5 Products to Save your Eyebrows, Skin, and Hair from Chlorine Exposure

During the pandemic, I became even more devoted to my daily swims. I really just love being in the water, and the water was really my saving grace for both mind and body for me during the long months of 2020 stretching into 2021. However, there was just one thing that did not get better with swimming: my eyebrows. The change was so gradual that it took me a while to actually figure out what was different about my face, and then it dawned on me: my eyebrows had started to turn bleach blonde from chlorine!! (Chlorine is a bleaching agent!)

I am still on my first jar of this! It really does go a long way! This really works for your skin: I bought it in desperation to keep my eyebrows brown but started using it on my arms and legs when it was evident the chlorine was out of control at my one swimming pool—very effective at keeping post-swim dry, itchy skin away!

While it definitely did not help that the locker rooms at most pools were closed and I thus could not immediately shower afterwards, I am not sure this would have made a tremendous difference in my winter eyebrow color: upon investigation, my eyebrows had gotten rather bleached pre-pandemic during the winter of 2019-2020 too! Interesting notes to consider: 1.) I normally do absolutely nothing to my eyebrows. Neither piucking nor dyeing, and in fact I am weirdly proud that they normally look really good without my having to do anything to them! 2.) My summer pool evidently doesn’t overdo the chlorine because my eyebrows look like normal dark brown in the summer and I am usually at the pool more than ever. So, in conclusion, the apparent lack of eyebrows on my face (as the bleaching made them unfortunately blend in quite well) was not due to my doing anything to them myself, and second, certain pools have more of an effect than others (*cough*…North Grounds Rec Center, looking at you, *cough*).

Well, if it comes to eyebrows or swimming more, I choose swimming more (duh), so thereby began the Great Eyebrow Protection Mission because you don’t realize how much you love your eyebrows until they suddenly turn white-blonde and and thereby invisible. I googled far and wide for products that purported to protect one’s eyebrows from chlorine. Hint: almost nobody mentions eyebrows specifically, though I did find one blog post where the writer suggested using Vaseline. Hence, my reasoning for writing this blog! I promise I will get to hair and skin too! So if you are reading, I presume you too have blonde-due-to-chlorine eyebrows or otherwise want to protect either skin or hair from pool chemicals or sun. Fear not! I have got you! It will be ok! So, pun intended, let’s dive right in with my favorite ways to keep eyebrows, hair, and skin happy and protected!

1.) Diva Stuff Pre-Swim Aqua Therapy.

Use for: eyebrows AND skin before swimming.

This “chlorine neutralizing lotion” has vitamin C, aloe, and a whole slew of oils including two different kinds of castor oil (castor oil is supposed to help eyebrows!), coconut oil, shea oil, Sachi Inchi oil, and seems to stay put during water exposure thanks to the cocoa butter and beeswax. I actually throw it on my arms and legs when I notice the chlorine levels are especially high (over Christmas, the one pool around here would actually sometimes burn my skin WHILE I was swimming, and I would be noticeably itchy on the car ride home!). Rub this stuff into your eyebrows carefully before you hop in the pool. Hint: use a mirror when you put it on your eyebrows so you can see you’ve actually rubbed it in! Otherwise, it will be white, but hey, that is better than no eyebrows! Try to not get it on your forehead so your swim cap doesn’t slide off (if you mess up, just use a towel to rub off and you’ll be fine). Extra fun: this comes in beachy scents like “South Pacific” so you feel like you’re on vacation every time you head to the pool. I have the 13 ounce container and this stuff goes a long way—I’ve still got 2/3 of it left even after frequent use!

2.) SwimSpray Chlorine Removal Spray (OR Diva Stuff Swim Spritz)

Use for: eyebrows and face after you swim, before you shower!

This is cheap and effective. I also feel like no matter what you put on preventatively, if you swim long enough, that preventative measure will wear off in some capacity. I noticed a difference very soon after using SwimSpray on my eyebrows (and face! It seemed to help make my face less dry!). I use this right after swimming and before showering. Do yourself a favor and get the 3-pack! (I started with a single spray but then accidentally left it in the shower at my one pool that had open locker rooms. Mid-pandemic, I was definitely not going to check the lost and found for that—not sure I’d want it back even without a pandemic going on if lost anyways!—so then I ordered myself a 3-pack and now have one in my swim bag, one in my shower at home, and a backup spray!)

I just leave these two little guys in my swim bag to ensure pre-swim eyebrow protection as well as post-swim chlorine neutralization!

This product ALSO has vitamin C as does the lotion above, which is really the main ingredient you want to look for in terms of chlorine neutralization. Get it; you won’t regret it! Part of me feels like I could concoct a homemade version of this, but you know, you’re spraying it on your face. I want that to be professionally mixed up! AND because it looks like SwimSpray is currently out of stock, here is a similar spray made by Diva Stuff (I trust them after using their lotion above which is truly very good) that also has Vitamin C; here that is linked here!: Diva Stuff Swim Spritz.

3.) Glossier Balm Dot Com in coconut (single HERE OR three-pack HERE)

Use for: eyebrows pre-swim

I see your Vaseline and raise you one Glossier Balm Dotcom in coconut. This is a clear lip balm but GUESS WHAT, Y’ALL: it has castor oil (helps eyebrows generally and helps them grow back in—great if you are currently dealing with a bleached situation) AND it stays put just like Vaseline for your swims. It is also super easy to throw in your swim bag and just toss on your eyebrows right before you hop in the pool, which is what I have been very diligently doing. Bonus: it is clear (versus the Diva Stuff lotion which is white) so you can apply it without a mirror, no problemo! Here is the single coconut but I actually just splurged and got the 3-pack of balms and use the other two as regular lip balms and they’re great! Also, really just leave that balm in your swim bag. Just do it! Then this can become part of your pre-swim routine just like putting your goggles on!

4.) Glossier Boy Brow (in brown HERE or use whatever color matches your natural eyebrows, or get the clear version HERE to just protect brows!)

Use for: both protecting your eyebrows when you swim AND/OR actually looking like you have eyebrows if you are currently in a “help, my eyebrows have been bleached by chlorine” situation

I am super low maintenance in terms of beauty products (I love me some face lotions, but besides lip gloss on occasion, I am very makeup free). That said, I did NOT enjoy the stage of very white bleached eyebrows that I experienced this winter. If this is you, may I recommend another fabulous Glossier product called Boy Brow. It most definitely took me a few tries to get it right the first time or two (my lack of makeup experience was showing, HA…I definitely got a very good laughs in front of the mirror when I appeared a little clown-like with a overly done single eyebrow). That all said, I was VERY grateful to this product for helping my present eyebrows be actually visible instead of blending in with the rest of my face, and thereby helping my face look like its great normal face self. You don’t know how much you need eyebrows until you can see them no longer! If you are into makeup, you could also probably use this as a daily pre-swim chlorine protector because it honestly stayed put during my swims! (I didn’t want to try to get the brows just right before every swim with this, in particular because I’m going to just shower and wash my face every time after I swim anyhow.) So, if you go to work or school and then subsequently swim at the end of the day, I would try this.

An additional note: Boy Brow comes in different colors! If your eyebrows are back to normal color and you just want to protect them, get the clear version (easier to apply without mess ups too).

Ok, so as you may have seen, I went on quite the eyebrow mission. “But, Ann, what about hair!?” I can help you with that too!

My Love Curl Shampoo and Love Curl Conditioner have been really not just saving but improving my hair this year, even with being in chlorine daily. Glossier Boy Brow, meanwhile, is the product I never would have known that I needed!

5.) first place: Davines Love Curl Shampoo & Conditioner

second place: Function of Beauty custom shampoo and conditioner

Use for: post-swim repair or to just generally get your hair looking super fantastic on a daily basis!

Does your hair have that crisp, straw feeling at the ends? You CAN get rid of that with the right shampoo and conditioner! In fact, you can do that and then some with my number one favorite product set and brand that I discovered during the pandemic.

My current absolute favorite—especially if you have curly or wavy hair, you actually just HAVE to get this one!—is Davines Love Curl Conditioner. I look like I have come straight from the salon when I use this stuff. It is actually magical and is worth every single penny. Bonus: Davines is a company focused on sustainability AND they actually make really awesome products that work!! (I am always kind of annoyed when companies aim for sustainability but fall short in making products that actually accomplish their intended function….because it’s not sustainable if it doesn’t actually work!—Davines BOTH makes fantastic products AND has sustainability as part of their company mission.) I basically MADE my sister and mom both buy this. My hair looks awesomely curly, not frizzy, and this conditioner helps bring out the curls. Here are the links to my current shampoo and conditioner as well as the equivalent for straight hair! The conditioner is my favorite, but I do notice a difference when I use both the Love Curl Shampoo & Conditioner together, and while they are a little pricier than some hair products, I really think you are getting what you pay for here!

For curly hair: Love Curl Shampoo and Love Curl Conditioner

For non-curly hair: Love Shampoo and Love Conditioner

In second place here is my current “backup” shampoo and conditioner (I will use this if I know I am showering twice or later that day from a to-be-completed workout #2): Function of Beauty Shampoo and Conditioner is custom made to you based on your specific hair needs. I noticed a HUGE difference in my hair once I switched to Function of Beauty a few years ago, and still really like this brand, but Davines has moved into the number one spot after I discovered them this past fall. I do enjoy that you can customize your shampoo and conditioner fragrances with Function of Beauty, so if you like variety, that is something to keep in mind there!

I hope these recommendations help your eyebrows, skin, and hair survive all of your time well spent in chlorine! Enjoy!!