Jené Luciani

Some days it can feel like you have to choose between your body or your hair: You can go for a run but sabotage the awesome blowout you just got or skip the gym to avoid a potentially bad hair day but miss out on all the muscle-toning, calorie-burning, health-boosting benefits of a workout.

While this choice affects every woman, African-American women in particular may forgo their spin class for fear of ruining an expensive straightening treatment or time-consuming style, a recent study found.

Forty percent of black women have at one time avoided exercise for fear it would mess up their hair, researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine report. One reason may be pricey treatments: Sixty-two percent said they regularly had their hair relaxed, a chemical process that straightens tresses to make them more manageable but also makes them more fragile, especially when washing. Women also expressed concerns about sweating out their hairstyle; the time to wash, dry, and style their hair; and scalp itching.