Starting a new heavy duty workout routine and don’t know what to do with your hair? Or if you’re trying to get your right stroke, left stroke on and have no clue how to keep cute outside the pool, read on!

Three things are your enemy if you lead an active lifestyle: the salt from your sweat, salt from seawater, and chlorine from pools. All three are very drying on the hair and eventually excessively dry hair, if left untreated, will break.

To try and salvage your hair from a strenuous workout, you can try wrapping it, putting it into a loose bun, or go 80s style with a sweatband prior to getting sweaty. Your best bet is with a protective or low-maintenance hairstyle. We’ll get into that a bit later on.

After a sweaty workout, it’s ideal to cleanse the scalp to rid it of pore-clogging salt and dirt. But here’s where you have to pay close attention to your hair. Some people can get away with only cleansing 2-3 times a week or just once while others have to cleanse after every workout. For some, shampoo can be way too drying as it strips the hair of its natural oils and will instead go for a low or no pH shampoo. Others will nix the shampoo altogether and will co-wash (cleansing the hair with conditioner instead of shampoo). And then for some too many co-washes leave the hair too limp and it breaks off.

Sheesh—can a girl have some hair on her head?

Yes—but you have to “listen” to your hair and look for signs of moisture and protein deficiency.

Quick tip: if your hair feels mushy when wet and a simple tug leaves some strands in your fist—may be time for some protein (just don’t overdo it or it can cause damage); and if your hair feels hard and when wet snaps back and then breaks—bring on the moisture!

If you’re a swimmer, you want to get the chlorine before it gets you. Do this by wetting the hair and adding a little conditioner to it even if you wear a swim cap. The hair has a certain level of porosity and once it’s saturated, it’s harder for anything else like pesky chlorine to get in. After your swim you still want to properly rinse your hair of any traces of chlorine.

Follow up with a clarifying shampoo every month or so as needed to rid the hair of product buildup.

The easiest way to successfully keep up with your workouts and swimming is to have a low-key hairdo whether you’re relaxed, natural, or wearing a weave or wig. Having to whip out curling irons, flat irons, and other heat appliances is just too time consuming and can wreck havoc on your hair. Plus, it’s summer! Low-key hairdos are the way to go.

Hair tips for natural hair: You have an advantage over other hairstyles since many of your regular routines involve wetting the hair anyway. Twist-outs, braid-outs, and coil-outs are great styling options for varying lengths of natural hair.

If you wear locs or braids it’s a good idea to secure your hair so that you don’t have it pulling at your edges depending on how vigorous your workout is and how long your hair is. Gather the hair loosely at the crown and as an option, secure with a silk or satin scarf.

A few hairstyle ideas:

Hair tips for relaxed hair: Wet sets are simple easy ways to style your hair if you workout in the evening or have some time to kill while your hair dries. You can also do braid-outs or straw curls for an easy and cute texture-transforming ‘do. Or try a protective style like a loose bun or loose braids. If you go to a salon, try to schedule your appointment on and near your off days so you can enjoy some wear of your style.

If you have short hair, a wet wrap after a workout works if you time it right. What’s great about a wet wrap (where you wrap your wet hair around your head, secure it with a silk or satin scarf, and let it air dry) is that most times you won’t need to run a flat or curling iron through your hair after you comb the wrap out. Invest in some stylish hair accessories if you have “longer” short hair to keep your hair off your face.

A few hairstyle ideas:

Hair tips for weaves and wigs: If you’re pretty active and wear weaves, you might want to consider going with a more wet and wavy or wash-n-go texture. This way if you have to wet your hair, it won’t take a team of stylists to get your weave back on course. Also pay special attention to your real hair. The ideal time to keep a weave in is six to eight weeks according to celebrity stylist Kim Kimble.

If you wear a wig, you may find it so much easier to have a cute ‘do and an active lifestyle. It’s true but you want to make sure you take care of your real hair. Don’t get your braids too tight and be sure to cleanse your own hair to rid it of salt, dirt, and/or chlorine.

A few hairstyle ideas:

Questions? Anything to add? Leave it in the comments :)

~Danielle