When we sweat, our skin cells are flooding on a cellular level.

This water moving into and then out of the surface of our skin causes a few things to happen.

1. Anything on the skin aka products, are diluted thus becoming compromised. This allows for acne causing bacteria to find their way inside and clog up your pores.

2. Toxins are removed and bacteria have the opportunity to flourish. If we don’t cleanse the sweat residue away, say hello to body odour!

There are some simple steps we can take to make sure our skin is reaping the benefits of the sweat instead of allowing it to become a breeding ground for bacteria and pimples. Don’t get me wrong… pimples are okay, but nobody wants sweat-induced pimples, so let me share with you a few simple products to toss in your gym bag so that your skin is taken care of! 

Face

Do your skin a favour and don’t wear any makeup to the gym. If you workout first thing in the morning, I would apply toner with a cotton round followed by an SPF moisturizer. DONE. Go get the booty pump and don’t worry about the concealer or foundation. Allow your skin to breathe while you sweat and get rid itself of all the toxins. Don’t forget your skin routine after your workout!

If you are an after work gym go-er and you are wearing makeup, it’s important to remove it. At the very least take Eau Micellaire Biosensible by Biologique Recherche and do a good job on your cheeks, chin, neck, nose and forehead, while avoiding taking off the brow and eye makeup. I know having makeup on in the gym is a confidence boost so I get it. 

Post workout/mid day workout, use Biologique Recherche’s Lait U, mist L’Eauxygenante for added hydration, brightening and anti-pollution protection.

Body 

The most important thing we can ever do for our skin post-sweat is shower. Sweating purges the skin of bacteria, dirt, oils and impurities - so you’ll want to rinse all of that off ASAP. I recommend IS Clinical BODY complex. Yes, they have recently turned their cult cleanser into a body wash. If you are prone to body acne then I have Biologquie Recherche Lotion p50 Corps. Spray it onto the body, and them massage the areas with your hands so that the product penetrates.

Hair

As for hair products, I recommend using Kevin Murphy’s RE.STORE, repairing cleansing treatment if you’re doing a full shower & hair wash, or Living Proof’s dry shampoo to give hair that refreshed, ‘just washed’ look! Dry shampoo is probably one of the most obvious gym bag staples. Living proof’s literally absorbs excess sweat and keeps hair way more clean than we all know it really is.

Gym Bag Skin Care Necessities

1. Cleanser or Eau Micellaire Biosensible
2. L’Eauxygenante
3. Moisturizer 
4. SPF 
5. Dry shampoo 

Does your gym bag need an upgrade?!