All that sweat, heat, and movement can conspire against your skin and your hair. (Post-workout glow? More like post-workout red, shiny sweatiness.) Don’t fret: These tips will leave you looking fresh in a few minutes flat.
When you’re short on shower time but need to look great immediately after, go for braids before hitting the gym—the sweat will help set the hair, and result in loose, messy waves.
On days when you can’t—or don’t want to—take off all your makeup, start with Maybelline SuperStay Multi-Use Foundation Stick. It’ll stay put throughout that spin class. It’s also a concealer, contour stick, and highlighter all in one, so it’s the perfect thing to pop in your gym bag for post-sweat touchups. Bonus: It’s available in 16 shades.
If you have time to hose off, make that shower Arctic. The blast of cold water will help lower your core body temp, stopping sweating and warding off that telltale post-gym redness. Studies have shown that the cold may help burn fat, too.
Bring a pack of cleansing wipes and use them in place of a towel across your chest, neck, and armpits while you work out; they’ll help whisk away odor-causing bacteria and leave you feeling fresh.
Pick a dry shampoo that works best for your hair type and use it liberally to add volume at the root and to, well, sop up some of that grease. Pro tip: Apply it before you start exercising to soak up sweat from the beginning.
Got a couple minutes in the locker room? Exercising heats up your skin, which opens pores. This makes it an ideal—not to mention less painful—time to pluck extra hairs. Follow a tweezing session with a dab of Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel.
“Immediately after exercising is a great time to exfoliate your face,” says celebrity esthetician Biba de Sousa. “Not only are you washing away dirt and bacteria from the workout itself, but sweat opens your pores, [helping you] wash away impurities. I like to gently exfoliate with a Foreo Luna T-Sonic face brush in the shower.”
Keep your eye makeup from sliding all over your face by applying a waterproof mascara and eyeliner on days you know you’ll be working out.
Still sweating on the way out the door? Hit your body using a blow dryer on the coolest setting. The extra shot of cold air will help lower your temps and get you back to your normal—read: not-tomato-faced—self.
