Skinny Dipping

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There are different inducements to swimming — infinity pools, hot days and a desire for cardio that’s easy on the joints. It’s also an actual life skill and swimming rather than sinking but it's not so hot for the skin. Here is how to amp up skincare while swimming

  1. Pick a good time to swim — now there is really not a much better strategy of suncare than avoiding the sun — if there is any discretion at all in your swim time pick when the UV index is below 4. This means mornings or evenings and not between 10AM to 4PM. With any vigorous swimming even the best sport sunscreen will rub off and there are problems with any barrier creams with pool chemistry.
  2. Pre-swim rinse — wet your hair with fresh water before swimming in chlorinated water — this is not going to make for a great Herb Ritts photo shoot but it allows hair to fill up with water so it’s better able to resist the chlorinated water. There’s no need to bust out filtered water or spring water — simply a comprehensive shower will do — if you want to be an overachiever 
  3. Wear a cap — Low tech but crucial — it radically minimises the amount of chlorine that one’s hair is exposed to — just the bits that leak in through the cap rather than an entire pool of chlorine. 
  4. And Goggles — now any concern you may have for hair only deserves to be multiplied with respect to eyes. It’s important to find goggles that fit your face — consider children’s goggles as the big ones tend to be loose and let in pool water.
  5. Avoid Creams — now it might seem like a good idea to pre-moisturise ahead of swimming — embracing barrier creams like Vaseline etc — these wear off easily so they’ve provided you with a false sense of security letting you soak until you’re all wrinkly which is so not good — not in the bath and not in the pool — but also they are bad for pool chemistry as they react with the chlorine to form more irritating things like chloramines.
  6. Post-swim shower with Vitamin C — Vitamin C is one of the best ingredients to neutralise chlorine and if you’re not afraid a fresh 5% water solution with ascorbic acid is great on the hair and body chased by a Vitamin C serum slathered all over. Moisturise a bit more than usual!