Originally appeared on E! Online
Want a deep dive into how artistic swimmers keep their hair and makeup intact in the pool?
Well, Daniella Ramirez—who made her Olympics debut at the 2024 Paris Games and took home the silver medal with her team—is bringing them to the surface.
Let’s start with hair: As Ramirez has explained on TikTok, she’ll often style her hair into a braided bun, which she secures with hair ties, bobby pins and a hair net. To ensure her strands are glossy and don’t budge, the 22-year-old then adds layers of a key ingredient: gelatin.
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“It’s to keep the hair in place while we swim, and it’s purely for aesthetic reasons,” Ramirez—who uses either Knox Gelatine or Synkro Lovers that’s been heated with hot water so it looks like honey—explained in one clip. “It’s sticky and dries hard.”
It’s a solid option (check out Ramirez’s “ASMR hair” videos to see just how solid).
“We could use swim caps, and we do at practice,” the athlete—who finishes her hairstyle with a decorative headpiece—continued, “but it looks better to swim this way to fit a theme.”
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And while plunging into a cold pool isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time, Ramirez revealed the hair-related reason artistic swimmers don’t want the water to be too warm.
“We do a thick layer because as we swim in the water, it dissolves,” she added about the gel. “The warmer the water, the faster it comes out…The goal is to have the hair slick for the entire routine.”
Wondering how they get the gelatin out of their hair? Ramirez has leaked those secrets, too. As seen in another TikTok, the World Championships competitor will take out her headpiece and bun and then comb out some of the gel before rinsing her hair with hot water (her “peelies” videos—where she peels off the gel—have also accumulated millions of views).
As for makeup, the artistic swimmers tend to go for a look that will really make a splash.
“Since the judges and audience are so far away, we like to do a bold black eyeliner with a nice red lipstick,” teammate Anita Alvarez told Vogue in July. “We're looking for something that will hold up in the water, through happy tears when celebrating on the podium, and everything in between.”
For her, she continued, this includes keeping Makeup Forever as a staple in her bag. Meanwhile, Ramirez has shared videos of her using KVD Beauty Tattoo Liner in Trooper Black and L'Oreal Paris Infallible setting mist, for which she's also a brand partner.
But really, fans don’t need to go swimming around for the perfect product.
“Competition makeup isn’t a big secret like people may think!” Alvarez noted to Vogue. “We just look for waterproof makeup.”
This isn’t the only misconception fans may have about artistic swimming. In fact, Ramirez suggested there’s a lot viewers may not know about the sport.
“You’ve probably heard of artistic swimming before in movies right?” she shared in another TikTok. “Or if you [haven’t], you’ve seen the girls in the pool with flower caps? Well I’m here to tell you it isn’t like that anymore. We are incredibly strong and graceful ATHLETES. We spend 8 to 10 hours in the pool everyday.”
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Ramirez—whose Team USA bio notes she’s a third-generation competitor—described artistic swimming as a “multitude of sports all in one.”
“We move gracefully like dancers but we hold our breath like free divers,” she continued. “We are gymnasts and acrobats but we [aren’t] allowed to touch the floor. We tread water strong like water polo players and swim fast like the speed swimmers.”
“The sport was renamed from synchronized swimming to artistic swimming in 2017 and in my opinion we need a serious rebranding as well,” Ramirez added. “We aren’t showgirls just there to look pretty anymore at a party, showing you how I Knox is just a small part of our crazy and AMAZING world. And I want to share it all with you guys!!!!!!! To show you what artistic swimming really is while having fun and changing the narrative.”
