Take Care of Your Skin and Hair While Swimming in the pool

I’ve recently started swimming as an workout. A few weeks ago I mentioned I started going to the gym. I was saying in that post that the staff working in the gym I went to weren’t as nice as they should have been. So, my husband and I looked for alternatives, and now we are going to a bigger gym, still close to us, with the same membership, as this one is part of Liverpool Lifestyles too. This new gym has a wonderful lady that scans the cards, always smiling and telling us to have a good time using our names. It has a pool and I love that.

Because now I’m swimming regularly, I thought I should talk about how to take care of your skin and hair while swimming in the pool. My aim is to go swimming at least once a week and for the last two weeks I’ve did that and I love it too much not to continue.

The pool I’m using now is a big one with marked lanes for swimming, but I’m not allowed to take pictures there, so I’ve used an old picture, from a hotel my husband and I went to in Romania. In the back you can see the Black Sea.

1. Shower after swimming
Of course, we should take a quick shower before using the pool and that keeps the pool clean and also keeps our skin healthier.
But, after swimming in the pool, a quick shower is very important, to rinse off all the chlorine. If you have long hair, like I do, make sure you are rinsing your hair properly and do not rush. When you get home you can take a long shower and wash your hair, but that’s not a reason to miss rinsing the chlorine as soon as you get out of the pool.

2. Hydrate
Drink plenty of water or herbal tea to stay hydrated. It will help you feel better and it will also help your skin. Tea and coffee do not count as drinks after a swimming session. Drink a big glass of water while the kettle is boiling for your tea and that should be just fine.

3. Moisturise your skin
Use body butter or body cream or body yoghurt, which one you prefer, but do make sure your skin is moisturised properly. Alternatively, you can use a creamy moisturising shower gel, if you can’t be bothered with a body cream afterwards.

4. Use a more greasy face moisturiser
At the moment I’m using Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream (link to my review). I bought it for winter and, after I finish the first one, I bought a replacement. It’s too rich for summer or even a warm day, for my skin, but it is amazing after swimming, as my skin dries out and needs a bit of help.

5. Keep a hand cream nearby
Your hands might dry even more than the rest of your skin as you are washing your hands many times a day. I keep a hand cream where I’m working and I would use that a few times a day. But, after swimming, I would use hand cream 2-3 times more, as the skin absorbs more cream than usual.
I have a No7 hand cream with SPF, here is my review for the night time hand cream from the same range. I also have a hand cream from the Body Shop, but I didn’t make a review for that one.

6. Use nourishing hair mask
Use a nourishing hair mask after each swimming session. Now I’m using Organic Shop Avocado & Honey (link to my review) and it is really good. A hair mask helps your hair bounce back and look as good as it should. It doesn’t take too long to have a mask and if you are going to the pool once a week, it’s not too demanding to use a hair mask after that.

7. Avoid the dryer
That’s simple, just avoid the hair dryer if you can. Pat dry your hair with a towel and leave it to air dry. I mentioned that I do this as much as I can in an old post, how I keep my hair healthy.

Do you have any other tips on how to keep your hair and skin looking fab after swimming in the pool?