How should you shower after giving it your all doing the sport you love or partying the night away? And what’s the best way to shower after a sauna? Showering can be so much more than just cranking up the water. Even tiny changes in your showering routine can do the world of good for your health and well-being. The following tips aim to help you recover quickly.
Been jogging, cycling or to Pilates? It’s time to get under the shower! But please don’t go straight away. If you’re used to hitting the showers immediately after exercise, here’s our advice: Give your worn-out body a rest for a moment. The human body takes about five minutes to stop producing sweat. If you stand under the shower during this time, the best thing to do is let cold water run first. Because your pores and veins open up when you exercise. This cool-off will ensure they close again.
If you like a warm shower, we recommend you at least start by showering your legs under cold water, as this will strengthen the vascular muscles. And it helps you to counteract inflammation and muscle soreness. It will also protect your skin from spider veins and varicose veins. After this, you can comfortably turn up the warmer water and enjoy your shower however you like it. A cozy and warm shower promotes blood circulation, helps with recovery, and relaxes you after all the physical exertion.
Even if you prefer a nice, warm shower, add in some cold every so often! “Contrast showers,” where you alternate between warm and cold water and run the shower head all over your body, are perfect. They can help to improve your fitness and tighten the fascia. Even better than contrast showers: Contrast showers with different spray modes. Sometimes soft, sometimes powerful. hansgrohe recommends a hand shower with a massage spray that can ease slight tension in the shoulders and neck. Please be aware that long, hot showers consume valuable resources and dry out your skin because they wash away the barrier lipids in the skin and destroy the natural layer of fat. The rule of thumb is the drier your skin, the cooler the shower water and the shorter the shower time. It’s best to use mild shower gels that contain oils and plenty of body lotion if your skin tends to be dry and irritated.
After sport, professional athletes like to jump in the ice bath. Will you take up the challenge? Experts also recommend ice baths to amateur athletes because of their many positive effects: They refresh you, wake you up, and ease pain. Background info: When you physically exert yourself, it creates tiny tears in the cell membrane, which can cause local, painful inflammation. A rigorous cool-down after exercise reduces this risk of inflammation. The hydrostatic water pressure that you get in a slightly deeper ice bath acts as a compression sock and can reduce swelling. If you don’t have ice to hand, you can simply run a bath with cold water. Make sure the temperature is around 10 to 15 °C.
Had a great time celebrating and dancing? Wonderful! If only hangovers weren’t a thing... Tired, unmotivated, and plagued by a pounding in your head, you ponder the best and fastest way to lift yourself out of this mood and fitness slump. The hansgrohe guide has some recommendations for being kind to yourself: Lots of water, healthy eating, and a trip outside and into fresh air!
After celebrating the night away, a shower can work wonders. On the morning after, only the brave will stand under the ice-cold water to clear out the cobwebs. There’s nothing better for kick-starting the circulation. Nevertheless, not everyone can manage this. Especially not in winter. The perfect compromise between having a cold and a hot shower is hot-cold contrast showering – even for alcohol-related illness. It stimulates the circulation for a quick and effective jump-start. The best way to finish off your contrast shower is with a cold phase: Start at your feet and head up toward your heart. But take it slow!
Although it’s tempting because it feels so good, don’t have a long, hot shower the morning after the night before. Even if you’re freezing cold. Because it will make your circulation plummet. If you have a hangover, a hot bath is the biggest taboo. Although a bubble bath may normally be great for deep relaxation, it will place enormous strain on your already weakened body here. It’s better to drink plenty of hot tea: This will warm you up, rinse out your hard-working detox organs, and help with your pounding headache. You should also eat salty but healthy foods with plenty of vegetables, as this will neutralize the acids in your body.
A hansgrohe recommendation – not just for the wobbly days – is to get yourself a heavy-duty grab bar. Just in case you slip. The Unica Comfort shower bar and the Comfort foot support & grab bar ensure more safety and a solid stance. Want to be able to operate the shower system with your eyes closed? Now you can with hansgrohe Select technology. This enables you to control the hand and overhead showers and their spray modes intuitively at the touch of a button. You can then dry off and go for a long walk in the forest with meditative breathing.
Had a stressful day? Frozen to your core? Many swear by saunas, seeing the deliberate act of sweating and cooling off as a cure-all. You can also support your physical and mental well-being in your favorite sauna by showering correctly. How? It goes without saying that showering before the sauna is a must for hygiene reasons. But it’s also important to thoroughly dry off. Because if you enter the sauna wet, you will delay all the sweating you intend to do.
After the sauna, it’s important to cool off. Because you can catch a cold if you sweat it out too much. Sauna-goers should allow plenty of time to cool down before warming up again. Top tip: Don’t shower straight after sweating. It’s better to go outside and allow your body to cool down in the fresh air. And breathe calmly and deeply to replenish your oxygen. Then shower the sweat off your body. The water doesn’t have to be ice cold here, but it does make sense to take a dip in an ice-cold plunge pool or have a cold shower at the end of your session. Why? Cold water cools and soothes the skin and respiratory system, regulates your body temperature, and stimulates your muscles.
Do you love the shower systems at your favorite spa? And you’d love a big overhead shower like that at home? With hansgrohe overhead showers or shower systems from the Rainfinity, Pulsify or Raindance ranges, you can turn your bathroom into a private spa. Whether gossamer micro-rain, a massaging spray, lavish gush spray or gentle, bubbling droplets, hansgrohe shower heads promise enjoyment and recovery. Just like in the sauna.
