The ultimate guide to skin care for swimmers

Chlorine is one of those many components that we need to keep away from our skin. Imagine swimmers who are compelled to keep their skin in contact with the chlorinated water for a considerable time. Hence, skin care for swimmers is absolutely fundamental.

A proper routine will help you to maintain healthy and radiating skin even when your skin undergoes chlorine contact. In this article, we share the top tips for swimmers to manage their skin, along with the best skincare regime before and after swimming. Read along for the details.

Why Skin Care Before And After Swimming Is Important

Have you ever felt that after swimming, your skin begins to feel dry and itchy? That is probably because the moisture from your skin is drained out. The basic science behind this is that pool water contains several harmful chemicals, like bleaching components, which adversely affect our skin. Hence, right after swimming, you might feel the changes in your skin.

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Moreover, staying in water for so long also washes out the necessary elements from your skin; hence, it is paramount to prepare proper skin care products for swimmers to prevent skin conditions. However, you may feel post-swimming skin care is sufficient, which is incorrect. Rather, you need to follow a proper routine both before and after swimming because preparing your skin for the pool water is also fundamental.

Skin Care For Swimmers: Our Top Tips

Did you know that to ensure minimal harm to your skin, you must strike a perfect balance between swimming and skin care by practising common things like showering and moisturising your skin, applying sunscreen before and after swimming, etc.? Here, we will share the top tips you should follow whenever you are down in the pool.

• Applying sunscreen is fundamental to preventing UV rays from damaging your skin. Moreover, you should choose a water resistant sunscreen like The Pink Foundry’s Mineral Matte Tinted Sunscreen, which remains water resistant for upto 80 minutes, ensuring a worry-free swim.

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• Make sure you are taking a bath before and after the activity. The pre-swimming bath helps you to provide more hydration to the skin cells, while the post-swimming bath, especially with anti-chlorine soap, gives a deep cleaning to your skin pores.
• Another fundamental tip is moisturising your skin right after you are out of the pool and finished taking a shower. As mentioned earlier, Chlorine has high dehydrating properties; hence, providing your skin with adequate moisturising is essential. Hence, opting for a hydrating gel moisturiser like Waterlight Gel Moisturiser 72 Hour Hydration, which provides hydration for a long period, is your best option.
• Lastly, avoid air drying, especially after swimming. Air-drying your skin might lead to more dryness of the skin. Rather, it is better to pat dry your skin with a cotton towel gently. Also, remember not to rub your face as it might cause more irritation to the skin.

Basic Routine: Skin Care Before Swimming

The skincare regime for swimming is not as difficult as it may seem. You need to follow just three before swimming skin care steps, and you are good to dive in. Without further ado, let's learn the routine for preparing your skin.

• Taking A Bath

The first step is to take a quick shower before getting into the pool. The key thing to remember here is to keep yourself hydrated to prevent the harmful actions of chlorinated water. Showering will provide the skin cells with sufficient amounts of moisture to keep your body hydrated.

• Apply Sunscreen

Once you are done pat drying your skin, the next major step is applying sunscreen. Make sure the product is hybrid and has an SPF quotient of 30 or higher. The hydration ability of the sunscreen will be an added benefit. Additionally, if possible, try re-applying the product after every 30 - 45 minutes.

• Hydrate The Skin

Lastly, add a layer of a hydrating product. This can either be a gel moisturiser, sunscreen or hydrating serum. Wait for a few minutes for the product to settle down into the skin's cellular layer before going down the pool. If you immediately get into the water, the products are likely to wash off.

Also read: What Is Skin Hydration & How to Hydrate Skin

Basic Routine: Skin Care After Swimming

Once you're done with the activity, set aside 15 - 20 minutes for your skin care after swimming routine. Performing these four steps is the most important because washing off the harmful particles from your body and providing your skin with the necessary care is essential. The steps involved are as follows.

• Washing The Face

Immediately wash your face with a mild and calming face wash like Pink Foundry's Clearing & Calming Acne Face Wash, as keeping the chlorine particles in your skin for long can trigger skin irritation and others like acne, eczema, etc. Hence, cleansing your face is necessary.

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• Taking A Warm Bath

Next, take a warm water bath to remove all harmful particles from the rest of the skin. It is best to use an anti-chlorine soap or body wash. Letting the chlorine particles dry off in your skin can damage the skin cells considerably. 

• Exfoliation

Use a gentle scrub to exfoliate your skin. This will help to get rid of any unwanted builds and dead cells from your skin. However, do not over-exfoliate. Follow this step only twice or thrice a week. Overdoing it can cause skin irritations and itching.

• Moisturising The Skin

The last step of this routine is to provide sufficient moisture and hydration to the skin. Since the pool water takes out a major amount of the skin's water content, hydrating your skin with a moisturiser is the best option. You can also use a hydrating sunscreen or serum as an efficient alternative.

Also read: WHY MOISTURISING YOUR SKIN IS IMPORTANT?

Conclusion

Taking care of your skin is necessary for everyone, but for swimmers, it is a must since they are exposed to one of the most harmful components. If you do not follow a nutritional skincare regime, then you will succumb to various skin care conditions like itchiness, redness, acne, etc. 

FAQs:

1. Can Chlorine cause tanning?

Chlorine alone can only dehydrate the skin, but when it combines with the sun's rays, it can bring about tanning. Hence, both moisturising and applying sunscreen are mandatory for swimmers.

2. Why is skincare necessary for swimmers?

As a swimmer, you come in contact with Chlorine for a considerable amount of time. Hence, not having proper skin care will negatively impact your skin. Thus, following a properly planned routine is required. 

3. What are major skincare tips for swimmers?

The three major tips you must follow are cleansing your skin after swimming, hydrating and applying sunscreen both before and after swimming. These three help effectively deal with the effects of Chlorine.