Are you looking for ways to counteract your dry and itchy skin from the chlorine in the pool? Are you spending hours in the pool to improve your skills, but hating the effect it has on your skin? If so, then you need to learn more about proper skin restoration for swimmers.

Whether you like it or not, proper skincare tips for swimmers are mainly about being more intentional. The good news is that you can take back control of it starting today!

See below for an in-depth guide on how to protect skin while swimming, as well as what you can do to nourish it after the fact.

1. Invest in Trusted Products

The common consumer places way too much trust into the store-bought skincare products they can find at big-name stores. The unfortunate reality is that, without listing names, some of those brands are more focused on profit margins than product quality. 

In other words: they're willing to replace ingredients in their skincare products that lower the cost of production. As you might assume, those ingredients might offer little to no value in keeping your skin hydrated and moisturized.

For that reason, you must invest in trusted products. They're out there, you just have to be more intentional about where to find them. That's why Squirrel's Nut Butter is such a tremendous option for swimmers. 

Our skin restoration products do an incredible job of protecting the areas of your skin that are more prone to skin chafing or blistering... we think you know the area that we're talking about.

Our Vegan Restorative Skin Salve is cost-efficient and contains all-natural ingredients. It contains zero synthetic ingredients, so you can have more confidence in the product you've purchased. Simply apply it to your skin to keep your skin moisturized and protected from any potential chafing.

2. Know Your Skin Type

As a great warrior once said, "You can't go to war if you don't know who or what you're up against!"—we just made that up.

However, the point of the saying still rings true: you can't possibly hope to have proper skin restoration habits as a swimmer if you don't even know what type of skin you have.

Did you know that there are actually five different types of skin? You could have normal skin, dry skin, oily skin, sensitive skin, or combination skin (oily in some areas, dry in others). 

The type of skin that you have will dictate how you should care for it. For example, if you have naturally dry skin, then you need to take shorter showers, avoid scrubbing, and stay in humid environments at all times. Meanwhile, those with oily skin should aim to keep the skin oily and prevent it from drying out. 

If you take the time to learn about your skin type, you'll know a great deal about how to treat it moving forward. Some skin types (such as sensitive skin) even require specific types of soaps to use to try and keep your skin in the best condition. Knowledge is power, people!

3. Harness the Power of the Sun

We're only half kidding. Many different studies have been done to find the correlation between sunlight and healthy skin. What they've found is the common connection between those that have healthy skin and get plenty of sunshine—vitamin D.

You might be surprised to find out that humans naturally create vitamin D in their bodies when exposed to direct sunlight. The more vitamin D that's created, the more immune cells that are pushed to your skin's outer layers and used to protect it from germs, chemicals, and bacteria. 

This gives outdoor swimmers a distinct skincare advantage over indoor swimmers. For all you indoor swimmers reading this, you'll have to give your skin's outer layer the protection it needs in other ways. Our restorative salve products are a great way to do that!

4. Clean Off Properly

Surprisingly, it might not be the pool chemicals that are causing the most detriment to your skin. It might actually be the way that you're cleaning off after your sessions. 

As we mentioned earlier, you should try to avoid showering for long periods of time. But it's more than that. Try not to let your air dry after hopping out of the pool. 

Instead, get yourself under some clean, cold water as soon as possible to wash off the chemicals that are still on your skin, then dab (not scrub) yourself dry with a cotton towel.

5. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize

Ask 10 people that you know who have glowing skin what their secret is and they'll all tell you some version of the same advice: you need to moisturize often.

That's especially true for swimmers, who are constantly exposing their skin to chlorine, a chemical known for drying out surfaces (such as the outer layer of your skin).

Get your hands on a skin moisturizer right away, so that you can apply it after you shower each day. Make sure that you find one that's made for your skin type. That way, you'll see better results.

Use These Five Skin Restoration Tips to Your Advantage

Now that you have seen an in-depth list of skin restoration tips that you can use to keep your skin glowing and healthy, be sure to use them to your advantage.

Runners, for those of you with chafed legs, be sure to read this article for more information on how to treat them and prevent them in the future. Be sure to give our products a try, you'll go nuts for them!