Natural Hairstyles for the Curvy Fit Chick: Summer Edition
Hey CurvyFitsis! Summertime presents its own challenges for the curvy woman athlete especially when it comes to keeping cool while fit. I decided to put together a list of fitness friendly protective hairstyles for the Curvy Fit Chick with natural hair. It is wayyyy too hot to deal with your hair and humidity! But you still want to look cute while activating your curves. And as Curvy Fit Chicks, nothing gets in the way of our commitment to our curvy fitness and health!
Girllll….I live in a very hot climate and let me tell you, I DO NOT like anything on my neck when I’m exercising. Btw, I train outdoors so you already know, oh the sweating🥵! I don’t want anything causing me to sweat even more. Anything that can give me relief is what I’m looking for. So I put my natural hair in styles that allow me flexibility to move, allow me to look cute and stays out of my way.
On a serious note, my curvy health always takes precedence. However, I am holistic in my approach to life so it’s important for me to have healthy curves and curls.
With that being said, let me share some of my favorite natural hairstyles to rock that are great for summer workouts. Feel free to comment with your favorite styles that have you cool throughout the hot workout months. I had to say that because in Florida it is hot majority of the year.
Here are some styles that will complement your curls:
2-strand twists with or without extensions
Box braids
High-puff
Afro
Flat twists
Goddess Braids
Crochet styles that can be put up in a bun
Faux locs
Yarn hairsyles (plaits, twists, faux locs/wrap)**This is one of my favorites because they are lightweight, blend with the hair well and are cost effective
French braids
Now that you have an idea of some protective hairstyles to wear that are functional and attractive. Let’s get into how to maintain the hair.
Our curvy bodies and naturally curly hair are definitely in need of more hydration and nutrition to replenish what has been depleted. The key to this is to maintain moisture.
You want to be certain that you keep the hair moisturized using a spray bottle with water mixed with vitamin E oil, coconut oil, and an essential oil like lavendar if you’d like. Another option is water and rosemary. Some people used distilled water. I’m not that fancy.
Wash and condition your hair as often as your fitness activity level demands.
Wrap your hair at night with a satin bonnet or scarf to protect it and further reinforce sealing in oils
Butters such as shea, mango or cocoa are your friend
PS. I shy away from wearing my afro out because by the end of the day it can be drying and become tangled. I most likely don’t have the energy to fight with my hair after completing a beach workout so I try to keep it simple.
FYI, I am The Curvy Fit RN, not a professional cosmetologist. I’m sharing what has worked for me, as a natural haired woman of 20 years.
But don’t worry sis, I got you! I’ve taken the liberty to interview an expert in hair care to provide recommendations. You’re welcome lol! Sign up for our Curvy Community insider so you’ll be updated when the rest of the interview goes live!
Stay tuned….. for a continuation of the conversation with Kevina Satterfield, Trichologist, Certified Sisterlocks Consultant and Owner of Vitalize Ambiance.
Trynette Lariba: Hi everybody, this Trynette Lariba, the Curvy Fit RN and Founder of Curvy Fit Chicks. And thank you for coming to this blog post where we are talking about hair care for the natural Curvy Fit Chick during the summertime. And if you have read the blog thus far, I have shared my favorite summer hairstyles, my go-tos to endure the immense summer heat in Florida. I gave you some tips and things that I have done, and continue to do for myself as a natural of 20 years. However, I said the people yes, the people need some professional recommendations. Okay, so I have the pleasure of speaking with Kevina Satterfield, who is a Trichologist. I know you'll need her to explain, right? Okay. I'm gonna let her do that. And she's also a certified SisterLock consultant. She is the owner of Vitalize Ambiance, and she is going to answer some questions because like I said, the people need to know. Alright. So let's welcome her. Hi Kevina, how are you? Welcome, welcome!
Kevina Satterfield: Greetings. Welcome, welcome. It's an honor to be here with you ladies. This is exciting. How are you?
Trynette Lariba: So we're excited to get to know you and learn how in the world to take care of our hair. Okay? So we're doing it up exercising, staying fit and curvy and everything, but we gotta keep this hair fixed during this summer.
Kevina Satterfield: Yes.
Trynette Lariba: Yes. So before I go into the questions though, please let the people know what exactly is a trichologist, and I hope I said that right.
Kevina Satterfield: Oh, you said it perfectly, Ms. Trynette, you said it perfectly. A trichologist is someone who studies the science behind how hair grows, as well as how hair is lost. So we go down deep beyond the scalp, we go into the capillaries, and we really get into that pores, that what's happening inside of those pores where the hair is generated or lacks generation. So that's what a trichologist is, someone who really goes into the science behind hair growth as well as hair loss. And typically for trichologists, most of our clients who do come to us, they have experienced different forms of hair loss. And we have to then scientifically figure out one, which form of hair loss that they are actually experiencing. And then we go into a scientific formula on how to get that hair to come back in over time. That's what a trichologist is.
Trynette Lariba: Excellent, excellent. I love that. And ladies, that's why I had to be sure to get her on the call so that you can get some firsthand expertise. Okay! That is not my lane. Alright. It's not my lane, it's not my lane. You know, I do great in what I do, but I love to share the stage with those who are excellent at what they do as well. And that's gonna help your lives, alright, so wanna go ahead and get to the questions. So first and foremost, can you tell us how does heat, humidity, and climate, how does all of that affect our natural hair?
Kevina Satterfield: Well, that is a really good question cause a lot of people think that if you are, if you have just because you're in one climate, you're not going to experience, you know, different situational things with your hair. But what ends up happening is that heat and humidity often can make our hair frizzy depending on what type of curl pattern you have. Heat will also create dryness if the hair does not, has not obtained a certain amount of moisture. Then you will begin, the heat can actually begin to fry the hairs in simplest terms, but it can begin to actually cook your hair, while you're out, especially depending on how long you're out and being in Florida, you don't have to be out that long for your hair to literally start to be fried. And you'll start to notice because you will begin to receive shedding, as well as scalp itching and/or for some people burning.
Kevina Satterfield: So, you know, those are, it is very, very, pinnacle when it comes to this, this, especially this July, August season that you do have a really good regiment that one keeps hydration as well as moisture. Because those things, with this kind of humidity, it's, it's hard. Our winter months are easier cause we do have more humidity. We get more of that swamp-like weather, so then the pores and the sebum can open and, you know, feed each strand and things of that nature. But the summer, it is very, very pinnacle that you have a really, really intense regimen that you follow because this heat can damage our hair as natural women.
Trynette Lariba: Whoa. Okay. That's intense! I never really thought about the sun frying my hair, but it definitely makes sense how dry and brittle it becomes. Yeah. It, it's in the heat.
Kevina Satterfield: A lot of people don't realize it, but you think that you have good products, most of our products that we're using in the hair, they give the hair the appearance of being healthy, but you notice in this Floridian weather, you can tell if it's healthy or not because those products, begin to create what I call a, saturation leftover. And that's when, when you go and you start to touch your hair and it feels very heavy and waxy.
Trynette Lariba: Mm-hmm.
Kevina Satterfield: And you may get it confused with sebum, but most of the time that's actually the material it evaporates. All the good stuff is evaporated from there. And then all the filters are what's left on our hair, and that's what fries the hair. Once the sun hits it, is the filters that are in our products.
Trynette Lariba: Oh, wow. Okay. Okay. Well, since you talked about the hair needing to be both hydrated and moisturized, I thought perhaps you should go ahead and let us know what the difference is between those two things. Because when people hear hydration and moisturization, they almost wanna use those synonymously, you know? Interchangeably. And I know that there's definitely a difference between the two. So can you clarify for us, please?
Kevina Satterfield: Yes. That is so correct. Moisturization and hydration are two different things, and the hair needs both. So someone who has a more tightly coiled curl pattern, you need more hydration to keep those curls loose. The tighter the curl pattern becomes, the more likely you're going to start what's called locking, the locking aspect of the hair. For people who have more of a looser or lesser, curl pattern, from that point, you're gonna actually need more moisturization so that you can keep that. So you can keep that hair supple so that it doesn't become brittle and begin to strip. So, so with hydrating the hair, a lot of people say, oh, my hair is dry, you know, I need to put some oils on it. That's not hydrating your hair, that's moisturizing your hair. When you need hydration, you simply need water, you know. And one of our favorite products with my company we have is called a periosteum tea. And what it is, it's over 13 ancient herbs that's put into a spray, that we infuse into a spray. And I make into a hair tea because there's days that my hair does not need oil, I can feel it, my scalp actually needs food. So when you're putting products on your scalp, we need to start to look at these things as we're feeding our scalp, just like we're feeding our body, or even with Curvy Fit Chicks, we're feeding our muscles when we work out, it's all simultaneously. And so we have to stop thinking that they're separate entities because the skin is the largest, largest organ on the body. And so the scalp is a skin. So the same way we feed our skin, you know, with shea butters and water, when we wash our skin and things of that nature, we have to do our scalp the same way. So when we say we wanna hydrate, hydration is water, especially in the winter. I mean, excuse me, in the summer, the hair loves water. We don't need a lot of hydration, excuse me, moisturization. Because in the summer here, if you hydrate properly, your own personal sebum and sebum is, is what is produced in the capillaries of each pore of your scalp and each pore of your hair follicles. And when your hair is properly hydrated and you have a good growing pattern, and you're able to stand those growing patterns as long as they need, then what is created is sebum. And that's a natural moisturizer for your hair.
Kevina Satterfield: So if we're really hydrating our bodies, you know, with water as internally through our mouths as well as on our scalp, our hair during the summer should be creating its own sebum really, really well, especially being here in Florida, because with our humidity it opens the pores allowing more sebum to come out. So if you're use, if we are using proper products than our hair, our hair should be doing a lot of the work for us, not the product. So for me, I love hydrating, so for me it's, uh, one of my favorite things is I hydrate me and my daughter's hair every day. We spray our hair, in our scalp, not the hair, but our actual scalp every single day, especially in the summertime. And then we moisturize only once a week, and that's typically after we wash our hair and we do our treatment process. But we don't moisturize every day during the summer. It's not needed. Now when we get into our winter months, especially if we go to travel back to my hometown up north, then we do use moisturizers because, you know, it's drier, we have more sand in our air in the summer, in the winter here then versus the summer. So those are my two tips for moisturizing versus hydration. They are definitely different. We do need to really look into the summer of hydrating our hair that are pulling out constantly.
Trynette Lariba: Okay. I thank you for clearing that up very thoroughly as you did. So thank you. So my hair, for example, you know, I run my hands through my hair, you know, I worked out yesterday and here we are another day thinking, oh, you know, it feels kind of dry.
Kevina Satterfield: Yes.
Trynette Lariba: Right. So what are some signs that I can look for in my hair when it is dry that will let me know I need to hydrate versus I need to moisturize? Like are there different signs?
Kevina Satterfield: Yes there are. Dandruff is a very big sign that you need hydration. So when you get those unless you have some type of skin disorder such as dermatitis or psoriasis, things of that nature, then that's a different topic. But when you see them, dandruff, and you start saying, Ooh, my, and now you're itching to where it's raw and even though you put moisturizer on it, it's still itching and now you feel like you're itching the product out of your hair, that's a sign that you need hydration versus moisturization. Another sign, which is, it's kind of, you have to gauge it. But when my hair starts to or when you put your hand in your hair to fluff out your afro or to put it in your two strand twist, and you start seeing shedding not necessarily from the, not broken shedding, but from the root where you see that white pupil on that, on the tip that's a sign that your hair needs hydration because your follicle is having a hard time keeping the hair in the follicle. So if you've ever, you know, combed your hair and you looked at a strand at the end of it, you see your keratin right there, all the white at the tip, that means the hair is coming out from the follicle. That's a sign that you actually need to hydrate versus moisturize. Another sign is that when you pull your hair up, if you look at your tips and if you just, you know, finger them and you see more than four strands come out, it's hydration. You need some hydration, it needs to be hydrated.
Trynette Lariba: Okay. Okay.
Kevina Satterfield: Yeah. So those big flaky dandruffs, those big, flaky, flaky dandruffs, those are definitely a sign that there needs to be some form of hydration that happens in that space.
Trynette Lariba: Gotcha. Now so during the summer months, well mostly year round. Well, we exercise year round as Curvy Fit Chicks anyway. Majority, 99% of the time we're exercising outdoors and, you know, we have our natural hair. What is it that we should be doing to try to maintain our hair while keeping this, you know, active fit lifestyle that we need?
Kevina Satterfield: One thing that I've come to love and respect and love about my hair during this time of actually working out has been the products. Your products are gonna be very, very potent and pinnacle at this time because for me, I know that I wash my hair more often now.
Trynette Lariba: Right.
Kevina Satterfield: And with me washing my hair more often, I need something. We need something that you can do. Wash and go. I know you've seen my hair and I think our hair is, is pretty much almost very similar. That hydration piece is very, very pinnacle. But with working out more regularly now, I've noticed that my sebum is coming in more. So once you start to work out, you're going to notice that the moisturization from your pores are going to happen naturally. So you do need to get a more effective regimen. So one of my favorite regimens, has been washing my hair and twisting it. And even if I don't even when I come home, if I wash my hair, I just wash it with the twists in and then I just go and comb out each twist and then I retwist it cause I'm prepared for tomorrow. But I'm also prepared for if I have somewhere to be or if I have a business meeting or if I have something of that nature, I can take the twist out and still style my hair the way I would like to. And then I still don't feel pressured, about quote unquote messing up my hair because now I have to go work out. I know that I can just, when I'm done with working out, I can go home, I can wash it and then retwist it. So that's one of my favorite things. Another thing that I did, I did see someone do that really gave me something to think about was that they braided their hair back while they worked out and they wrapped it, they put it in a scarf. And I've tried it a couple times and I actually have found that my hair did stay cleaner that way. However, it made me hotter. So I was like, well, I'd rather just twist because my heat comes from the top of my head when I'm working out. So, but for her, it worked well. So I think that there's a thing of you have to really be open to explore your options, but the one thing you have to keep in mind is that you wanna stay committed to your process. And I think that will kind of open up your options. But with natural hair, the beautiful part about it is, is that it is much easier because we can just do different styles to it at any given time. So that's my favorite thing. The wash and twist, that's one of my favorites. Because you can be ready for any style to be ready for any type of event or anything else.
Trynette Lariba: I have to completely agree.
Trynette Lariba: I have done both. I have done both where I leave my hair, you know, twisted like it is now or where I have wrapped it with the scarf and it's too hot.
Kevina Satterfield: Yes. Yes.
Trynette Lariba: I cannot have anything else on my head. In fact, I had crochet in my hair, the crocheted plaits in my hair and because I could not keep it off my neck they had to come out. I have to have complete freedom of weight or anything that adds to the heat.
Kevina Satterfield: No, you're so right.
Kevina Satterfield: Yeah. No, that's something that I've learned, I mean, like I said, my hair did stay cleaner when I did it, but when I tell you I felt like I was hyperventilating while we worked out. I was like, let's just try it for the week though. And my hair, I didn't have to wash it as much. But I was like dying for that. I was dying for that hour. So I went to twist. And then the days that I don't have time to twist, I put my hair, I just take up a large headband and I put it in a puff. I put it in a puff, and then the next day, if I don't get to twist it, I can still wet it, give myself some hydration, and I put it back in a puff and I'm ready for a business meeting. I'm ready for wherever we need to go. And I'm, you know, and it's, I used to be really self-conscious about the puff. But I've come to find that it can be really professional, just done properly.
Trynette Lariba: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. That is, that is definitely one of my go-tos. A high puff or a low puff. So right in the middle of your head, puff, just whatever, you know, sometimes I jazz it up with, you know, cute little flower on the side or something. What, however, it is, it's versatile. Now, one of the things I wanted to point out, I'm sorry that you said that I really love was you said, whatever you choose to do to your hair, make sure you stay committed to your process.
Kevina Satterfield: Yes.
Trynette Lariba: And I just wanted to stress that because, you know, in Curvy Fit Chicks, we talk a lot about staying dedicated to the process. So no matter what it is that we're doing, staying fit, you know, or even taking care of our hair, there has to be consistency and commitment in place in order to see change and/or results.
Kevina Satterfield: Mm-hmm. Yes.
Trynette Lariba: Yes.
Kevina Satterfield: It's a trial and error. I mean it's really a trial and error. And I think that's beautiful because it does correlate to Curvy Fit Chicks and working out as well because it is a trial and error. I mean, I've been natural for about eight years now, and I feel like I'm just now getting not only myself, but my daughters into a regimen that worked for us. I've had to change it multiple times, but I refused to just say, I'm gonna lock their hair up, or I'm going to just put braids in it. I was really wanting to know how our hair worked, you know, how does it work to wear, you know, we could wear it out. We could wear different styles without having to blow dry every time you wanna do it. So you're totally perfect in that stressing is that its a commitment. It doesn't happen overnight, but once you find your groove, it is so worth it.
Trynette Lariba: I can believe that. So I just wanna ask one more question. I know you are a busy woman but can you share with the ladies, you told us that you wear your Afro puff and your two strand twists to make it through. But are there any other favorite natural hairstyles that you recommend wearing for the summer that you can easily manipulate or not have to manipulate because you're working out?
Kevina Satterfield: One of my favorites has been we recently created a shampoo that I've been working on for five years, and I finally got it. Because my products are hair food for hair. So they're actually food, literally food that comes out of your kitchen that you can use into your hair. I'm very big on, if I can't eat it, I don't want it in my hair. So I finally created a shampoo that allows me and my textured hair along with my daughters to do wash and gos. And they have been, they are my new favorite for this summer because for the first, I have never been able to do a wash n go and feel confident. And my hair look really nice.
Kevina Satterfield: My favorite hairstyle so far has been I've parted my hair down the middle week we were off of working out and I, it allowed me to go into the ocean and I was able to still wash my hair. I was getting the hydration and the sand was able to come out without me having to unbraid it. And then the next day I was able to give myself just literally one strip of moisturizer down center, spread it and moisturize it and I took out the braids and I was able to wear a puff. So that's been my new favorite hairstyle because it's allowed me to work out. I'm still able to wash my hair and then the next day I still have a really nice curly hairstyle to where if I wanna do it into a mohawk or things like that, I can. So that's been my favorite so far.
Trynette Lariba: Well, alright, before we go, are there any other tips you wanna share with the Curvy Fit Chicks about keeping their hair nice and hydrated and cared for?
Kevina Satterfield: Oh, let's see. Yes. You know, when it comes to being a Curvy Fit Chick and really working to find products that work for you, don't give up and don't be afraid if the product doesn't work. Give it to a friend or somebody that could use it because everything doesn't work in our hair and that's one of the reasons why I got into making hair food for women like me, women of color, who, we have mixed textured hairs. I know me and my daughters, we have three textures of hair in our hair alone. So for us having hydration plus moisturization is very big for us because we do have breakage. So do not stop until you find that product and do not be afraid to reach out and have someone help you figure out the science behind your hair because none of this comes written a book. We have so many people who have done so much work, but the world is evolving. Our hair is evolving, even work now, women, it's different than what my mother and my grandmother work. So our hair is different now. The way we maintain our hair is different. So we do need to take time with ourselves, with not only ourselves, but if we have daughters to really teach them. Cause at this point, it's a rites of passage. You know, it doesn't come with a book in every family and every household is different. In fact, the way I do my hair is different than the way I do my daughter's hair because they're half Haitian, Native American and Black. You know? So it's different. So, but knowing how that works, it's so liberating because I'm able to give my daughters that beautification that they need, deserve, that they're not gonna find anywhere else in the world, you know? And I think that for us as women, we really need to hone in to figuring out what is the science behind our hair. Nobody else is gonna do it for us. We just gotta, you know, we have thousands of products out here and we still have 83% of women of color go bald before they're 65. They're balding somewhere or they need pieces, you know. So it is something that I'm very passionate about because my grandmother's 82 and she still has a head full of hair and I'm trying to figure out what's the difference between her generation and mine, you know? So my insider advice to the Curvy Fit Chicks is find a regimen just like with working out. Find that space that works for you when it comes to your hair, hold onto it and don't give it up.
Trynette Lariba: Well, we thank you so kindly for all of your wisdom and expertise and experiences that you have shared with us, on taking care of our care as active Curvy Fit Chicks, we're definitely going to put those things into good use. I just love what you said because from what I'm hearing is that you're valuable and your hair is valued. You know, take the time to learn about your crown and what works.
Kevina Satterfield: Yes.
Trynette Lariba: And, and treat it well.
Kevina Satterfield: Yes. Yes. Just like you've taught me how to treat my body well. It's an all coming thing, you know, and I love, I'm loving what you're doing with Curvy Fit Chicks and I'm really honored to be a part of it.
Trynette Lariba: Thank you so much. And once again, if you want to connect with Kevina Satterfield, you can find her all over the internet at Vitalize Ambiance. You can also go to her website. I'll have her information posted below this audio. And go ahead and comment below. Let us know if you have questions, what works for you. And we'll be happy to get back to you. So thank you so much, Kevina.
Kevina Satterfield: Thank you.
Trynette Lariba: Thank you. I wish you all the best.
Kevina Satterfield: Definitely continue having a beautiful day. Have a good one Curvy Fit Chicks!