You just finished a hard-core game of pickup basketball with your buddies and now you’re rushing to the local dive bar to watch the pros play on TV—without changing out of your workout clothes. Here’s why you should reconsider: Sitting around in sweaty gear makes your skin susceptible to tinea versicolor, a type of yeast infection—no, not the same type your girlfriend might get—that causes dark brown discoloration on your back, chest, neck, arms, and trunk, says Sanchez.
Wet workout clothes can also spell trouble for your pits and pubic area. If they smell, um, worse than usual, a bacterial infection could be to blame. When bacteria attach to hair shafts in sweaty areas, the result is an extra-strong odor plus changes in hair color and texture.
Fix it: “The sooner you shower and change out of your workout clothes, the better,” says Jeffrey Dover, MD, a dermatologist at SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, MA. If you experience tinea versicolor, a selenium sulfide shampoo or lotion (available at drugstores) will help clear it up. Shaving should get rid of a stinky hair infection, but you can also use an over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide gel or drying powders that contain microcellulose (like Zeasorb) to help heal the infected area.
3. The razor in your gym bag is old
Be honest: When’s the last time you switched out the razor in your gym bag? If it’s old, the blade you’re dragging across your face could be contaminated with bacteria and fungus. If the razor is dull, it pulls at (rather than cuts) the hairs, notes Dover. This causes razor burn and inflames hair follicles, leading to red, pimple-like bumps—pretty much the opposite of the clean-shaven look you were going for.
Fix it: Change your gym-bag razor as often as you would your at-home version. After you shave, let it air-dry instead of stuffing it back in your bag alongside your sweaty shorts.
Here’s how to tell that you need a new moisturizer.
4. You walk around the locker room barefoot
You’ve probably experienced the itching, burning, between-the-toes type of athlete’s foot at one point or another. But since the infection takes several forms, there are a few symptoms that you may not be familiar with, like a red, scaly infection on the sole and side of the foot or blisters on the bottom of the foot. Also remember that when your feet are wet, you’re more susceptible to unattractive toenail fungus, which left untreated can spread across toes—and keep her from ever giving you a foot massage.
Fix it: Wear shower shoes around the locker room and on wet surfaces, like the pool deck. Change out of sweaty socks ASAP and thoroughly dry your feet (including in between the toes) after you shower.
Strengthen Your Ankles to Prevent Injuries
Read all 7 Gross Workout Habits on Men’s Journal.
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