Many people probably never considered how Olympic athletes get ready to compete — that is, until coming across Daniella Ramirez [1]'s viral video on TikTok. The Team USA swimmer has been giving her followers a behind-the-scenes look at how she gets ready for a competition, and people were particularly blown away by her hair routine. As an Olympic artistic swimmer, her uniform extends past just her swimsuit to her hair and even her makeup [2]. All athletes in her sport need to ensure their hair stays in place while they glide and flip underwater, and the secret to that is a special gelatin-based product (yes, like the kind in food).
In an ASMR-esque video posted in March that has now garnered 12 million likes and 152.3 million views and counting, Ramirez tapped on her hair with various brushes to convey just how rock-hard the style needs to be before beginning to take it out. Since then, she's posted a variety of related clips, displaying exactly what it takes to get ready (and unready) for her sport.
Ahead, Ramirez walks us through her entire hair and makeup routine for competing, including the products she uses and how she gets unready at the end of the day.
"As an Olympic Artistic swimmer our hair, for aesthetic purposes, needs to be out of our face and should be neat and non-distracting for the judges," Ramirez tells POPSUGAR. "My hair in the video is the most typical way we style it for competition." The secret to that mirror-like, glazed finish? A gel-like substance called "Knox" — all of the athletes use it. "Unless they chose a decorative cap or something similar instead," she says.
Ramirez uses the Synkrolovers Premade Knox [3] from her coach Andrea Fuentes's brand. "It's made of Knox gelatin, like what you would use to make Jello."
To get competition-ready, Ramirez pulls her hair back into a ponytail and then creates two braids that get wrapped around the base to form a bun. "They have to be as tight as possible so that water doesn't drag when we swim," she says. After that: a hairnet around the bun. "Then comes the fan-favourite Knox, which is super thick and blowdried."
But that's not the end of it — another layer of Knox or gel is added on top to create a glossy finish. Last but not least, a hairpiece is added around the base of the bun to dress the style up a little bit using enough bobby pins to ensure it won't fly out while swimming.
Removing the style after competing is a whole process in and of itself. The wetter the hair, the easier it is to remove. "Very dry equals very hard," Ramirez says. She starts by removing the hair accessory and bun — then she soaks her head in hot water to soften the gel coating. Once it's wet enough, she can comb it out slowly.
"I like to use the Mielle Shampoo [4] ($10) and Conditioner or the SheaMoisture Repair Mask [5] ($16)," she says. "It helps to ease out the Knox and detach the tough parts from the scalp." The removal process takes roughly 30 minutes.
Ramirez has also spotlighted the products in her makeup routine that take the meaning of "water-proof" to a whole other level. She preps her skin with the Milani Make It Last 3-in-1 Setting Spray and Primer [6] ($9) and uses it between layers and at the end, as well.
For bronzer, it's the Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer [7] ($35). Under her eyes, she uses a pro concealer palette from Luna Cosmetics and blends everything with a makeup sponge, followed by more setting spray; She follows that up with a little bit of the Physicians Formula Natural Defence Setting Powder With SPF 20 [8] ($15), then applies the Formula Z Blush [9] ($12).
For her eye makeup, Ramirez uses the Lottie London AM-PM Retractable Gel Eyeliner in Black [10] ($5) to tightline and the NYX Epic Ink Liner Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner [11] ($10) to create a wing that's visible from the judges table. She then uses the Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara [12] ($23).
Last but not least, for her lipstick, she uses a classic shade of red — the Maybelline Colour Sensational Creamy Matte Lip Colour in Divine Wine [13] ($7), followed by one last layer of the Milani setting spray.
This combination of hair and makeup products is how Ramirez, and many other Olympic artistic swimmers, can perform underwater without a hair out of place or a smudged wing to be found.