From Sweaty to Stylish—Post-Workout Beauty Tips
Fitting in a trip to the gym is a challenge for many women. Workouts are often squeezed in during a lunch hour, before a PTA meeting at your child’s school, or maybe in the wee hours of the morning before the rest of your family wakes up. But the feeling of well-being you get from focusing on your physical health during the time you’re at the gym is like no other—you reap both short- as well as long-term benefits.
After your workout, though, you probably need to dash back to work or get on with the rest of your day. This means you’ll have very little time to freshen up, so you’ll need to make every minute count. Having a good hair, skin, and makeup post-workout strategy will help you spruce up and get out of the locker room in a flash.
Streamlining is the key to a quick and easy beauty routine after exercising. To ensure you have everything you’ll need for a quick and easy cleanup, prepare a beauty kit for your gym bag. Use travel-sized containers and trial-sized versions of your favorite deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, and body wash to keep your kit small since space is at a premium. If you’ll need a blow dryer or a curling or straightening iron, try to find the smallest sizes possible.
The three things that you should pay attention to after your workout should be your hair, skin, and makeup.
Hair
The best way to spend as little time on your hair after you exercise is to plan ahead for those days you’ll be hitting the gym. If you have medium-length or longer hair, consider wearing your hair up in a loose bun or ponytail to keep post-workout washing and styling to a minimum. If you have shorter hair or hair that absolutely must be cleaned up and styled before heading back to work, consider using these strategies:
Dry shampoo is a fairly new product that is perfect after a workout. When you use dry shampoo, you can avoid shampooing, conditioning, blow drying, and styling your hair in most cases. Dry shampoo is lightweight and helps add volume while cleansing and absorbing oil.
If you’re pressed for time and can’t shampoo from scratch, just blow dry your hair (concentrate the air at the nape of your neck, then around the hairline) for three to five minutes; the heat will wick away sweat. When your hair is almost completely dry, work in a drop of styling cream or serum through your hair, concentrating on the strands that frame your face and at the crown, then blast with heat from the dryer as you smooth your style back. This helps to add shine to your hair while smoothing frizz and flyaways.
Skin
Even if you don’t have time for a shower, always wash your face after you work out to remove sweat, oil, and makeup. If you have oily skin, wash with a non-drying gel cleanser to thoroughly remove oil, toxins, and sweat. Avoid products that contain Sodium or Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate because these ingredients will dry out your skin. Even if your skin is oily, be sure to moisturize with a moisturizer that is formulated for oily skin. For drier skin, wash with a lightweight cleansing lotion. Wipe your skin with an alcohol-free toner (witch hazel is a good choice) and apply a moisturizer. If you have a lot of redness in your skin after your workout, look for moisturizers with ingredients such as Chamomile or White Tea to help to calm the skin down and take the pressure off of the capillaries. The best post-workout skin strategy, however, is to drink lots of water before, during and after your workout. There is no better way to hydrate your skin.
If you do have time for a quick shower, consider bringing the body wash you use at home in a small bottle along with a little shower scrubbie (these dry more quickly than a washcloth and can more easily fit into a small space). Most liquid soaps that gyms provide in their showers are harsh and will dry out your skin. Use baby powder, even after your shower, to absorb post-workout oil or sweat. If you don’t have time to shower, baby powder will also work wonders to absorb perspiration and excess oil.
Makeup
Although it’s best to skip makeup before a workout, this isn’t always practical. If you do use makeup on your gym days, consider going with a minimalist approach and use a tinted moisturizer or a mineral-based powder foundation and blush, which will more easily absorb oil and sweat and not run as much during your workout. Use blush sparingly, though, because your cheeks will probably flush on their own during your workout. Use waterproof mascara, and skip the lipstick if at all possible. After your workout, you will still need to wash your face. You can apply a light coat of tinted moisturizer afterward, which will do double duty to keep your skin from drying out plus give it a healthy glow.
Pat Yourself On The Back
It’s not easy to squeeze time in just for yourself—making it to the gym and through a workout is a big accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself. By having a post-workout beauty routine in place, you’ll be beautiful inside and out after you leave the gym!
