{"id":310477,"date":"2025-11-27T15:28:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T15:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/310477\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T15:28:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T15:28:17","slug":"how-a-former-wnba-player-protects-her-hair-while-working-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/310477\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Former WNBA Player Protects Her Hair While Working Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wash <\/p>\n

\n Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Allison Feaster\n <\/p>\n

Allison Feaster, a former professional basketball player,\u00a0remembers joining her great-grandmother at the hairdresser\u2019s in South Carolina. Later, Feaster laughs about her \u201ctorturous\u201d hair days at the hands of her heavy-handed aunt along with her cousins and the staples of Black hair, Blue Magic, hot combs, and scalp greasing.<\/p>\n

Today, her hair-care routine looks very different.\u00a0Feaster stopped relaxing over a decade ago and is embracing her natural curls. She\u2019s no longer doing her daughter\u2019s hair but has fond memories of braiding her hair on her off days; now they share hair-care products and a campaign with Madison Reed<\/a>. Here\u2019s Allison\u2019s wash-day routine.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Allison Feaster\n <\/p>\n

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Photo: Allison Feaster\n <\/p>\n

8 a.m.: I wash my hair or use conditioner and water every day. Having played professionally and working out regularly, I don\u2019t like having sweaty hair. When I color my hair, I\u2019m using the Madison Reed ColorSolve Bond Building shampoo and conditioner. Otherwise, I\u2019ll use R+Co moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. I\u2019m really cognizant about the shampoo and conditioner I use because I want to stretch the color. The frequency of coloring my hair depends on my mood. I\u2019ve had a shaved head, platinum blonde, and the darkest brown, so it varies.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Allison Feaster\n <\/p>\n

8:05 a.m.: I then will detangle with my fingers or a brush while I have the conditioner in, and it\u2019s that easy. It\u2019s crazy to think about how easy my hair is to detangle now, when I relaxed my hair growing up.<\/p>\n

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8:15 a.m.: I\u2019ll then use the leave-in conditioner and then the mousse and the leave-in is really moisturizing. I recently discovered Pattern, and it\u2019s been a game changer. I spend a lot of money on hair products because I like to try everything. Then I\u2019ll do a little but of SheaMoisture edge control. If I\u2019m air-drying my hair and wearing it curly, I\u2019ll add on something for shine and gloss, but that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n

9 a.m.: When I go to the gym, I\u2019ll wear a hat and pull my hair back with the same styling products. I try not to brush or comb it when I\u2019m wearing it curly because it gets frizzy. If I\u2019m putting my hair in a ponytail, I\u2019ll use the Pattern stronghold gel, which works really well and doesn\u2019t flake.<\/p>\n

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9 p.m.: When it is time to sleep, I use a satin pillow case, which was a game changer. I don\u2019t sleep with a bonnet, because I don\u2019t like to sleep with anything on my head unless I have a protective style like knotless braids.<\/p>\n

On embracing her natural hair:
I won\u2019t ever relax again. I grew up relaxing my hair because I didn\u2019t appreciate the beautiful, natural, curly hair I had when I was growing up. Thirty or 40 years ago, you didn\u2019t see expressions of the beauty of natural hair. So I probably won\u2019t ever relax it again as it damaged the curl pattern and caused breakage. I\u2019m fortunate that we\u2019ve come a long way and natural hair is celebrated, and I get to be my full self.<\/p>\n

On motherhood and hair:
After giving birth, I had a serious episode of shedding and I didn\u2019t really know what was going on. Now I try to eat a balanced diet and exercise, drink water, and take colostrum. I have a picture of me with Sarah as a baby and you could see these beautiful curls in my hair and then later on they were coming out in clumps.<\/p>\n

With my daughter, we had a routine. With me playing professionally and living abroad, it was easier to put her hair in a style that would last a few weeks. Every Sunday was our day off, and we\u2019d put something on the TV or her portable DVD player and braid her hair in a style that would last a whole week. We\u2019d do 50 plaits on her head, and that was our ritual together.<\/p>\n

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