Want a deep dive into how creative swimmers hold their hair and make-up intact within the pool?

Well, Daniella Ramirez—who made her Olympics debut on the 2024 Paris Games and took house the silver medal along with her group—is bringing them to the floor. 

Let’s begin with hair: As Ramirez has defined on TikTookay, she’ll typically fashion her hair right into a braided bun, which she secures with hair ties, bobby pins and a hair web. To guarantee her strands are shiny and don’t budge, the 22-year-old then provides layers of a key ingredient: gelatin.

“It’s to keep the hair in place while we swim, and it’s purely for aesthetic reasons,” Ramirez—who makes use of both Knox Gelatine or Synkro Lovers that’s been heated with scorching water so it seems to be like honey—defined in a single clip. “It’s sticky and dries hard.”

It’s a strong choice (take a look at Ramirez’s “ASMR hair” movies to see simply how strong).

“We could use swim caps, and we do at practice,” the athlete—who finishes her coiffure with an ornamental headpiece—continued, “but it looks better to swim this way to fit a theme.”