Beauty Rules Olympic Athletes Must Follow

As if getting to the Olympics wasn’t hard enough, there are a slew of rules athletes have to follow once they get there that have nothing to do with their sport. These directives regulate their appearances, like how they wear their hair and what type of makeup they have on, and must be followed or else they risk facing deductions that could affect their overall score.

When you watch an Olympian like Katie Ledecky swim or Simone Biles do her floor routine, you’re probably not thinking about their nails or hair accessories, but all of those little details do matter. The handbooks for each sport dictate what is and isn’t allowed in terms of grooming for the athletes competing in the games. What’s more, they also outline the deductions they’ll face if Olympians don’t adhere to said regulations.

For example, synchronized swimmers are allowed to wear makeup, so long as it’s not “theatrical” makeup. Gymnasts, on the other hand, can have their nails painted, but not in a manner that the judges deem distracting; that’s why you won’t see Sunisa Lee sporting any bright nail art (beyond her acrylics and tiny nail design) these next couple of weeks.

And there’s more where that comes from. To learn more about the secret beauty rules and deductions in the Olympics, keep reading.