Get the chlorine smell outta me!!

Regretably I have found the only time I don't reek of chlorine (despite my best efforts) is when I'm on vacation and can't swim. I have tried it all and find a hot shower and lots of soap helps but if you get caught in the rain - ugh, you will know you are a swimmer. I have found that shampoos designed to remove chlorine do tend to work slightly better and they are about the same price.

i use oil of olay soap-free cleanser....its stuff you can put on one of those poofy things and it makes lots of lather and smells great. it makes your skin really soft too. its about $3 ? a bottle if you have money to blow i'm sure there are a lot of things at bath and body that will help. if you are short on money probably anything scented and soapy at walmart or target would work. btw...you don't have to use ultra-swim to get chlorine out of your hair, any decent shampoo will get it out.

Originally posted by belly_hippie My boyfriend has been complaining about *THAT* smell! Arg! You need a new boyfriend. That chlorine smell is sexy.

Sheer Blonde, does a great job of getting the chlorine out of hair and can be found at most grocery stores. You can buy expensive body soap from online swim shops to remove the chlorine smell. In my opinion the jury is still out on that. While nuzzling my ear my boyfriend said, "Mmmm, I love the way your ears smell like italian salad dressing." (LOL, I do the vinegar/alcohol thing at least once a week sometimes more often if my ears feel clogged)

ah ha! so that's why I've not managed to get a girlfriend for so many years :P I might sound like an idiot, but I thought swim caps do a nice job of keeping the smell out of the hair? At least it was MUCH better with the swim cap...no "dried up like some twig" hair... About the smell on the skin, my theory is that no amount of washing will get rid of the chlorine smell, because the smells is "smart", in that once you manage to remove a part of it by water, the skin and water sorta form a "protective layer" so no more chlorine gets washed away (same but in reverse of the theory of how some ppl thinks showering beforehands limits chlorine absorption)... But, everytime after we dried off, sat around, and got wet again (sweat...etc), the chlorine rushes out like some hungry hounds! So, my theory is, if we can somehow trick our skin (or that evil chlorine molecules, forgive my poor chemistry) into thinking that we've stopped trying to force the smell out, and then WHAM! we go at it again, maybe it'll work! Magnificent! (oh, now I see why I don't have a girlfriend ;p) But seriously, have anyone tried using dry sauna as a way of chlorine removal? Granted it cannot be a chlorine-smelling sauna... Reason being that our sweat comes from within, which is very different because it forces our sweat glands to open up, AND sweat goes from inside out, instead of the other way around... So, go into a sauna, sweat, dry off (or even wash off, then dry), sweat more, repeat until smell goes away? Anyone tried this? Granted this is not a everyday thing that you'd go through... It's just for one of those emergency and extremely rare situations where one'd really like to pretend one's not a swimmer... :) I've been experimenting, but have yet to be able to form a satisfactory conclusion (basically, it hasn't worked the way I wanted it to :P), since my sauna smells like the pool... :P

wet your hair, and then cap it--the payoff is so huge! Especially if you're a blond, or have light hair. For soap, the only thing that has worked for me is Dr. Bronner's soap. Supposedly it is Pure Castile soap. I think Leonard says it not--but according to that whacky lable, it is. YOu could find it in health food stores, and maybe even your grocery store. The peppermint smells terrific, as does the lavendar...haven't tried the others, but it does a great job with a washcloth. When you see it, you'll know what I mean about the whacky label--it's crazy. ;)

From my experience, showering and wetting the hair first and then wearing a cap does significantly reduce the smell. However, I concur with Shaky, find a new boyfriend before it's too late. The sweet smell of chlorine can only be likened to the smell of a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies coming out of the oven.

ok i just remembered this......the absolute best thing i have ever used was h2o brand seaweed/kelp (something like that) shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. It smelled so great, i couldn't stop smelling my hair. it was the best! it was a little travel thing i got a while a go, and now that i have used it all up i can't find it anywhere. but if you can find it i'm sure you will absolutely love it and not smell like chlorine. if you do know where to get it tell me :) right now i am using citri-shine s&c which works really well too. i've heard putting some leave-in conditioner in your hair before you swim is supposed to work really well and do that thing that happens when you leave conditioner on your hair and add heat- deep conditioning? i've never done it though because i have enough trouble keeping my cap on as it is.

You can use the Ultraswim from your hair and spread it over your body. That will get the chlorine odor off you. Ultraswim contains sodium thiosulfate, a strong, but fairly safe reducing agent that bonds well with chlorine and allows it to be washed away. BTW, this is the same chemical that is used in most of the products that you can use to rinse your suit. You can buy pure sodium thiosulfate at places that sell photography chemicals. 1 teaspoon to a quart of water is as good as any suit saver chemical & much cheaper. Jerrycat - Bronner's used to be castile soap, back when the real Dr Bronner was still alive (I think he died in 1997 at a very advanced age.). Back then they used alot of olive oil, which is what castile soap has as its base. Now they use hemp oil and it has not helped the product. Tell you what - If you'd like, send me your address (use the personal mail option here at USMS to get it to me) and I will send you a few bars of real castile soap, gratis. You WILL see a difference. -LBJ

Malibu swim and sun is a shampoo/body wash. Sold att swim shops, are other body soaps for chlorine removal. I just use my shampoo all over. About getting in the shower and getting wet first as reducing the amount of chlorine absorbed--I think that is only for hair not your skin.