In today’s Your Health Matters is an intriguing piece about black women and weight management written by our health journalist, Sandra Jordan. “Are you working your hairdo or is your hairdo working you- on the scales?” examines the complex relationship between exercising and maintaining hairstyles that complicates the lives of many black women.
As reported by Dr. Michael Railey, associate dean of multicultural affairs at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, African American women have the highest incidence of being overweight in the United States and they are least likely to have a regular exercise routine. In Dr. Railey’s publication in October 2000, 49 percent of the overweight African American women reported that hair care directly affects their exercise patterns.
I’m sure it’s not surprising to the black women reading this that half of the women in the study reported that maintaining their hair affected their likelihood of working out. I’m actually surprised that the number isn’t higher! I often hear black women say they can’t exercise because they will ‘sweat their hair out.’
Think about this issue as it relates to cultural competence in healthcare. Virtually no other group of women (or men) is faced with such dilemma. Do I choose to be beautiful now (by maintaining my hairstyle) or do I choose to maintain my weight/lose weight (and have all the other positive effects of exercising)? This is a difficult concept for many doctors and other health professionals to grasp because other cultures do not understand the complex issues of hair maintenance and hairstyles for African American women.
There are many issues to consider when discussing hair and black women but probably most important is that for many black women, their hairstyle is a big form of self-expression. A black woman’s hair makes a statement and is often the subject of many conversations.
As depicted in Chris Rock’s movie, “Good Hair,” for many black women, their hair is also the source of conflict. Although black hair can range from tightly coiled to wavy/curly to straight, blacks tend to have hair that is more coiled and not straight compared to other groups. In the United States, many non-blacks (and some blacks) consider straight hair to be the “norm” and natural hair that is tightly coiled or ‘kinky’ to be radical or militant (this is less so in the last two decades). Because of this, many black women spend a lot of money and time to chemically straighten their hair and/or invest in hair weaves.
It is understandable then that after investing much time and money into a hairstyle that a woman would want the style to last more than a couple of days. Usually once the hair is wet (even just from sweating), a significant amount of time must be invested to restore the hairstyle. So many women choose to avoid exercising (especially swimming) to maintain their hair. Even if a black woman had the time and skills (or money) to wash and restyle her chemically-straightened hair daily or several times a week, it would be unhealthy for her hair to wash it that often. Most other cultures/groups can wash their hair daily without stripping away the natural oils that protect the hair and scalp.
But is it worth it? Should we deny ourselves the benefits of regular exercise- weight control, improved mood, more energy, better sleep? Is our hair more important than decreasing our risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke? Sadly, many of us make that decision every day. Because when we look in the mirror, we don’t see high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. We see ourselves, often only from the neck up. So our hair can be the biggest piece of our self image.
I think part of the answer is to take our health into the beauty salons. Let’s talk to our stylists about hairstyles that will keep us beautiful but allow us to exercise regularly. Your stylist can offer tips on what to do to maintain your hairstyle longer (products, headbands, wraps). You don’t have to sacrifice your hair to be healthy.
Let’s work on being beautiful from the inside out!
