Anyone doing sports on a daily basis usually takes a shower afterwards. But you need to be careful that you do not damage your skin and hair.

Who doesn’t know that beautiful feeling under the shower after sweaty sports units? However, as great as the urge may be to get clean, frequently washing yourself with shower gel and shampoo is unfortunately not healthy. This is because they remove moisture from your skin and hair and attack the natural protective acid mantle. The active washing substances remove the skin's autologous fat, resulting in dry skin, which can provoke itching, tightness and even a malfunction of the sebaceous glands, not to mention dandruff and hair loss.

Moderation is the key recommendation. Even those who do sports on a daily basis should not wash their hair more than two to three times a week with shampoo. It is often enough to simply rinse your hair with water, because at most it only really gets dirty after tours through mud and dirt. When showering, the following should be kept mind:

Lukewarm water instead of shower gel

Nowadays, most people wash themselves much more intensely than is conducive to the skin and its barrier function. Sweat can irritate the skin but it is water soluble. That is why it should ideally be rinsed off with lukewarm water. Using foaming, scented shower gel every time will damage the skin. One exception to this is swimming in chlorine and salt water. Here it makes sense to rid your skin and hair of it.

Use high-quality products

Conventional shampoos and shower gels usually contain the ingredients water, oil, perfume and sodium laureth sulphates. The latter are responsible for ensuring that the products foam nicely on the skin, but at the same time attack the protective acid mantle and dry out your skin and hair. Cheap shampoos often contain a high concentration of silicones, however, which seal the scalp with a film. Therefore, make sure that you buy mild, alkali-free, and pH-neutral products with high-quality nutrients.

Restore the protective acid mantle

After washing, it is essential to restore the skin’s protective acid mantle and replace the lost nutrients and lipid substances. Depending on your type of skin, a moisturising, re-fatting body lotion is sufficient. Those who tend to have dry skin are better off with a rich body milk.

Close the cuticle layer

With hair, it is advisable to regularly apply a conditioner after washing and leave it in to work for a minute before rinsing it out. It contains, among other things, proteins, acidity regulators and oils, which close the cuticle layer of the hair that became roughened during shampooing.

Pay heed to UV protection

Endurance athletes who are outdoors in nature a lot should make sure they use body lotion and hair care products with UV protection. And for those doing extensive running or biking units, it is best to tie long hair in a braid to protect it from dust and environmental factors.

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