[ggbsy]

So, if I am posting this in the wrong forum, my apologies and would you please direct me towards the right one?

Question is: how do you go from sweating pig after the gym to adorable princess ready for a night out, in 15 minutes?

I workout 2 hours per day (afternoon, classes) and I end up smelling like a hog and looking worse than after a hangover. Most of the time, I go from there to anywhere I need to go (dinner with friends, visit the new baby, grocery shopping) and always apologize for the way I look and smell. It's embarrassing.

Does this happen to you? I don't have time/energy for a shower, I seriously just want to get my business done with so I can get to bed.

But I have a special occassion coming up, and I must look good in the pictures

Any ideas?

What do you do with hair? Smell? Ugh...

[Palestrina]

If you have 2hrs to devote to working out then you have time for a shower. You can and should take 10minutes to shower, I'm sorry I just don't buy it that there is no time, you make time for that. Building up. Sweat like that and then not properly cleansing afterwards is not only smelly and unpleasant for those around you but it also can lead to bacterial and yeast infections, athletes foot, acne, it makes your clothes and bed sheets dirty and full of bacteria. In other words there is no amount of perfume, talcum powder, or dry shampoo that will eliminate the risks you are putting yourself in.

I'm a mom and I know how difficult it is to find time to shower when taking care of an infant. I learned how to shower really fast when necessary. I consider a quick shower to be no more complicated than a thorough hand washing. Firstly, it is not necessary to shampoo your hair everyday, as a matter of fact it's better if you don't. There is lots of evidence that the no 'poo movement is very beneficial to hair health. Myself I shampoo and condition only once a week. The rest of the week I shower daily with only water to rinse my hair and rid it of sweat. When you remove the shampooing from your shower it gets to be very quick and easy, just a quick lather on the body and rinse and you're done, just like a quick hand wash. Once a week I take a very luxurious shower in which I apply a face mask, shampoo and condition,exfoliate, shave, use aroma therapy soaps and linger. The fact that I do that once a week makes it super enjoyable.

[df180]

My gym has showers, although I've never used them. And I agree with wannabeskinny.
If you don't have time for a quick shower after working out you should try to make it. Cut your workout short, tell your friends or family you'll be late, or start your workout earlier?

[fadedbluejeans]

If it's a one-time special occasion, why not skip the afternoon class and workout in the morning at home that day instead?

[happynottsgirl]

You can also try dry shampoo (comes in a spray can), and use some sort of sweat absorbing hair band. Also, the type of fabric you use can help. Wet wipes...etc.

[thechemistmommy]

I don't really see any way around the shower, but you could potentially make it quick. Wannabeskinny's recommendation of skipping the shampoo is a good one. It kind of depends on what sort of hair you're working with though. I'm a 3B curly so shampoo is the enemy but that isn't the case for everyone. There's no reason to do more than soap and rinse, in my opinion, if you are going home to shower later or in the morning anyway.

If you don't want to sacrifice too much length of your workout, you could always go lower-intensity and try not to overheat in the first place. Stop often for water breaks, to re-apply deodorant, and to keep your temperature down.

If you plan to wear makeup to the event, I would highly recommend skipping regular makeup that day for your classes and workout. Between the regular wear and tear of a full day plus your workout plus your shower, it will almost certainly not look like it did starting out. Starting from scratch is much easier My go-to for a quick look is mascara/foundation/lip gloss. Especially the foundation if you've just worked out. If you're like me, you won't need blush, lol. Of course, there is nothing wrong with going no-makeup, and if that's the route you're going, a simple face wash will have you ready to go!

Hope that was helpful!

[IanG]

Cold shower. Not a hot one as that will continue to make you sweat after you dress. It also gets rid of the "red as a beet" look that I enjoy seeing on my female running patners!

[preetyladyserenity]

I am all in for making time to wash yourself if you need to go out after that. Showering is the first thing I do after exerising because a) I don't get as sore and b) because it makes me feel so GOOD.
Plus my head is where I sweat the most (to the point where I wonder if my other sweat glands are malfunctioning :P) And I agree with IanG. A cold shower will make you less red so your make up will look like it mostly is.

[muguet]

I have to agree with the showering but you absolutely have no time or they're all taken, here's what I would bring and do at a minimum:

Products (you can decant them in travel-sized pots available for a few dollars in a drugstore or large-surface store):
- face products: face wash, toner, moisturizer (don't put sunscreen if you're going somewhere that'll have flash photography!). I only use face wipes when I've got absolutely no time.
- body wash
- towel
- face cloth
- something to get your hair out of your face
- dry shampoo
- basic makeup (for me it's at the very least: concealer/foundation, eyelash curlers, mascara, cream blush, your lip product of choice)
- hair brush
- deodorant

Routine:
- first: put in dry shampoo. Massage it in like you would normal shampoo. Leave it there.
- wash your face.
- wash the very sweaty stuff while keeping your clothes on. It's doable.
- pat everything dry
- deodorant
- get dressed
- put makeup on
- brush your hair thoroughly. Make sure you don't see any of the dry shampoo.

Honestly, the sink part takes me longer than to take a shower...so I would do that instead. But if you seriously can't take one, I'd do that.

Hope this helps!

[toastedsmoke]

Okay I'm going to be the gross person who's not going to mention a shower and dress up in 15 minutes. I've never actually used my gym's showers because there is no privacy and I'm not contorting to hide my nudity in front of strangers- sorry. And also, I kind of take a while to shower and dress up because I must moisturize really deeply and that takes extra time and ain't nobody got time for that if you have somewhere to be.

Anyway, so here's what I've been doing if I need to get on the go immediately after my workout. Here's what I use:

- Ban cooling refreshing wipes- These are really awesome. They really are cooling, they leave a fresh, nice and dry (not ashy) feeling to the skin that feels awesome when you're hot and sweaty AND they leave a residual faint, clean and pleasant, non-perfumey smell. They don't just mask smells, they kind of get rid of them.
- Baby wipes- better for sensitive areas (face and nether-regions)
- Deodorant
- Make up (powder, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick)
- Change of clothes and underwear
- Dry shampoo.

This is what I do. I take myself and my bag into one of the teeny bathroom stalls. I undress completely. I use the dry shampoo first. Then I give myself a total body wipedown with the aforementioned Ban Cooling Wipes focusing on the skin folds (neck, armpits, behind the ears, inner elbows, behind knees, between toes etc). Then I use Baby Wipes to clean the face AND around the lady areas. I then reapply deodorant, put on fresh underwear and my change of clothes. At this point, I come out and use the sink/counter area to apply some light make up. Nothing intense like liquid foundation or concealer. But just like powder, some mascara/eyeliner and lipstick/lipgloss. Just to make it look like I made an effort. And toilet stall availability-willing, I'm usually done in about 10 minutes.

Obviously take a shower when you get home.

[nonameslob]

I'm really not sure why you can't cut your workout short just once, but if that really is the case you can take a quick, COLD shower with a shower cap on (assuming you have long hair and it will be difficult to wash, dry and style your hair in 15 min). Then use baby powder or dry shampoo to freshen your hair. You also have the option of a baby wipe shower, but you'll probably still feel sweaty because the wipes don't do anything for cooling you down. However, toastedsmoke recommended some "cooling wipes" which sound like it may solve that problem!