I’m writing this just after disentangling myself from a yogic pretzel. I’m sweating for sure–and,*sniff* ugh! I’ll be needing a shower. But with shower cap in hand, I shield my flat-ironed hair from water because water is to straight hair like the full moon is to werewolves.

And therein lies the dilemma: A lot of us black girls don’t work out because we sweat like swine in our heads, and since hairdressers charge what could constitute highway robbery, many of us are skipping the workouts and heavy breathing to preserve a hair style.

Let’s see, let me weigh this out. Hmmm….preserving a hairstyle versus preserving your health, fighting off disease, and looking hawt.

No-brainer.

And about the “hawt” part. Hair style is only PART of the package. If you have a muffin top and wrists like the Michelin Man, no one’s looking at your coif above all else.

Luckily, and to the great relief of gym rats, more black women are wearing natural styles and are discovering that indeed, their hair IS NOT allergic to water. And with the advent of new hair care products that practically work miracles, you can look good right out of the shower, sans that shower cap.

And contrary to, well, just about all the pictures you’ve seen of me, I do wear my hair natural during the summer and so does Maxi-Me. Here’s a few gems I’ve found that will hopefully encourage you to actually go to the gym:

Miss Tee’s Beauty Products

These potions are the concoctions of a natural hair beautician (her name eludes me at the moment) in Riverside, CA, and LET ME TELL YOU! they work like a Jamaican with five jobs. Maxi-Me has THICK, coily, 3c hair in the front, 4a hair at the back, and we used all the products at once, because they’re made to work together. You can get them all for $30 at naturalhairexpressions.com.

Shea Moisture Organic Coconut & Hibiscus Curling Enhancing Smoothie

I have to keep the babster from grabbing a spoon and eating this stuff, it smells so good. It’s light, yet it moistens the hair and helps the curls coil more uniformly. The main ingredients are coconut oil, silk protein and neem oil. Now, how the hay-ell they got neem oil to smell good is a miracle in itself. Pick up some raw neem in a health food store and you’ll be walking around smelling like the ass of a garlic clove. Trust me–I know from experience– Shea Moisture is a better choice. Apparently they now sell the line at Walgreens and Target, so I couldn’t get a price online, but I’m assuming they’re cheaper to buy than a hairdresser.

But as usual, I’m opening up the floor to more natural hair product recommendations, because you guys are waaaaay smarter than me.