Goggles packed. Moisturiser forgotten? Your simple pool-bag routine

Through the seasons · 4 minute read

By HIGHBORN London editorial team · 23 September 2026

After swimming, shower with fresh water, use a mild cleanser as needed and moisturise promptly. Pack the products your skin already tolerates. For an outdoor swim, add suitable water-resistant sunscreen and reapply after leaving the water and towel drying. A complicated “chlorine detox” routine is not the starting point.

The swim is the lovely part. The hurried shower, damp bag and tight-feeling cheeks afterwards can be less appealing.

If swimming is time you enjoy for yourself, the skincare around it should be easy to repeat. You need a small plan for the changing room, not another shelf of specialist bottles.

Before you go: pack for the shower afterwards

Keep a short list on your phone or inside your swim bag. Check the bottles before leaving, so you do not discover an empty moisturiser when you need it.

For decanted products, use a suitable clean container and keep track of the original label and opening date. Where the packaging is important to the formula, use the original pack or a manufacturer-made travel size.

Do you need a special cream before swimming?

For an ordinary indoor swim, do not assume that buying a new “barrier” product is essential. Follow the pool's showering rules and any advice you have been given for an existing skin condition.

If you have eczema, a tailored routine may include an emollient before swimming. Ask your clinician how to fit that around the pool's rules and your own treatment. Eczema UK warns that emollients can make skin slippery, making a rescue more difficult; this matters if you are learning or are not a strong swimmer.

The British Association of Dermatologists' eczema information recommends rinsing well after swimming and moisturising afterwards. Advice for eczema is not a promise that every product will prevent irritation for every swimmer.

Your changing-room routine

1. Rinse promptly. Use fresh shower water after leaving the pool. The British Association of Dermatologists’ eczema guide specifically advises checking that showers use fresh water rather than recycled pool water. Ask the pool if you are unsure.

2. Keep the wash gentle. A warm shower is enough; you do not need to make it very hot or scrub until your skin squeaks. Use familiar products instead of treating the changing room as a place to try a new exfoliant.

3. Pat, then moisturise. Gently pat off excess water and apply moisturiser while the skin is still slightly damp, unless your product or clinician advises otherwise. Put the moisturiser where you can reach it before you dress.

4. Make the next swim easier. Empty the wet bag when you get home, dry the towel and check what needs topping up. Keeping that job small helps avoid the last-minute search next time.

If washing leaves your face tight even on days when you do not swim, our guide to tight skin after washing looks at the daily routine behind it.

What changes at a lido or outdoor pool?

Plan for sun exposure as well as the water. The NHS recommends water-resistant sunscreen for contact with water, with at least SPF30 and at least 4-star UVA protection. A UVA-in-a-circle symbol also indicates that a product meets the EU UVA standard. Reapply after swimming and towel drying, even when the product is water resistant, and follow its directions.

Use shade and covering clothing out of the water too. Our UK autumn SPF guide explains why checking the UV index is more useful than judging by the temperature alone.

If your skin keeps objecting

Recurring itch, a rash, broken skin or stinging deserves advice, rather than another bottle bought on hope. A pharmacist or GP can help work out the next step. If you have eczema or a skin infection, ask whether swimming is appropriate while it is active.

Keep a short note of when symptoms appear, which pool you used and what you washed with. It may help an appointment, without assuming that chlorine must explain every problem.

A few common questions

Do I need a special chlorine-removing face wash?

A mild cleanser and fresh-water shower are a sensible starting point. Choose on comfort and suitable directions, rather than a claim that your face needs detoxing.

Can I leave moisturising until I get home?

Packing it makes prompt application easier. If your skin feels dry after swimming, build it into the changing-room routine rather than relying on remembering later.

Is this a guide to sea swimming too?

It covers skin care around a swim. Open-water swimming needs its own safety planning for conditions, access, water quality and cold; a skincare routine does not address those risks.

Sources and further reading

• British Association of Dermatologists: Atopic eczema
• NHS: Sunscreen and sun safety
• Eczema UK: Swimming and eczema