Swimmer’s Skin

If you’re not lucky enough to live near a lake or bay that is fit for swimming, chances are you’ll be spending a lot of time in a chlorinated pool this summer.  Swimming in water that has a lot of chlorine in it tends to dry out your skin and leaves it feeling itchy and tight.  To combat this, don’t overdo it in the pool and make sure to shower right after swimming to rid your skin of chemicals from the water.  If your skin is feeling really dry, make sure to moisturize and stay out of the pool for a while.  On the flipside, if you are swimming in remote rivers and lakes that aren’t frequented by many people, there is the chance of picking up swimmer’s itch, a nasty skin ailment that causes itchy, red bumps to appear on the skin.  To avoid swimmer’s itch stay out of shallow, marshy lakes and instead swim at public beaches or lakes and bays that you (or your hosts) know are safe to swim in.  If you do catch the itch, don’t scratch it, but instead head to a doctor for treatment.

Beard vs. Bare Face

If you’re the kind of guy who likes to grow a beard from time to time, once summer kicks into gear, you will run into an annual dilemma:  do I keep my beard for the summer or not?  There are pros and cons to either choice, but you can’t really dilly-dally on the decision.  If you have a lighter complexion and keep a beard halfway through the summer and then shave, you’ll be stuck with the annoying Oreo face:  dark above the nose, dark below the neck with a big white section in the middle.  It’s the equivalent to the raccoon eyes that avid sunglasses wearers face around July.  To avoid this minor but unpleasant feature of a mid-summer shave, you have to either stick with the beard or ditch it well before Canada Day.

Well Worth It

When you are swimming, biking, drinking, dancing and generally out and about during the summer, you are bound to face some sticky (read:  sweaty) grooming situations (especially during those summer weddings).  However, having a hair out of place or an awkward tan for a couple of weeks is a small price to pay for endless sunshine, warm nights and the beautiful outdoors to enjoy.