How a Former WNBA Player Protects Her Hair While Working Out
Allison Feaster, a former professional basketball player, remembers joining her great-grandmother at the hairdresser’s in South Carolina. Later, Feaster laughs about her “torturous” 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.
Today, her hair-care routine looks very different. Feaster stopped relaxing over a decade ago and is embracing her natural curls. She’s no longer doing her daughter’s 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. Here’s Allison’s wash-day routine.
8 a.m.: I wash my hair or use conditioner and water every day. Having played professionally and working out regularly, I don’t like having sweaty hair. When I color my hair, I’m using the Madison Reed ColorSolve Bond Building shampoo and conditioner. Otherwise, I’ll use R+Co moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. I’m 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’ve had a shaved head, platinum blonde, and the darkest brown, so it varies.
8:05 a.m.: I then will detangle with my fingers or a brush while I have the conditioner in, and it’s that easy. It’s crazy to think about how easy my hair is to detangle now, when I relaxed my hair growing up.
8:15 a.m.: I’ll then use the leave-in conditioner and then the mousse and the leave-in is really moisturizing. I recently discovered Pattern, and it’s been a game changer. I spend a lot of money on hair products because I like to try everything. Then I’ll do a little but of SheaMoisture edge control. If I’m air-drying my hair and wearing it curly, I’ll add on something for shine and gloss, but that’s about it.
9 a.m.: When I go to the gym, I’ll wear a hat and pull my hair back with the same styling products. I try not to brush or comb it when I’m wearing it curly because it gets frizzy. If I’m putting my hair in a ponytail, I’ll use the Pattern stronghold gel, which works really well and doesn’t flake.
9 p.m.: When it is time to sleep, I use a satin pillow case, which was a game changer. I don’t sleep with a bonnet, because I don’t like to sleep with anything on my head unless I have a protective style like knotless braids.
On embracing her natural hair:
I won’t ever relax again. I grew up relaxing my hair because I didn’t appreciate the beautiful, natural, curly hair I had when I was growing up. Thirty or 40 years ago, you didn’t see expressions of the beauty of natural hair. So I probably won’t ever relax it again as it damaged the curl pattern and caused breakage. I’m fortunate that we’ve come a long way and natural hair is celebrated, and I get to be my full self.
On motherhood and hair:
After giving birth, I had a serious episode of shedding and I didn’t 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.
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’d put something on the TV or her portable DVD player and braid her hair in a style that would last a whole week. We’d do 50 plaits on her head, and that was our ritual together.