Comments on: ‘Cause Your Good Hair Is More Important Than Your Health?

By: Rahab

Rahab — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:24:06 +0000

@ one head at a time, grl you ain’t lying. I am natural with a twa and can’t stand all the stuff they tell us to use or buy for our hair. Ugh, deep conditioning for hours, good riddance. I am not about to do that. But I must say when I first big chopped exercising was fun. I didn’t have to worry about messing up my hair. Now I have fallen off the wagon and will be starting again, I am making my grocery list now. But with all the things I have to think about I am not stressing about my hair for once.

By: One Head At A Time

One Head At A Time — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 04:03:49 +0000

How true with the time spent on getting relaxed hair to “look right”. But “naturals” are suffering from the same fate. Now I’m sorry, call me lazy if you want to but unless I’m sick and can’t go outside or doing housework for hours on end, I don’t want to be stuck indoors with some deep conditioner on my head for 3-4hrs. No other race of women do that on the regular. They have all found ways to modify their daily beauty routines so they aren’t spending 2-4hrs twisitng their hair at night to make some style by morning. I hate spending time on my hair. I see white, latino and asian friends/women and little girls wash their hair almost every morning, condition it and blow dry it a little and fly out the door and wait for it to air dry into the style their monthly visit to the salon has cut it in. And that my friends is how I’m trying to live. And it’s not that our hair can’t do that because it will matt or tangle or whatever, it’s that we met the world hating all things about us and so we are not comfortable loving ourselves in the way God made us. But if I think when you show love/respect for something natural, the world will follow along and love it too. Sure, get a color, get a hair cut but that’s once a month or touching up greys at home every two weeks not every night with those hours upon hours all on my natural hair, not for me. And I don’t want to create natural styles that simply mimic what society deems acceptable like me fashioning my natural to look like naturally straight hairstyles or to mimic the loose curls of say a latina – also deemed more acceptable than our natural kinky hair.

We all need to accept African hair the way it comes out of African heads, just the way every one else’s comes out of theirs. It’s not controversy. It’s normal.

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 06:46:16 +0000

Ok. I struggle with staying “on it” I’ll walk for a few days and then lose motivation. But at 218lbs, I NEED to do something!

By: Tiera

Tiera — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:42:55 +0000

If we are so hung up on how we look physically, then why wouldn’t we want to be physically fit? Now I have long pushed the “physical attractiveness” as a reason to exercise to the back of the bus, however, many of us primarily exercise to look good. The majority of us want to look good for a man. A man is likely going to look at a woman’s overall appearance to determine how attractive she is rather than just looking at her hair. A man is not gonna say (to himself) “I don’t date big women but her hair is laid! Lemme go talk to her!” He is gonna look at her overall frame. If her hair looks good but her body doesn’t, he’s gonna pass. Not saying that we should not care for our hair, but we could stop using “men” as an excuse to get our hair done. Like I said, hair is a part of the physical. So is a fit and sleek body. To get a fit and sleek body, you need proper diet and exercise. So if your reason for getting your hair done is to “look good,” then don’t forget the other factors that contribute to that. Now some men do like “voluptuous” women and that would be another story.

By: Erika Nicole Kendall

Erika Nicole Kendall — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:27:14 +0000

Walking and changing my eating habits at the same time. Mind you, I was still 300lbs at this time, and ANY activity would’ve made it easy to lose that weight if you’re eating correctly when you weigh that much.

By: Kim

Kim — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:43:06 +0000

Did you say 18lbs in one month through walking? How? I’m trying to get in to a walking routine but my eating still leaves much to be desired. Did you do both (eating differently and walking) or just walking in that month?

By: Eni

Eni — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:03:24 +0000

This has been a huge issue for me for quite a while. I’m in college, not overweight but I want to lose some, and I exercise sporadically (i.e. during school I go to the gym for 1.5-2 hours once every 2 weeks on the mornings before I go to the salon; this summer I’m definitely exercising more than that though). I asked a personal trainer at my old church for some advice once, and she just told me that I would probably have to choose between keeping my hair the way it is (fairly long, natural, press & curl) and getting in shape. But I guess I’m stubborn and I’m not ready to make that choice. I’m currently trying to strike a balance and make beneficial changes on both sides of the equation. If that means looking like a hot mess until my next hair appointment to get a few more workouts in, I think I’m ready to do that, as long as all my hair doesn’t break off in the process.

Also, I love this blog so much. My friend told me about it on Facebook not too long ago.

By: Terri

Terri — Sat, 14 May 2011 03:29:31 +0000

I must admit this used to be me up until about a month ago. Once I got my hair done I didn’t want to sweat it out. Now, I’ve been walking 30-60 minutes a day at least 5 days a week. I had to realize in order to get the shape I want I’m gonna have to sweat. I was looking at your post Erika of how you lost 18lbs in one month walking 30 min. a day. Did you cut out processed foods during this time also? I think the biggest thing for me is controlling what I eat. Thanks for all of your articles…esp. the one on high fructose corn syrup! I’m starting to pay more attention to the ingredients in the foods I eat.

By: Carla

Carla — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:21:44 +0000

I don’t understand why this was posed as an either/or proposition. My relaxed hair and manicured hands/feet to don’t prevent me from hauling my butt out to the track. I want to look good… there are some hot guys out there! The same women who use their hairdo as an excuse not to exercise wouldn’t dream of letting that keep them off the dance floor!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 07:44:23 +0000

This story is soooo true! I am a second year college student and in my first semester of my second year I told myself that I would work out more often. WRONG! LOL One of struggles that black girls have already with being in a rural big college town is the lack of resources to do our hair. I couldn’t just go to the salon every other week like I did at home. So when I did my hair on Sunday to look good for the rest of the week I avoided working out because I’m not only here to earn a degree in my major but get an M.R.S degree LOL! It was not until this semester that I realized that I was so determined to get rid of this excess weight that I don’t care how messy my hair looks! So if it means that I have to wear a hat everywhere after that hour workout, that’s what it’s gone be!

By: Ebonie B

Ebonie B — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 02:09:29 +0000

Wow, those were so harsh words, but necessary ones. I have grappled with this issue for quite a while and I have come to the conclusion that I have to do what I have to do. In a perfect world, black women would be able to work out, like our non-black sisters and not have to worry about our hair looking a hot mess afterwards, or have it take us half a day to get our hair to look half-way decent. This however is not a perfect world and this is a real issue that we face. Even though I do not let this stop me on my continued quest to lose weight, it is still an added burden to our mission. I’ve done almost everything. Braids, kinky twists, a regular ponytail, a whip-action(draw string) pony tail. I am one who rarely spends money to get her hair done at the hair dressers, because a girl doesn’t have it like that, so it’s all on me to come out looking halfway decent. Somethings worked well and something didn’t, but I tell you this, it has ravaged my hair, so now, I just let it go where it may and try to tame this thick birds nest as best I can. We as women of color are going to have to look a hot mess for a while in order to reach our health goal, and I sure have sacrificed a whole lot of beauty to get where I need to go, but I am halfway there. I swear if you guys would have seen me three weeks ago when I decided to transition to natural, you would have told me to never leave the house, but hey, what can you do? Let’s just give up the fight with our hair win this battle for our health…..who’s with me?

By: Erika

Erika — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:56:33 +0000

WITH. No question.

By: Michellle

Michellle — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:51:55 +0000

When you mentioned walking everyday for half an hour and losing weight was that with or without the help of clean eating?

By: Erika

Erika — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:07:21 +0000

Wow, well HEY LHCF! *waves*

I have to agree – I refuse to have great hair and look a hot mess in my clothing. I ALSO refuse to allow my hair to be an excuse for me to avoid addressing any pressing issues with my health. It’s just not goin’ down, LOL.

Maybe I should do a post on how my daily diet has impacted my hair’s health and growth? I mean, I’ve got a forest growin’ up here, LOL.

By: Yolanda

Yolanda — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:08:38 +0000

Erika:

First, let me say I love your site. A link was posted in the Health and Fitness section of LHCF and I immediately bookmarked it.

Second, most people on the hair boards argue that working out regularly and eating healthier actually HELPS to maintain a healthier head of hair. The thoughts among the fitness gurus on the hair boards is I will not have fabulous hair and a jacked up body! There are even challenges on the board that link a quest for an inch of growth for every ten pounds lost. In my own siggy on the hair boards I have a ticker for my hair (I am transitioning to natural) and a ticker for my weight loss (I am overweight but working on it). I want to see both of those tickers moving!

By: missfitbliss

missfitbliss — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:11:14 +0000

Thank you thank you thank you for addressing this issue! My twin sister is a successful hairstylist in Atlanta and it’s crazy to hear what women will miss out on in order to make it to the salon every week. She’s now encouraging her clients to grow out their perms so they’ll be more inclined to work out regularly with natural hair that doesn’t look unkept when washed.

By: cynthia

cynthia — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:46:28 +0000

Try also a sew in with deep wavy so you can add water , wrap lotion to make it curl up. get a Indian wavey hair will last about a month if you get a good person to sew it in . cheap reaps a hott hair mess.

By: cynthia

cynthia — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:43:59 +0000

Lexi has a very good point the inital investment is up in the dollars but quality is worth it . I can take this out and reuse the hair, its human and it holds up better (Remi) ,corn rows and I have corn rowed and placed a cap and sewed it to the cap . either way can work and Im in the change ( hot and sweat) when ever I want to. but I can do zumba and my new work out routine and I wont complain and I work with doctors and drug reps so I have to be professional also. good luck

By: Lexis B.

Lexis B. — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:12:17 +0000

About hair ideas, you might want to try slicking down your hair with a gentle gel, and wearing your hair in a chignon some days. I also think if you find the right products and use a LOW setting, you can flat iron your hair after a work out to carfully straighten the roots and just bend the ends. The right protective products will cost more, and this will take more time, but you should be able to do this a couple of times a week without damaging your hair. I have a sew-in weave, and while it is expensive, it is basically indestructible. I actually use dog cleansing cloths to clean between the rows as my hair is totally cornrowed underneath, and I don’t have a weave cap or anything. The initial cost of the hair isn’t cheap, but if you invest in good hair, you can use it several times. If you really take care of it (which I don’t), it can look quite fly, and you can style it daily after exercising.

By: SJ Cooper

SJ Cooper — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:15:34 +0000

I have had so many excuses for not losing weight. I always try to keep my hair wrapped when I did excercise. Now I am attempting to transition. I dont want this to be an excuse not to excersise, but I know that I sweat ALOT in my hair. What suggestions do you have for a woman who wants to excersise but needs to maintain a respectable look for work? What you said was so true, and in your face…Thanks for the honesty! Help me out…Braids and weaves are so expensive these days!