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This is why some people wear gloves (yes, gloves) in the pool

It’s a well-accepted fact that celebrities do things differently from the rest of us, so when a celeb, say, wears a fur coat to the gym, most people don’t think much of it. But actress Kristen Bell recently did something that’s pretty jaw-dropping: She wore gloves in the pool.

Apparently this wasn’t an accident. Her husband, Dax Shepherd, pointed out on Instagram that this is actually her thing. “My bride wears gloves in the pool because she hates the feeling of pruney finger tips on skin. #Hollyweird#iloveher,” he captioned a shot of Bell holding up her gloved hands in the pool.

Several people in the comments talked about wanting a pair too, while some said they also wear gloves in the pool. This is actually a thing: Several companies sell water gloves.

Even dermatologists are behind this. “Gloves are a great way to protect the skin from the environment,” Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. While water gloves can help if you have an aversion to pruney fingers, they can also fend off sun damage when you’re at the pool, Zeichner says. That’s actually a big reason to consider using them, Gary Goldenberg, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “We all know that sun can cause skin cancer, and the backs of the hands are a common location for this,” he says. “But it can also cause wrinkles and unsightly brown spots.” Slipping into gloves when you’re going to be poolside can help keep you protected, he says.

If you have a skin condition on your hands like eczema or psoriasis, gloves can help protect your skin in that area from harsh pool chemicals, Zeichner says. That’s especially true if you’re using a topical cream or ointment to treat a flare-up — the gloves can help keep the medication in place, he says.

If you’re interested in wearing water gloves the way Bell does, it’s probably best to go for something made with rubber, which will help keep water, chlorine, and harmful rays away from your skin, Goldenberg says. If you’re planning to be out but not swimming, regular cotton gloves should do the trick.

Ultimately, doctors say they don’t have a problem recommending water gloves to patients who want to use them — provided the wearers are OK with fielding a few side-eyes.

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