Curly girl tips: a runners guide to looking after your curly hair

I suspect that most running blogs aren’t simultaneously giving out hair and beauty advice, because let’s face it, running isn’t the most glamorous of hobbies. We sweat a lot. Chafing happens more than any one person would ever like. We get muddy and we wear shorts in the cold and we get wet in the rain too.

Which is precisely why we need to be looking after our hair and skin as best we can – we are constantly out and about, exposed to the elements and doing that speedy ‘get in from a run, quick shower, off to work/play/sleep’ routine. The build up of sweat, oil and dirt from being outside a lot can really have an effect on our hair and skin, and let’s face it, there is more to life than running and we would quite like to feel nice in the other parts of our lives too – right? 

So for this post I am going to focus on curly hair – because that’s what I have! So not only can I speak from experience, but I know how curly hair is different to straight and wavy hair and that it should not be generalised as the same. 

I must also caveat with this post with a HUGE disclaimer that my hair is troublesome and I’ve not quite yet figured out exactly how to perfect it (far from it), so I am certainly not an expert. But I like to give things a go and curly hair is all about what works for you – plus I like blogs with personal experiences, so this is what this is.

The below photos show a bit more clearly what type of curly hair I have – it’s thick and easily gets dry and coarse. Lots of curly hair blogs don’t really help me because the girls have such different curls to me. My mum has curly hair and my dad is Egyptian, so I was always bound to have hair like this!!

So my fellow curlies will know that curly hair is drier and coarser than straight hair, simply due to the nature that our hair kinks and curls and this physically makes it harder for moisture to travel down our hair strands. Curly hair is also more prone to breakage and frizz, and is more likely to become damaged as a result of using heat styling (guilty as charged). 

Therefore knowing how to take care of your hair is really important to keep it in as good condition as possible. One of the main things is understanding that curly hair constantly needs moisture and hydration, so make sure you’re using products and looking after your hair in a way that focuses on adding moisture. Dry hair is the curly’s enemy.

Sweat has a high salt content, which can be drying and irritating on your hair. On the other hand, sweat is moisture and curly hair loves moisture. So I’ll leave it in your hands to decide whether that bothers you or not…

I guess it’s not rocket science to say that the better condition your hair is in to start, the easier it will be to keep it in good condition. So do what works for you to keep it hydrated and strong and even your running habit won’t be able to ruin it! 

Here are some my top tips for looking after your hair whilst you carry on lacing up and training hard: 

• Use a hair mask regularly – moisture and hydration is KEY. I use a hair mask almost every time I wash my hair (I only wash once or twice a week).
  
  
• Don’t use a normal towel to dry your hair – the texture of a normal towel is great for absorbing water from your body, but is rough on your hair and can cause damage and frizz to the hair follicles due to the friction. A better material to dry your hair with is a microfibre towel, or the budget version (which is what I use) – an old cotton t-shirt!
  
  
• Try sleeping on a silk pillowcase – I know, it seems extra but it is in fact a legit technique. Again it’s all about the material of regular pillowcases and the way you move around in the night causing excess friction on your hair. I swear by my silk pillowcase which I bought from Only Curls, but there are lots of options around.
  
  
• Use scrunchies – they are much kinder on your hair than regular hairbands with the metal clasps in them. This is especially useful when you are putting your hair up in tight buns/ponytails for running or taking your hair up and down a lot throughout the day. My faves are from Sweaty Betty, but again there are tonnes of choices in most shops nowadays.
  
  
• Plait your hair when you run – it’ll help to stop it becoming tangled as it moves around and gets sweaty. This is especially helpful when running in the rain! You’ll notice on race day that lots of girls have their hair in plaits too (because it’s practical or because it looks cute, we’ll never know…)
  
  
• Wear your hear down a lot, if you can, when you’re not training – having it pulled back tightly too often can break the strands.
  
  
• Choose your products wisely – try to keep to things which are sulphate and silicone free. I only discovered this quite late in my adult life, but traditional hair products contain those things largely as a chemical which helps to lather the product. However, they strip the hair of its natural oils and for curlies, this is a big no-go as we want to keep as much moisture in our hair as we can. I won’t bang on it about it now, but it’s worth doing a bit of research to understand this and see how the chemicals are in such a lot of the everyday hair brands you know and probably use.
  I have now changed my hair brands to try to reduce the amount of these that go into my hair. There are lots of great curly hair brands! I have personally tried Noughty, Only Curls and The Body Shop (the latter is what I am currently using).
  
  
• Lastly, less is more. Try to find a few products that work for you and don’t overload your hair with product. I like using a good curl friendly (low/sulphate free!) shampoo, conditioner and hair mask. I also believe in the power of a good hair oil/treatment and a leave in conditioner.
  

These are just some things that I have learnt about as I’ve got older and began to embrace my curls more after years of straightening my hair. Your hair is almost definitely different to mine and what works for me might not work for you, and vice versa. It can take some time to experiment with what works for you, but it’s worth it when people compliment your curls 🙂

I would love to hear what you do and if you have any other tips or product recommendations for how you look after your hair. 

You may also want to check out the Curly Girl Method – one of the ultimate resources. If following the whole method is too much for you, just pick some bits to start with. It’s what I started doing and how I learnt about sulphates in hair products initially. Understanding their method has definitely helped the condition of my hair.

So, happy hair = happy runner. Not least because it’ll still be looking good in those post-race photos for you to post on IG…!

Ele x