Though I’ve been battling some health issues, I’ve decided to eat better and move more. In fact, I’m currently in training for a late summer half-marathon, as well as to become a certified Pilates instructor. I guess I can get rather obsessive and analytical about anything, so I started researching nutrition and fitness (almost) as much as skin care! Here’s what I’ve discovered every gal needs for her gym bag:
1.) Cleansing Wipes for Your Face
There are two goals for cleansing at the gym: First, balance out excess sebum and oil production. Second, avoid overly acidic or basic cleansers, which could be drying while your skin is naturally changing pH during exercise.
When you sweat, your skin naturally produces higher levels of sebum. An oily substance secreted by the sebaceous glands, sebum helps prevent hair and skin from drying out while you’re losing lots of water through sweat, but it can also cause clogged pores, face and body odor, and even sebaceous cysts.
Studies show that sebum production occurs most at the beginning of sweating and during excessive periods of exertion (Skin Research and Technology, 2013).
Skin’s pH will also become more basic during strenuous exercise, but will actually become more acidic within an hour after exercise is done (Skin Research and Technology, 2013). Acidic pH is better, as skin is exfoliated and its natural acid mantle is best maintained at acidic pH levels. But using acids or bases while your skin is self-regulating could potentially be detrimental, leading to irritation or infection.
I recommend a gentle oil-based cleanser, like Olivella Cleansing Tissues. These wipes contain some highly hydrating and skin-beneficial ingredients like olive oil, vitamin E, vitamin B5, and glycerin.
Olivella Cleansing Tissues leave the skin soft and smooth. They take off most makeup and leave the skin primed for further moisturization. Skin feels fresh and clean!
2.) Cleansing Wipes for the Gym Equipment
You probably politely wipe down gym equipment after each use. But it’s smart to wipe any equipment before each use as well.
Gyms breed everything from viruses to fungi to bacteria. Norovirus, which causes stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, can survive for a month on the surface of exercise machines. Athlete’s foot-causing fungi can multiply at an exponential rate in the shower. And microbes like MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can lead to dangerous skin infections, lurk in the locker room (Fitness).
“I’ve even found MRSA on an exercise ball in a gym,” says Philip Tierno Jr., PhD, a clinical professor of microbiology and pathology at NYU Medical School and the author of The Secret Life of Germs.
To protect yourself, carry wipes like Clorox On The Go Cleansing Wipes, which kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria that can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. They are effective against common gym germs like Staph, E. Coli, Salmonella, Strep, Human Coronavirus, and flu viruses. Because, let’s face it, we go to the gym to get healthy — not to get infected!
3.) Waterproof Sunscreen
When a cosmetic scientist designs a sunscreen, it is designed to adhere to the skin to a certain degree. This, in turn, will either form a layer of protection to prevent UV rays from hitting the skin (a “physical” block) or, alternatively, transform any UV rays into non-damaging forms of energy, such as non-UV light or heat (a “chemical” block).
But this can be disrupted if your skin is still wet, sweaty, or varying in pH after a workout.
To counteract this effect as much as possible, use a sunscreen that is waterproof after your workout. My favorite is Skinceuticals Sport UV Defense, which is water-resistant after application for up to 80 minutes. Though it is non-comedogenic, it has enough of a substance that you can feel you’re not sweating it off after a few minutes. Fantastic!
4.) SLS-Free Shampoo and Conditioner
Most shampoos contain either sodium lauryl sulfate or aluminum laureth sulfate as surfactants, which help create a fun “lathering” effect. Surfactants also help to remove dirt, oil, and sebum from the skin.
While aluminum sulfates are not as drying for your skin and hair, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is one of the most drying and irritating ingredients out there. According to Dr. Leslie Baumann’s Cosmetic Dermatology textbook, “[Sodium lauryl sulfate] is such a consistent irritator for skin with an impaired barrier that it is actually used in ‘challenge patch tests’ to evaluate the barrier function of skin…It strips the natural lipids from the skin, disrupting the barrier and rendering it more susceptible to external irritants.” Ew.
I personally like Olivella The Olive Shampoo and Olivella The Olive Conditioner. It uses coconut-derived cocamidopropyl betaine as a surfactant, instead of damaging SLS. In studies, cocamidopropyl betaine is proven to be relatively gentle and non-upsetting to the delicate acid mantle of the skin. It also contains panthenol, an ingredient that coats the hair, drawing in moisture from the environment (International Journal of Cosmetic Science). The coating is so effective that panthenol actually prevents hair from breaking. In breakage studies, panthenol significantly reduced damage and strengthened the hair (Drug & Cosmetics Industry).
And if you’re wondering if an average shampoo is enough to get an effect, it turns out, it is: Just two minutes of exposure to a 2% panthenol solution has been shown to increase the thickness of the hair, as measured by scanning electron microscopy (Dermatologie, 1960).
The only issue with panthenol is that it must be used with another type of ingredient, known as an occlusive agent. This is because panthenol can pull moisture up from inner cortex of the hair, drying out the inside of your hair. But Olivella The Olive Shampoo includes olive oil, an occlusive agent, so the moisture will still be locked into your hair, even with panthenol use. Brilliant!
If you’re looking at other shampoos with panthenol and are wondering if they are also non-drying for your hair, look for words like “mineral oil,” “petrolatum,” and “beeswax,” which are occlusive agents that will similarly ensure panthenol is non-drying for your hair.
5.) Oil-Based Body Wash
You may remember from Chemistry 101: Like dissolves like. Why so many of us then reach for water-based cleansers after we’re sweaty and oily after a workout is beyond me.
Olive oil is one of the best ingredients to use in the bath or shower. The idea here is that the olive oil simultaneously softens the skin as an emollient, and locks in moisture as a mild occlusive agent. You may remember a few years ago, when skin care companies attempted to produce “in-shower moisturizers” with petrolatum or mineral oil; well, the olive oil in Olivella Lavender Bath and Shower Gel does the same thing, without any of the negative hype surrounding petrolatum or mineral oil.
When applied to the skin, olive oil has the ability to be mildly UV protective (Carcinogenesis, Toxicology) and potentially even anti-carcinogenic (The Lancet Oncology).
What grants olive oil these special abilities is that it includes the following compounds naturally:
- Resveratrol, a natural protector of cellular activity;
- Squalene, a natural hydrating agent;
- Antioxidants, including three classes of polyphenols that are called simple phenols, secoridoids, and lignans.
Olive oil is also safe. Olive oil is potentially a very weak irritant when applied to skin affected by eczema or certain circulatory issues (Contact Dermatitis, 1997). However, other than this, the safety profile of olive oil is considered to be quite high.
I like olive oil after a workout, because it binds to dirt, oil, and sebum in the skin as an oil, but also hydrates the skin and leaves it soft and smooth.
6.) Snack (Depending on How Much Working Out You’ve Done)
It’s a common myth that you need to eat before or after any workout. In truth, you only need a snack before or after a long workout of 60 minutes or more.
The average 30-minute run only burns about 259 calories, for a 135-pound person (LiveStrong). Activities like yoga, Pilates, and power walking tend to burn far less, at just 100-150 calories for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, an apple with a tablespoon peanut butter has about 200 calories (HealthyEater), enough to sabotage the efforts of your entire workout.
It’s also a myth that the average short workout (30 minutes or less) requires eating to replenish glycogen stores or to rebuild muscle. In a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, those who trained only once per day were getting adequate glycogen recovery without a post-workout snack, with recovery was spread over many hours. The authors concluded the post-workout meal seemed to be irrelevant, as long as total caloric needs were met during the next 24 hours.
Of course, if your workouts are extremely strenuous or last 60 minutes or longer, countless studies show that consuming a protein and carbohydrate mix is the optimal solution. Try an apple with peanut butter, a handful of nuts and a banana, or a piece of toast with almond butter.
Bottom Line
The perfect gym bag includes:
- Oil-based facial cleanser or cleansing wipes. I carry Olivella Cleansing Tissues;
- Wipes for equipment. The best IMO are Clorox On The Go Cleansing Wipes;
- Waterproof sunscreen. My favorite is Skinceuticals Sport UV Defense;
- SLS-free shampoo and conditioner. I like Olivella The Olive Shampoo and Olivella The Olive Conditioner;
- Oil-based body cleanser. I like Olivella Lavender Bath and Shower Gel;
- Snack (if exercising strenuously or 60 minutes+).
Brought to you by Olivella. I contacted the company personally and asked them to sponsor this post. All opinions are my own.