The absolute worst thing about going to the gym is definitely the whole ‘having to exercise’ bit. But Gym Face (that hot, sweaty, red, sticky thing that thrashing the treadmill does to your skin) is a close second.
No more! You deserve to feel AND look nice after exercising. And this is how you can.
The Stuff You Can Do Before You Even Start
Alright! So, you’ve dragged yourself to the gym. Before you start smashin’ out bicep curls, gently remove your base makeup and pull back your hair loosely. You’re doing this for three reasons:
- Wearing foundation/primer/concealer while working out can clog pores and cause breakouts.
- Having hair pulled back super tight is going to ruin your hairstyle.
- Turns out there’s actually only two reasons. Sorry.
The Stuff You Can Do To Save Your Skin After
Shower as cold as you can. Red faces demand cool (or tepid, at the very least) water. This will get your core temp down and remove sweat.
Opt for a soothing moisturiser (something riddled with antioxidants), that will calm that hot, little face of yours right down.
Use one of those green primers beauty gurus bang on about. (Make Up For Ever and Smashbox both have good versions.) A green primer works wonderfully on red skin because green and red are opposites on the colour wheel, which means they neutralise each other. Apply and watch your redness fade and your skin tone even.
Going outdoors? You’ll obviously pop on SPF and apply it generously, then. Bonus points if you use a tinted one that will double as your base and help even out skin tone/conceal residual redness.
Put down the bright coloured lipsticks and blush. They’ll accentuate your redness and undo all your clever concealing work. Sub in a natural, nudey balm instead.
The Stuff You Can Do To Sort Out Your Hair
Things you’ll need to pack in your gym bag for this bit: Dry shampoo, elastics, bobby pins, a brush, and a shower cap.
Flip your head upside down and spritz dry shampoo all over your hair. Pay careful attention to the roots and scalp (that’s where grease tends to be the most obvious) and start slow (you can always add more if you need, but you can’t undo). Massage it in and notice how the dry shampoo soaks up all the moisture/sweat/grease. Magic.
Blast your hair with a blow-dryer on high heat (no hair dryer at the gym? Use the hand dryer instead!) and work through the dry shampoo with a brush. A small barrel brush is best if you have one on hand, (particularly if your hair has cowlicks), but any brush will work.
The Stuff You Should Do No Matter What
Now that your skin’s all soft and soothed and your hair’s all pretty and styled you can go forth and tell everyone about how intense your workout out is and how early you got up and omg how sore you’re feeling now. People love that.
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