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!
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!
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!)
