Does exposure to chlorinated water have some lowkey benefits?

We all know it stinks, is awful for your hair, and causes skin dryness and irritation. But since swimming more regularly in chlorinated water, I’ve noticed some positives? Just wondering if I’m delusional or if others have noticed too.

  • I have pretty acne prone skin. I have far fewer breakouts since swimming regularly. Last month I was traveling and didn’t make it to the pool for almost a month: worst skin I’ve had in a year (could also be because planes and trains are gross and my routine was out of whack)
  • My piercings get infected less often.
  • Yesterday I went swimming for the first time after a week with a cold that had me constantly blowing my nose and hocking up mucus. I was still feeling pretty congested when I got to the pool, and I definitely had to pause between every few laps to clear my throat. But my sinuses felt super clear after my swim. I didn’t have to blow my nose for the rest of the day! It felt similar to how I feel after using a netty pot. (Maybe this was just the result of doing cardio for the first time since my cold subsided?)

So I swam competitively from 8 to 18, most of those all year round and I swear the chlorine water kept my skin clear and I never went through a bad acne phase in my teens!

@ESSY Same swim season was clear skin season

I have oily skin so swimming regularly and the ensuing showers have helped dried it out and cleared up a lot of my acne too.

I find that it really clears my nasal passages and allergies are pretty much nonexistent as long as I’m in the pool at least every other day

Same with me! Never had awful acne.

I used to have pretty bad eczema on my arms and swimming for a few years took care of it without the need for hydrocortisone.

It definitely sucks but chlorine has a few perks!

I don’t have dandruff anymore after swimming regularly for a month. Wondering if its similar to eczema.

@Hotdish Two of the common causes of dandruff is a fungus and oily skin. The chlorine would kill the fungus and the frequent swimming would also work on the oily skin.