By Isake Tom

We met my first day on the job. Being close in age we hit it off immediately. After a while, I quickly learned that she was a fitness guru of sorts, taking off on her lunch breaks to work up a sweat at the nearby gym. Finally after a few months, and teasing at how I managed to stay so trim without going to the gym she asked me to accompany her to hot yoga the next evening. Hmmm, hot yoga? Sounded like fun, yoga with a twist. There would be steam, calm and detoxification. Just a few more questions and we’d have a done deal.

Then it hit me. Did she say steam? and sweat? Sorry my friend, there will be no hot yoga for me.

Why? My hair. Sounds silly I know, but as much I wanted to experience the relaxation of hot yoga, I couldn’t justify throwing away the $100 I had just spent chemically and thermally straightening my hair. This was one thing my Asian gal pal and I didn’t have in common. How could I explain to her that I belong to a culture where hair is KIND OF A BIG DEAL?

The fact is nearly one third of black women exercise less due to their hairstyle management routines. This was discovered through a survey conducted by medical students at Wake Forest University in Salem, North Carolina. “Sweating out” their hairstyles and the time required to wash, dry, and recreate their previous hairstyle, were the top two reasons the participants (all black women) chose to live more sedentary lifestyles.

The women were considered active if they reported at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day, for at least 5 days a week. While 100% of the respondents (ages 21-60) agreed that leading a healthy lifestyle, complete with regular exercise is important, very few of them were meeting the basic physical activity cutoffs, with 31% admitting to engaging in little to no exercise because of their hair.

So what does this have to do with African Canadian women? Alot! It’s no secret that black women everywhere are known to spend more on their hair than women of any other ethnicity. This fact alone would explain the apprehension towards exercise, as women fear the risk of undoing costly hairstyles. It’s not uncommon for some of us to spend upwards of $100 getting our hair done. After spending that kind of moola, who wants to ‘sweat it out’ at the gym? As for our biracial sisters, or sisters with naturally curly hair they know first hand the horrors of trying to maintain thermally straightened hair. Clearly, hair poses a unique barrier to black women ‘s health.

Recently, I came across some helpful tips on how to prevent a post workout hair nightmare.

1. Wear hair in a ponytail, feel free to twist and secure the ends of the hair with pins. This will help the hair retain its bounce and body  and maintain your style. Wearing a sweat band also works to keep hair around the edges flat.
2. Wrap a silk or cotton scarf around your head to absorb perspiration and prevent  hair around the edges from curling.
3. Simply wear the hair natural.

With health concerns such as diabetes and hypertension, disproportionately affecting our community, physical activity is vital for our people.  Hair should never be a deterrent from living a healthy lifestyle. Find a hair option that works best for you and get moving!

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