Thursday 3 March 2016

How to stay natural pre and post swim

I like most people love to swim. I go close to 3 times a week give or take the odd holiday or trip away. It is defiantly my preferred form of workout with my weekly Pilates and yoga sessions a close second.

The one thing I don't love about swimming though is the chlorine and what it does to my skin and hair if I don't treat it properly. Chlorine is a sanitiser which almost certainly should be added to every public pool for the health of everyone in it. However it may stop you catching God knows what from the hoards of people that use the pool everyday but there are also many reasons why it's not exactly the best ingredient in the world. Chlorine is a known carcinogen, is incredibly drying to hair and skin and can cause wrinkles prematurely. So if you still want to swim after knowing that it'd probably be best if you protect yourself from it but in the most natural way possible.

So here's what I use to keep my exposure as minimal as possible.
Before you get in the pool:
I oil up! Well, not too much anyway because you don't want to be leaving an oily film everywhere you go but oil will create a barrier between you and the water so slather on a body moisturiser and make sure to coat your hair too. I do this before I leave the house to save time and not risk looking like a total mental case in my local gym changing rooms. 
On my body I use a diy moisturiser which is a mixture of coconut oil and Shea butter to nourish and protect my skin. 

And now for my hair. I tend to oil up my hair quite a lot with a basic almond oil, even olive oil from your kitchen will do the job. I start at the ends of my hair and work my way up focusing mainly on the lower half of my head as it has the most contact with water than anything else. I use a decent amount to do this, more than I normally would to moisturise my hair but not so much that I can practically ring puddles of oil out of it. I then tie this up into a very high bun on the top of my head and I'm ready to head into the pool.

Now afterwards I shower immediately with plain old water at the gym change and shower again once I get home. When I do shower though I tend to use a clay based shampoo bar and hair rinse and then to prevent any chemical build up.


if I've been going to the pool for a few days in a row I turn to my more traditional shampoo by the brand Faith in nature followed again by a hair rinse. The faith in nature brand are a company against animal testing and their products contain all natural ingredients even including the use of ALES, which is a little harsh on my hair and the only reason I don't use this product every time I wash. This however is a good reason of why I do use this whenever I go swimming, it does a wonderful job of removing the choline from my hair!
I also use their shower gels for the same reason.
My feet are normally the first to get dry after a long swimming session and I've found the only thing that really works is Lush's Pumice power foot soap. I also use this in winter regularly on my feet too. It's also less than £4 which is a great deal for how long it lasts me but if anyone knows a good diy with less fragrance I'd love to know!

Once I'm out its a full moisturising session again and I feel totally chlorine free!
So that's how I keep myself as protected as possible from my frequent pool trips!

Tina
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