Anyhow, I usually dont’ swim before work, don’t want to scare my patients, buuut I’ve been contemplating it recently. Here is what I use: Triswim shampoo…amazing! If you have color treated hair it won’t strip the color like other higher end products (Have tried almost all of them). I also use the shampoo as body wash, no chlorine smell…nada. I use the triswim lotion, best body lotion for after a swim. I also try to always get my hair wet and slap on some conditioner and wear a cap for every swim. Pain in the butt, but I find my hair doesn’t get as strawlike. Face lotions, I sometimes mix it up. I use Kiehls lotion, then slap on sunscreen. If I’m going back to work, I just use waterproof mascara, a little concealer, lipstick and I’m off. My hair is mid-length, so I usually pull it back or up. The rocky racoon effect…well, I haven’t quite figured out how to get around that one. I do switch out my goggles and have 2 pairs of swedish, but they have to suck my eyeballs out (super tight) or they just don’t fit my face right.
i’ve been in and out of pools for most of my life and have tried the gamut of products out there. in addition i’ve got fine hair that tends to frizz and chlorine and multiple daily showers do not help. a few things that i’ve tried and stuck with are the aveda detox shampoo, neutragena triple creme conditioner, and alba’s kukui nut cream for the body. i also really like cetaphil cream but the alba stuff smells really yummy so on swim days i treat myself by smelling like a nut all day! origins ‘a perfect world’ goes on my face. still searching for the best eye cream.
Maybe I won’t fit in with the womens forum --My post swim routine is:
Wash hair with whatever product is in dispenser in locker room
comb my hair (if I remembered comb)
Put on deodorant
Go
The added bonus of this routine, aside from the obvious time and $ savings, is that your friends and co-workers get used to it, and, when you do style your hair and/or wear any sort of cosmetic products, people can’t believe how good you look.
Seriously, don’t triathletes already look better than average?
You’ll fit in here just fine! My co-workers have gotten used to me coming in to work with wet hair as well. I don’t know what they’d do if I actually put some effort into my appearance. I’d probably get ousted by security…
Have you seen this product? http://www.dermaswimpro.com My daughter (11) has problems with eczema and has had periodic bouts of molluscum (the dermatologist said that the virus entered through dried, cracked skin), so we use the dermaswim on her. It works very well for her, and she swims 4 times per week. It has a silicone as opposed to a petroleum base, and it’s not supposed to mess up pool filtration systems.
LOVE that stuff!!! got it with my pool toys and triswim products - absolutely works!!!
Have you seen this product? http://www.dermaswimpro.com My daughter (11) has problems with eczema and has had periodic bouts of molluscum (the dermatologist said that the virus entered through dried, cracked skin), so we use the dermaswim on her. It works very well for her, and she swims 4 times per week. It has a silicone as opposed to a petroleum base, and it’s not supposed to mess up pool filtration systems.
LOVE that stuff!!! got it with my pool toys and triswim products - absolutely works!!!
The ONLY drawback is that during pull sets, the pull buoy never stays put!
For soap I recommend Soap+. If I use that soap and a loofah I can actually get the chlorine smell off my arms and legs. Otherwise I smell horrid for the rest of the day. Funny I swam 2x per day all high school and college and the smell never bothered me then…
Lots of great advice in this thread. My skin gets so dry after swimming that I deal with a red face the rest of the day. I haven’t found a lotion that works, but some of the above are ones I haven’t tried before :). Those rare instances in which I am out of the water for 2-3 days does wonders for my skin.
I too used to have excema very severely on the tops of my feet for several years. I did manage to get rid of it. Basically, whenever possible I would take my shoes and socks off for several months. I absolutely stopped scratching COMPLETELY!!! and it thankfully left eventually following a week-long beach holiday. I definitely find that being on the beach and in the sea all day helps - but you may have to go to work
Anyway, so there is hope - but you will never get rid of it unless you manage not to itch at all - so avoid things that make your feet itchy, change socks frequently, don’t wear socks if possible, don’t take long hot baths etc. For me anyway, it was a simple HTFU issue. I tried all sorts of creams from the doctor, and they really didn’t help.
I find that my skin is pretty gross / scaly when I get out of the pool so I usually exfoliate with this scrub
made by Garnier. It helps with the dryness. I then use the bare escentuals skin revver-upper in combination with
whatever moisturizer I have in my gym bag (usually Aveda or or Lancome) that seems to work for me.
This has really helped out household. We have installed an aquasana shower filter. The water here is high in chlorine (you can smell it in our home shower, it smells like the pool!) and it really helps my skin feel softer and has cleared up my husband’s dandruff.
At the pool, afterwards I use a couple of products from Origins. Dr. Andrew Weil’s mega mushroom face serum and then follow it up with an application of Youthtopia moisturizer.
I found these two products by going immediately to the store after swim practice and asking the sales lady to help me with my face being so dry! That way we tried several different products, on my face exactly how it is after the pool.
I also use the Aveda Colour Conditioner and the All-Sensitive oil. I add a couple drops of the oil into my regular body lotion and the results are great. I use Estee Lauder products on my face.
chimeing in way late (sorry didn’t read all the posts). Have been working in the spa industry for 16 yrs so have tried everything. Bottom line is finding what works for you - just because its expensive doesn’t make it the best (but wouldn’t go low end on products either) read the labels and look up anything you don’t understand.
absolute MUST: wet hair down BEFORE going in (this helps to peserve hair color and keep it from being fried)
deep hair conditioner every 6 weeks like clock work
tons of internal water
full body lotion (anything with lemon to cut the scent - lemon as a base then something aromatherapy to help cover chlorine)
can’t tell you about the body products I use they are for professional purposes only and still not sure what I like best (they are a tad bit stronger than over the counter)
I do a full body exfolliation (sp?) treatment minimum of once a quarter by someone else, and often up to 3xs/week in the shower instead of body wash (jurlique $55-70/bottle this lasts about 2 months). Seaweed/kelp (prefer something French aka Thalasotherapy) scrub is excellant to make the skin all silky. Mud wrap anywhere from 2-4xs/year (helps with muscle soreness - prefer the cold mud for post hard runs). Prefer going to a high end spa that uses high end products -something Italian- but will settle for Pevonia aromatic mud if I don’t have time.
for goggles: jurlique eye cream (think its $90 a bottle and lasts at least 6 months) just pat it under the eyes and not rub it in.
natropathica pumpkin seed scrub/mask for the face at least 2xs/week (think $35 a container and go through this about every 3 months)
lotion for the face whatever your aren’t allergic to.
the only other thing I can think I do as an extra step is leave in conditioner while my hair is wet and a quick run through with my fingers to prevent knots.
I have tried every single type of goggle to try to thwart the “goggle eye” and TYR Socket Rockets are the best by far. They still do give a little bit of a ring, but at least I don’t look quite as haggard and horrific as I have in the past after long swims.
As for the hair, I have been using (and loving, lately) this stuff called “WATER GEAR SWIM & SPORT” shampoo/bodywash and conditioner (2 separate products…) Smells good, removes ((most)) of the chlorine odor, and makes my hair soft!
I think the chlorine seeps into the skin, though… there’s no way to get it all the way out. I smell like bleach and my boyfriend does too. Bah!
