Don't Sweat It

I sweat. A lot. I mean, a lot a lot. Like buckets. I'm terrified to to try homemade deodorants or anything without antiperspirant because I sweat so much. It's not so much an excessive sweating problem...I don't just sit around pouring buckets of sweat. But if I am doing anything remotely active, I start to perspire. First the upper lip, then between the boobs...you get the idea.

Me, with boob sweat. Yes, I'm on a pole. No, I'm not a stripper.

When I work out, I get really sweaty. I played basketball and volleyball in high school and remember my uniforms being soaked after every game. Even a brisk walk leaves me wet and miserable, sometimes even embarrassed by the boob and/or butt sweat that seeps through my clothing. Yeah. Ya heard me. Crack sweat. It's not glamorous but I know I'm not the only one! I have been able to somewhat counteract said issues with expensive, sweat wicking workout clothes. I invest mainly in workout bottoms, as I feel that crack sweat is more embarrassing than boob sweat. Anyhoo, paired with a couple sweat sucking sports bras and a tank top, I'm good to go. Well, except for one thing. My hair...

I will say this: I don't care what my hair looks like when I work out. I want it up and out of my face and I don't care how it's accomplished. Nothing is worse than a sopping mass of sweaty hair sticking to your neck or your forehead, slapping you in the eye as you jostle about. My hair is rather short right now so it's hard to get it all out of the way. I can tie/pin it back but wayward strands always escape and find their way into my nose/mouth/eyes. Headbands seem my best bet until my hair gets a bit longer. I came across this stylishly sporty headband in my most favorite sportswear catalog, Athleta:

It's hard to see in the picture but it's a stretchy, braided headband that promises to keep your hair out of your face without squishing your head. And it's cute. Score! But twelve dollars a headband? Really? For braided fabric? I came across a tutorial on how to make braided headbands with recycled t-shirts. I used a couple of sweat stained knit shirts (how ironic) and a pair of knit pajama pants for my headbands and after a few false starts with the five strand braiding, I whipped up three stretchy headbands to keep my hair out of my way. The headbands didn't cost me a dime since I used clothing I already had, and making my own was a fantastic green alternative to purchasing new.  I can't find my camera to take pictures of my handiwork, so here's one from the tutorial I used to give you an idea of what the finished product looks like. Cute, right? Now off to the gym!