Ways to take care of skin before and after swimming

Ways to take care of skin before and after swimming

Benefits of swimming

Swimming is a marvelous and enjoyable exercise. It tones your body, makes your muscles stronger, builds up your strength and you get cardiovascular fitness as you hit the water. Your lungs and heart stay healthy since it works against gravitational force and cools you off on a hot summer day. Moreover, some research proves that swimming makes a child smarter than others. It improves mental math and helps developing language skills.

Swimming can be added to the daily exercise routine and get weight in control. Furthermore, according to Chinese tradition water therapy is the best way to recover from joint pains and other injuries. Athletes have water sessions for becoming stronger and for healing their injuries. People do exercise on a treadmill under the water too.

With all the above benefits, mighty swimming does bring some concerns. Sunburn, tanning, and dryness of the skin are major concerns when you plan for a beach or just swimming in the pool. Chlorine soaks away natural oil and moisture that exacerbates dehydration, dull and dark skin. 

Swimming in the ocean or freshwater bodies is safer than a pool because of its disinfecting chemical. But be prepared with all possible ways to prevent sunburn or tanning.

"Prevention is better than cure" is one thing everyone should follow. In other words, instead of getting worried after losing control over a problem, we should focus on prevention. There are many ways to prevent harm before and after swimming, mentioned below:

Shower before swimming

This is just not to keep the pool clean, a common misunderstanding.  A shower before swimming makes our skin suck up freshwater, which provides a layer of protection to reduce chemical absorption. Our skin absorbs chemicals such as Chlorin easily from water and it leads to irritation.

Waterproof sunscreen

It is a 'must-do' step before going to the outdoor pool or any other water bodies like a lake or the Ocean. Water magnifies UV rays that cause damage to our skin and it becomes dull, dark and dehydrated. A layer of sunscreen protects our skin from harmful rays and keeps it hydrated.

Sunscreen works as a protector. It also prevents the skin from absorbing chemicals in the pool water; Or filth in the open water. The sunscreen should be waterproof and it should contain at least 50 - 70 SPF to save you from sunburn or tanning.

Apply a thick layer of sunscreen 10-15 minutes earlier before going inside the water so your skin will absorb the sunscreen completely. Apply sunscreen after every 2 hours or whenever you come out of the water to avoid dryness.

Few brands have their regular sunscreens (non-waterproof) too. They are good for dry activities but not good for water or sweat based activities. Swimming can wash up regular sunscreen easily as it comes in contact with water. If you do not have waterproof sunscreen handy, the application of regular sunscreen can only provide a little bit of protection during water activities.

One other important tip, instead of opting for tube-based Sunscreens, you can go for spray bottles. Sunscreen in spray bottles is abundantly available nowadays and the spray process makes applying sunscreen less time taking. 

Chlorine Neutralizer

Chlorine neutralizers are also available in the form of lotion or cream. These prevent the skin of a swimmer from damages due to chlorine. This is very important to use when you are using an indoor swimming pool.

Rinse and exfoliate body after swimming

In the to-do list, another important step is to take a shower with fresh water after swimming. Don't forget to exfoliate your body and take off all the unwanted chemical particles. Scrubbing helps in removing dead and dry skin too. It opens pores of the skin.

Moisturizer

After being in chlorinated water, the skin becomes dry and cracked. So, after having a bath apply some moisturizer immediately. Moisturizer locks the natural oil of skin if we apply it right after coming out of the water. Instead of moisturizing lotion, opt for a cream instead. The cream is more thick, fluffy and sticky, which is more effective.

Liquid intakes

Keeping skin hydrated isn't the only thing, we need to increase the intake of liquids during swimming on a bright and sunny day. Dehydration may cause fatigue during swimming, so drink plenty of water or juice. Increasing liquid intakes will restore and boost up the energy levels and lessen the chance of damaging the skin.

So with all these precautions, you can always go hit the pool every day.