“I stand under a hot shower for three hours, but the gelatin crust can remain for several days”: how do synchronized swimmers color and style their hair?

From April 22 to 28, Kazan will host the All-Russian Synchronized Swimming Championships. One of our heroes – two-time world champion in synchronized swimming, three-time European champion, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Maya Gurbanberdieva – will participate directly. And two-time Olympic champion, 11-time world champion in synchronized swimming, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Vlada Chigireva will go to the championship as a blogger and will tell about the event on the synchronized swimming channel Peretrem.

Synchronized swimmers’ make-up and hairstyles have been on the agenda lately. First, thanks to viral videos where girls say they hit the frozen gelatinous crust on their hair and then stand in the shower for hours to wash it off. Secondly, due to the fact that makeup requirements have become more stringent lately.

We talked to Maya and Vlada about how long it took to get their makeup and hair ready for a competition, how they managed to put on permanent makeup, and whether their skin and hair were harmed by it.

What are the make-up requirements for synchronized swimming competitions?

Vlada: Even before 2015, makeup was a separate art in our sport. It was even body art to some extent because I remember the shadows they painted on my eyes so they were barely washed off afterwards. The eyebrows went beyond the places where they are now allowed to be drawn. But in 2015, the rules changed – you can no longer wear too bright makeup. They justify this by the fact that excessive makeup distracts the judges. Now everything is moving towards making the makeup look more or less natural, but at competitions it comes down to some kind of bullshit.

Then we had a year of “happiness” – a cosmetics company collaborated with us, and a make-up artist was assigned to each athlete, they gave us the perfect make-up. And we had to wash off the same makeup to comply with the new rules. We also looked at the team from Japan, who had pretty much the same make-up, but they weren’t told anything. Now the makeup is very strict. In the past, tattoos on the body were searched with the same care, and if any, they were covered. Now all the attention is on makeup and jewelry (we can’t perform at all with the latter). For example, for many years I have not seen athletes use rhinestones, glitter or false eyelashes. Everything comes close to naturalness, but the human factor also plays a role. Therefore, everything is very individual.

How long does hair and makeup take?

Maya: The main difference between the makeup of a synchronized swimmer is in the number of layers. We usually apply 3-4 coats. It takes an average of two hours for me to put on makeup. But I always make time for it with a margin so that I can do everything calmly, measuredly and without haste. If you push it, I can do it in an hour and a half.

Vlada: Let’s talk about group performances. We often live in pairs and therefore “gelatinize” together – we call this the process of making hairstyles. On average, we lie down for one and a half to two hours for two people. This time includes the creation of the hairstyle itself (tail, braids and bun) and the application of gelatin. We also put a crown on it – an embroidered fabric that matches the swimsuit or a bunch beautifully embroidered with rhinestones. And if necessary, we fix the hairstyle with the third or fourth layer of gelatin so that it lasts until the end of the day.

But for me, even spending two hours with this crust on my head is a torment and a terrific headache, so I don’t understand how you can sleep with it. Since we are a team, everyone gets make-up after the warm-ups. We have a responsibility for this. We have been collaborating with a team of make-up artists for the past few years and I have embraced all of their skills, so I was in charge. On average, makeup takes about 30 minutes.

How do you straighten your hair tightly?

Maya

Better and more reliable means than edible gelatin have not yet been invented for fixing hairstyles. That’s why we use the old and perhaps the only method. Girls who do ballroom dancing or rhythmic gymnastics are told they can use a can of hairspray. But not as economical as gelatin.

Even if we pour a whole can of varnish, it will instantly begin to dissolve in water and the hairstyle will become sloppy. And for this they can already deduct points. Gelatin is as strong as concrete and improves the sorting that works for us.

vlada

I know that in other countries they have developed some plates and flakes made of gelatin so that there are no lumps in the preparation, but we did not use them – there was nothing to try, since we won with ordinary gelatin. In the past, I always “gelatinized” with my neighbor and duet partner Masha Shuruchkina. And I trusted him to produce gelatin. A few months ago I had to perform solo and had to dilute the gelatin myself.

For the 10 years that Masha was doing this, I completely forgot about the whole series. So I almost had to learn from the beginning. And this is a solemn process that resembles a ritual: if you trust the wrong person, something can go wrong.

How do you fix makeup?

Maya: Sometimes we use cream pads – they have a more oily and dense texture. But I personally prefer dry shadows, I just apply five or six coats. For a performance of three or four minutes, this is more than enough.

Vlada: As a team, we mostly apply loose textures on cream textures. This applies to shadows, powder, blush and sculptors. Sometimes we use setting sprays but I have not noticed that the makeup somehow lasts longer with them. There are almost always disagreements on makeup in the team. On the one hand, it is important that it is permanent, but on the other hand, someone may be allergic to the product. The priority is that the make-up does not affect the performance and only then it looks beautiful. But we are trying to combine the two.

How do you do the make-up removal process after the competition is over?

Maya: I usually don’t take anything with me to competitions, so I use what my colleagues and girlfriends get. These are completely different products: hydrophilic oil, ordinary micellar water or face wash. Removing lipstick from lips that remain the same – I always do makeup removal with a very oily cream. But with hair, everything is much more complicated.

No tricks here – you just need to lie in very hot water for a few hours or stand under boiling water in the shower.

How much does hair suffer after gelatin?

Vlada: When making our hair, tying tight tails, using hairpins, invisibility, gelatin, part of the hair is broken. And standing in the shower, I always watch how many strands fall from me. Thanks to my genetics, this does not appear. I even had to do some milling, because in performances the bun looked like a second head – my hair is so thick. But not all girls have such genetics. It gets worse when you wash it with a comb under hot water for a long time, and when you get out of the shower, you notice that the gelatin is transferred to your body as you wash it off your head. .

How do you recover after the competition?

Maya: After the competition, the skin often looks tired and dull. But I think her condition is affected by a number of factors – stress, heavy workload and makeup itself. After the championships, the main thing is to sleep well, relax, moisturize the skin and quickly return to normal, like the whole body.

Vlada: I like to use different body oils after I get out of the shower after washing off all the gelatin. And therefore, when I get home, I do recovery, there is no time for this in competitions. Some people say that gelatin strengthens hair, but it seems to me that bleach and hard water still dries them out. Therefore, recovery after competition is a mandatory step.