Kattia Solano, owner of Butterfly Studio Salon in New York City, developed the perfect workout topknot: You flip your head upside down and divide your hair into two sections, parted down the middle. Twist the sections around each other, and roll them into a bun on top of your head. Secure it with bobby pins. (Or, for a completely crease-free result, try the Invisibobble, $8 for three.) The style should be loose with a lot of volume around your face -- this lets the sweat evaporate through the hair, rather than getting trapped in your style.
Whatever you do, don't put it up in a ponytail. "You'll inevitably end up with a line of demarcation in your hair," says David. And the sweat will make your hair even more likely to hold onto the ridge.
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Wear a headband
According to Stephen Ratliff, stylist for the hair care line Bangstyle, wearing a sweat-absorbent headband while you work out can go a long way towards saving your blowout. It's inevitable that your face, neck, and scalp will all sweat -- the trick is to keep that moisture away from your hair as much as possible. The headband will absorb the sweat from your forehead and the back of your neck (the two spots that generally sweat the most) before your hair gets soaked.
Fortunately, not all sweatbands look like terry cloth relics from the '80s. We like the Scunci Active Headwrap, $5, which is made of a moisture-wicking jersey.
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Minimize your products
Hair product overload can seriously cut down the staying power of your blowout, and the problem gets even worse if you exercise. Ratliff suggests asking your stylist to use very little (if any) product when she's blowing out your hair; a light volumizing mousse (for fine hair) or a drop of smoothing lotion (for thick hair) is plenty. You should also avoid anything that contains silicone, says David. It can weigh down your hair and attract dirt, oil, and sweat, making it look dirtier faster. Plus, when you're airing out your hair after a workout, product build-up will keep it flat instead of letting it get bouncy again.
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Hands off!
We're all guilty of twisting, twirling, and patting down our hair -- you might not even realize you're doing it. While it seems like this will help keep your blowout smooth, too much touching will shorten its life. "The more you touch your hair, the greasier it's going to get," says Ratliff. Not only are you spreading the oils from your scalp through the rest of your hair, you're also transferring dirt and moisture from your hands. This is especially true when it comes to sweat -- you can dab it with your hands or a towel, but you definitely don't want to pull it through your hair.
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Blow dry your scalp
After your workout, absorb as much sweat as possible with a towel. If you followed all the precautionary steps, Ratliff says you should be able to quickly revive your blowout with a dryer -- even a mini one in the gym locker room. Flip your head and use the cool setting to dry your scalp. (Hot air will just make you sweat more, which would obviously be counterproductive.) Then add more dry shampoo if necessary.
"Is it really bad to wash your hair every day?" As a beauty editor, I get this question all the time. And while the technical answer is no (as long as you don't also heat-style daily), why would you want to shampoo every day? I'd be thrilled if I never had to wash my hair again.
Unfortunately, I do have to wash my hair three or four times a week -- after every workout. I haven't been able to master the art of preserving a blowout through an exercise class or run in the park. While I don't mind as much if I've done my hair myself, on more than one occasion I've skipped a cardio session so I could keep an exceptionally pretty professional blowout in tact for an extra day. I love a good workout. But -- as embarrassing as it is to admit -- I love a good hair day more.
I know there are women out there who skip washing their hair after the gym (I even know some who don't shower at all, which really baffles me). So I started asking hairstylists for tips on how they do it. The most surprising thing I learned is that how you blow out your hair in the first place is as important as what you do with it while you're exercising.
"Sweat is the worst culprit when it comes to ruining a blowout," says Angelo David, celebrity stylist and New York City salon owner. "And depending on how much you sweat, it may just be a lost cause." However, if you're not sweating buckets in a hot yoga class, stylists have some tricks you can try to keep your blowout an extra day -- and walk out of the gym with hair that looks as good as when you walked in.
