Gym, Pool and Helmet: Hair and Beard Care for Men Who Train

Sweat, caps and helmets: washing after every workout

Sweat is mostly water and salt. As it dries, the salt stays on the scalp and in the hair, and the warm, damp skin underneath suits the bacteria and yeast that feed on sebum. Under a cap, a helmet or a hood the scalp stays warm and wet for the whole session, so men who train often end up with an itchy scalp, dandruff or small red bumps around the hair follicles. Wash your hair after every workout that leaves it wet with sweat. A mild shampoo is gentle enough for every day; keep clarifying shampoo for once a week, since daily use dries the scalp out. On rest days a rinse with plain water is enough. Use a conditioner on longer hair, since salt and frequent washing make the ends dry and brittle. Dry the scalp fully afterwards, and don't pull a hat on over wet hair. Keep a travel bottle of mild shampoo and a small hair towel in your gym bag, so you can wash at the gym and skip the sweaty ride home. Your gear needs washing too. Wash the pads and liners of helmets and headgear every week or two, and use a clean headband or cap for each session, because a sweaty liner puts the same bacteria back on your skin every time. Cyclists and hockey players can wear a thin skull cap under the helmet: it soaks up sweat and stops the helmet rubbing the hairline. If the itch and bumps don't settle after two or three weeks of this routine, see a dermatologist.

Chlorine in the pool, sun on the run and product at the gym

Chlorine strips the natural oils from hair and skin and leaves both dry and rough. Fair and grey hair can even turn green: chlorine oxidises copper in the pool water, and the copper binds to the hair. Wet your hair under the shower before you swim, because hair already full of clean water soaks up less pool water, and wear a silicone cap, which keeps most of the water out. Rinse straight after the swim, wash with shampoo and conditioner, and once a week use a clarifying shampoo to remove chlorine and copper build-up. Outdoor training brings the sun. Runners and cyclists with short or thinning hair burn the scalp on the crown and along the parting, so wear a ventilated cap or spray sunscreen on the exposed skin. Leave styling products off on training days, or wash them out before the session. Sweat carries pomade, wax and clay down the forehead into the eyes, and oil-based products mixed with sweat clog the pores along the hairline and cause breakouts there. Men with long hair should tie it loosely with a soft elastic band without metal parts. A tight ponytail pulled back in the same place every day strains the follicles at the hairline, and over months or years it can thin the hair there for good. Move the ponytail a little higher or lower from day to day.

Beard care, a haircut for training and a word on supplements

Sweat collects in a beard as well. Rinse it with water after training and dry it fully with a towel and a minute of cool air from the hairdryer, because a beard that stays damp under a scarf starts to itch and smell. Wash it with a beard shampoo two or three times a week and work a few drops of oil into the skin underneath. After a swim, give your beard the same rinse and wash as your hair, since chlorine dries it out just as fast. Wrestlers, judoka and jiu-jitsu fighters pick up fungal skin infections from mats and training partners, so shower with soap straight after the session and see a doctor about any round, scaly patch on the scalp or in the beard. If you train several times a week, a short cut is the easiest to live with. A clipper cut or a crop dries in minutes and keeps its shape under a helmet, and our machine haircut with two guard lengths and a faded outline needs no styling at all. Many men who train also take supplements. Creatine raised levels of DHT, the hormone behind male pattern hair loss, in one small 2009 study of rugby players; later studies haven't shown that it causes hair loss. Anabolic steroids and testosterone injections raise DHT as well and speed up hair loss in men whose genes already lean that way. If baldness runs in your family, show your supplement list to a doctor before you start anything new.