How a Former WNBA Player Protects Her Natural Hair While Working Out

High-intensity workouts and healthy hair are often framed as being at odds, especially for women with textured and natural hair. Sweat, friction, tight ponytails and constant washing can leave curls feeling dry, brittle and stressed. Yet for former WNBA player and current basketball executive Allison Feaster, keeping her natural hair thriving while training and travelling has become a carefully refined routine – one that proves you don’t have to choose between strong curls and strong performance.

Feaster has worn her hair natural for over a decade and follows a disciplined, six-step wash-day routine that fits around the demands of elite-level sport. Her habits offer useful lessons for anyone trying to balance an active lifestyle with protective, thoughtful haircare – whether you are in the gym three times a week or on court every single day.

Why Sweat and Sport Can Challenge Natural Hair

When you train regularly, your scalp and hair are exposed to sweat, heat and mechanical stress. For natural and tightly coiled textures, this can intensify existing vulnerabilities, such as dryness, tangling and breakage along the hair shaft.

Sweat itself is not inherently damaging, but it leaves behind salt and minerals as it dries. Combined with frequent friction from headbands, helmets or tight buns, this can roughen the cuticle and disrupt moisture levels. For Feaster, whose career has involved long practices, travel and changing climates, ignoring that build-up has never been an option.

Instead, she treats her training schedule and her hair routine as partners. Planning styles around her workout calendar, spacing out wash days and building in moisture at every step helps her maintain definition without sacrificing her performance on the court or in the gym.

Inside Allison Feaster’s Six-Step Wash-Day Routine

While specific products may vary, Feaster’s approach to wash day follows a clear framework that many active people with natural hair can adapt. At its core, it focuses on gentle cleansing, deep hydration and preserving curl integrity.

• Step 1 – Pre-wash preparation: Detangling with fingers or a wide-tooth comb before getting into the shower helps reduce breakage later. Applying a light oil or pre-poo treatment along the lengths can create a buffer between hair and shampoo.
• Step 2 – Targeted cleansing: Rather than roughly scrubbing the entire head, concentrating shampoo at the scalp lifts sweat, product and environmental build-up where it’s needed most. The lengths are cleansed more gently as the lather runs through them.
• Step 3 – Deep conditioning: After intensive training weeks, Feaster leans on a hydrating mask or deep conditioner, working it through section by section. Leaving it on for the full recommended time (often under a shower cap) allows the formula to replenish moisture lost to sweat and frequent styling.
• Step 4 – Careful detangling: Detangling on soaking-wet, conditioned hair using fingers first, then a suitable detangling tool, minimises shed hair tangling with healthy strands. For coily textures, this step can make the difference between defined wash-and-go curls and knots that lead to breakage.
• Step 5 – Layering moisture and hold: Once rinsed, applying a leave-in conditioner, followed by a cream or gel, helps lock in hydration and encourage definition. This is where Feaster shapes her hair into a style that can withstand the week’s workouts with minimal manipulation.
• Step 6 – Setting the style: Air drying, diffusing on a low setting or stretching the hair in braids or twists allows the style to set. A well-set wash-day style can carry through several training sessions, needing only small touch-ups around the edges.

Rather than rushing through wash day, Feaster treats it as a strategic reset – an investment in her hair’s resilience ahead of another busy cycle of practices, travel and meetings.

Protective Styling Strategies for High-Intensity Workouts

Beyond wash day, Feaster’s routine also highlights how protective styling can support an active lifestyle. The aim is to keep hair secure, reduce friction and avoid tension points that can cause breakage along the hairline.

For players and gym-goers alike, that can mean rotating styles that keep ends tucked away while still feeling comfortable under headgear or headphones. The focus is on practicality and hair health first, aesthetics a close second.

• Secure, low-tension ponytails or puffs: Opting for soft, snag-free bands and avoiding overly tight pulling at the front protects the edges, a common stress area for athletes.
• Plaits, braids or twists: These can distribute tension more evenly and keep strands defined through multiple sessions. They also make post-workout scalp cleansing easier, as the hair is already sectioned.
• Moisture-friendly headbands and wraps: Rather than cotton that soaks up moisture, using smoother fabrics can help reduce friction and preserve styles, particularly around the hairline.
• Night-time protection: Wrapping hair in a silk or satin scarf or using a bonnet after long days of training limits friction against bedding, helping curls bounce back for the next morning’s workout.

Feaster’s consistent use of low-manipulation styles is part of why her natural hair has stayed healthy over many demanding seasons. By keeping everyday styling simple and protective, she reserves the most manipulation for wash day, when her hair is fully hydrated and easier to manage.

Building a Sustainable Routine Around Your Training

One of the most relatable aspects of Feaster’s approach is how realistic it is. Many active people avoid working out as often as they’d like because they worry about the time and effort of redoing their hair afterwards. The key is to create a routine that works with your schedule, not against it.

That might mean aligning wash days with lighter training days, or planning a more protective style during particularly intense periods, such as tournaments, marathons or new workout programmes. Feaster’s method offers a template for this balancing act.

• Plan ahead: Look at your upcoming week and decide when wash day realistically fits. Slot in deep conditioning when you have the most time – often before a rest day.
• Refresh, don’t redo: Between washes, gently cleansing the scalp with water or a mild cleanser focused on the roots, then reapplying a light leave-in, can revive hair without a full reset.
• Protect edges during training: Applying a thin layer of moisturiser or oil to the hairline before tying on a headband can buffer against friction.
• Accept a looser definition on heavy-sweat days: Some frizz is inevitable when you train regularly. Prioritise healthy hair over perfectly polished curls, as Feaster does.

By seeing her haircare rhythm as part of her training programme rather than an afterthought, Feaster demonstrates a sustainable way to support both her fitness and her natural texture in the long term.

Key Takeaways

• Former WNBA player Allison Feaster has maintained natural hair for over a decade while training and travelling at an elite level.
• Her six-step wash-day routine prioritises gentle cleansing, deep conditioning and careful detangling to counteract sweat and frequent styling.
• Low-tension, protective styles such as plaits, twists and secure puffs help shield hair from friction and breakage during workouts.
• Planning wash days around training schedules and refreshing styles between washes creates a sustainable, realistic routine for active lifestyles.
• Feaster’s approach shows that natural hair and regular, high-intensity exercise can coexist when moisture, protection and consistency sit at the heart of your regimen.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I wash my hair if I work out most days?
There is no single rule, but many people with natural or textured hair find that washing once a week, with light scalp refreshes in between, keeps sweat build-up in check without over-drying. Your ideal frequency will depend on how intensely you train, how much you sweat and how your scalp responds.

Is sweat bad for natural hair?
Sweat itself is not harmful, but when it dries it can leave behind salts and minerals that may make hair feel rough or dry. Regular, gentle cleansing of the scalp and adequate conditioning of the lengths help prevent this from becoming an issue.

What’s the best way to protect my hairline while exercising?
Avoid very tight ponytails or braids, use soft, snag-free bands and choose headbands made from smoother fabrics. Applying a small amount of moisturiser or oil to the hairline before training can help minimise friction.

Can I still wear wash-and-go styles if I train frequently?
Yes, but you may need to adapt your routine. Like Allison Feaster, focus on a thorough wash day with strong moisture and hold, then accept that some definition will soften over the week as you work out.

How do I refresh my hair after a workout without starting from scratch?
Many active people lightly mist their hair with water or a diluted leave-in, focus on cleansing or wiping the scalp if necessary and then smooth a small amount of product through the hairline and ends. This can revive curls and coils without repeating your entire routine.

Do protective styles make working out easier?
Protective styles such as twists, plaits or braids often make exercise more manageable because they keep strands contained, reduce tangling and help styles last through multiple training sessions with minimal manipulation.