If you take a morning shower and work out later in the day, just rinse your hair well after you exercise. If you feel you must wash a second time, use baby shampoo or your conditioner. Gently massage your scalp with the lather and avoid fragile hair ends.
Some of our favorite shampoos include Epoch Ava puhi moni ($14, Nuskin) and Charles Worthington Results Colour Bright Shampoo ($6, drugstores). If you’ve been using the same product for years, try switching to another brand, Agim says. Hair can become “bored” with a shampoo or conditioner and stop responding to its ingredients.
If your scalp is really oily, sweating can make it worse. Experts recommend using a shampoo with zinc to reduce the oils. Try the new Head & Shoulders Restoring Shine ($5, drugstores). If you have dandruff and use a special shampoo, limit use to once every other day because its chemicals are harsher.
Conditioners can significantly improve hair cuticles, a layer of cells that overlap like shingles, when they are broken and uneven. Loaded with moisturizing agents (fatty alcohols and panthenol) and cuticle-coating ingredients (silicones and proteins), conditioners make strands smooth and tangle-free. Try Philip B Deep-Conditioning Creme Rinse ($26, Philip B), with African shea butter, wheat germ and soy protein. When you put on conditioner, don’t apply near your scalp—it will just make it oilier. Apply it to the middle of your hair or to just the ends.
Use deep conditioners for extremely battered hair. Some we like are the ISH Ionic Rescue One-Minute Treatment ($27.50, ISH Rescue) and the Frédéric Fekkai Hair Mask with Shea Butter ($22.50, Frederic Fekkai).
Style Gently
Once you get out of the shower, try to avoid using your hair dryer. If you must use it, remember that air temperature is more harmful to your locks than force—setting your dryer on “high” is better than setting it on “hot.” To decrease heat damage, try a heated styling brush instead of a curling iron.
When using products to style or set your hair, pay attention to the ingredients. “Just like your skin, your hair needs plenty of water or the right kind of moisturizer,” Attar says. “Use a spray with nutrients and marine extracts that will moisturize the texture of the hair.” We like Hamadi Shea Spray ($18, Hamadi) made of rosewood oil and other organic ingredients.
Exercise and Your Hair
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