Swelling, leaching and the film left behind when the water evaporates
What repeated salt immersion does to the outer layer, why fresh water is the harsher soak, why the wet and dry cycle costs more than either state, and what hours inside neoprene do to skin.
What repeated salt water immersion does to the stratum corneum
Sea water swells the outer cells, rinses out what holds water inside them, and then leaves a salt film that keeps drawing after you are out. Three effects, one session.
Water · Salt · 10 minFresh, salt and treated water compared, briefly
Different waters do different things to the outer layer. A short comparison, with the pool chemistry left to the publication that owns it.
Water · Comparison · 9 minWet and dry cycling: why the cycle costs more than either state
Skin that is constantly wet has one problem. Skin that is constantly dry has another. Skin that goes back and forth all day has a third, and it is worse than both.
Water · Cycling · 10 minNeoprene and occlusion: skin held wet and warm for hours
A wetsuit creates a small, warm, wet, enclosed environment against the skin for hours at a time. What that does to the outer layer, and what the seams do on top.
Water · Occlusion · 10 minShowering after a session: temperature, length and what to skip
The post session shower is the one immersion you control completely, and for most people it does more barrier damage than the session did.
Water · Washing · 10 minHard water, surfactants and why the same wash behaves differently
Water hardness varies enormously across Britain, and it changes how much wash you use, what is left on the skin and how much washing it takes to remove it.
Water · Washing · 9 minThis page contains no commercial links. There is no advertiser, no sponsor, no affiliate arrangement and no product placement anywhere in it. We name no brand and no product, here or anywhere else on this site, and we describe ingredient classes only by what they do. Published by Northbank Media. Our funding is set out in full on the about page.
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