underlying illness. But generally, it’s because you have hyperactive sweat glands and have too much heat in your body. You might need to visit a doctor, but this scalp sweating could just be because of the heat, spicy foods, stress, anger, or most likely bad workout regimen. Sadly this can cause an oily and itchy scalp, which can aggravate dandruff and make you hunt for a dandruff remedy. But don’t be afraid as you can do various things to solve this scalp sweating.
Hair Care Routine To Follow:
Following a routine can help you deal with your hair care. Here are some do’s and don’ts:
Pre-workout
We think of hair care after workouts, but the job starts before. It’s not just about tying your hair and getting to it. Good pre-workout hair care can reduce sweaty hair after workout. It starts with choosing the right hairstyle for your current workout. You should also try different styles so that your hair doesn’t get damaged by being worn in the same way every time.
A dry shampoo works as a preventive step against sweaty hair after gym. It can prevent excessive greasiness but be careful not to use it on wet hair. Avoid working out with any styling products still in your hair, as the salt in the sweat can combine to damage your hair.
During workout
This might not feel like the most logical time to take care of your hair, because it seems like you have to take care of sweaty hair after gym. But there are small steps you can take to make your post workout hair care much simpler. For one, you could wear a hair wrap or a headband as these can absorb a lot of extra sweat and even keep your hair out of your face. In addition wear hair ties that are gentle on your hair, not those which can cause breakage.
Hydrate adequately during the workout, as the water cools your system and prevents excessive scalp sweating. You can also plan your workouts so that you aren’t drenched after each one. Mix it up and play it smart.
Post workout
The question that first comes up, is should you wash your hair after working out every day. It’s a tricky question which depends on your hair type, but on average you should at least wash your hair 2-3 times a week. Overwashing can cause your scalp to dry out and eventually cause excessive oil buildup. If you take care of your hair before and during the workout, hair care after workout becomes easier. That being said, you still need to use scalp shampoos to clean the sweat and dirt away. You should recognise which kind of exercise requires you to wash hair after workout.
For hair care after gym, you can brush your hair to open up the strands. Avoid hot blow drying on your hair as this can cause further damage. Air dry, towel dry or even try cool air on your blow dryer, to cool your scalp. Don’t rush your post-workout routine as this can lead you to ignore warning signs and can be the cause of dandruff as well, making you hunt for a scalp shampoo.
While using a sweaty scalp shampoo, a good moisturising conditioner can prevent your scalp from drying out. This can help you through the day that you don’t wash your hair. Conditioners like the Supreme Scalp Soothing Conditioner with Argan oil and Aloe vera work wonders for your post workout hair care. Using products like the Cool Menthol anti dandruff shampoo can also have a cooling effect on your scalp and can feel like the best shampoo for sweaty scalps. Apart from using a double step with a shampoo and then a separate conditioner, you also use the Smooth and Silky 2in1 shampoo and conditioner that gets rid of any dandruff and gives you an itch free scalp, while helping your summer dry hair. These are all solutions to help you tide over the summer days when you still want to workout and not develop any scalp or hair issues. Every workout should just leave you tired but not worried.
