All jokes aside, the phenomenon reported by Ryan Lochte is nothing new to the swimming world. Swimmers have been “smelling like the pool” since chlorine was first added to pools. Lochte claims that his “Pool Water” cologne is “water straight from the pool and boasts that Pool Water provides the advantage of “allowing anyone to smell the chlorinated way.”
Interestingly, Lochte’s Pool Water product is a practical, easy-to-make solution. Anyone who would like to smell “like you’ve been in the pool,” can add a tablespoon of bleach to ordinary tap water. Because bleach is the exact same chemical found in pool water, it will provide the same benefits in terms of chemical odor and dry, itchy skin. It would probably also provide the straw-like, crunchy hair style that is so popular with swimmers.
But regular swimmers would probably not require a stand-alone Pool Water product. Chlorine bonds strongly to hair and skin, giving swimmers all of the benefits of Pool Water for days after each swimming session.
According to Dr. Andrew Chadeayne of SwimSpray, LLC, swimmers should use caution when intentionally exposing themselves to chlorine: “Swimmers should really try to minimize their exposure to chlorine. Sure, it’s great for sanitizing swimming pools. But, it’s really better to wash the chlorine off of your body after swimming.” He later added, “the great thing about science, just like Ryan Lochte, is that it’s full of surprises.”
SwimSpray was invented by Dr. Andrew Chadeayne, a former Princeton University swimmer and chemistry Ph.D. from Cornell University. Tired of smelling like chlorine after his swimming workouts, Andrew set out remove chlorine from hair and skin ( SwimSpray works where so many other chlorine removal products (e.g., swimmers’ shampoos) have failed previously because SwimSpray’s all-natural vitamin C based formula breaks this bond, neutralizing the chlorine, and allowing it to be washed away with your favorite soap or shampoo. Follow him on Twitter @swimspray and fan him Facebook.
SwimSpray is a SwimSwam partner.
