Consistent physical activity has several benefits: it helps maintain a healthy weight, encourages healthier eating habits, and can relieve stress by reducing anxiety, improving mood, and boosting self-esteem. What many people may need to learn, however, is that exercise can also improve skin health.

Thanks to the increased blood flow and oxygen resulting from physical exertion, exercise allows the skin to look more radiant, glowing, and vital. However, it is essential to follow a few tips to avoid the onset of workout acne, sunburns, wounds, or infections.

Protect Your Skin: Tips

  • Remove Makeup: Before exercising, remove makeup to avoid clogging pores and the onset of acne.
  • Apply Sunscreen: Protect the skin with sunscreen when exercising outdoors, in both summer and winter, to defend against the damaging and aging effects of ultraviolet rays.
  • Wear Appropriate Clothing: Choose clothing that helps avoid skin irritation and abrasion. Opt for loose-fitting garments made of soft, breathable fabric, or choose technical, tight-fitting materials that are breathable, quick-drying, and seamless to avoid skin trauma. Wash garments after each workout to prevent bacterial infections and unpleasant odors.
  • Shower and Apply Emollient Creams: After working out, shower using a cleanser that removes sweat, sebum, and flaky cells to prevent irritation and acne on the face and torso. Apply emollient creams all over the body and soothing products to areas that need them.
  • Use a Towel at the Gym: Use your towel at the gym, placing it on seats and backs of machines to prevent infections from contact with surfaces.
  • Wear Slippers: Slippers in locker rooms and showers at gyms and swimming pools to avoid warts and bacterial infections.
  • Disinfect Equipment and Clean Hands: Disinfect equipment before and after use, and cleanse or sanitize hands after each workout to prevent the spread of dirt and bacteria. Avoid touching your face during exercise to prevent transferring land to your skin.
  • Cover Cuts, Abrasions, and Piercings: Cover cuts, abrasions, and piercings with a Band-Aid when exercising to avoid infections and trauma to the skin. If wounds are likely to reopen, avoid piercing or microdermal jewelry that can hook onto your equipment.
  • Avoid Swimming: If piercings or wounds have not yet healed, avoid swimming in swimming pools, the sea, whirlpools, and saunas, as they could become infected.

By following these tips, you can protect your skin during exercise and reap all the benefits that physical activity has to offer.