The Best Electrolytes for Festival Season + 7 Pro-tips to prepare for a festival

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Festival season is well underway and at my ripe age of 31, I have been doing this for 10 years now and have picked up quite a few tricks to help me bring the same energy to day 3 that I brought to day 1.

So in this article I am going to share my top 3 electrolytes that I have used in the past and have been using this year to keep me dancing all day long, and getting back to my big-girl job on Monday morning. I’ve also included a few other pro-tips at the end of the blog to help you thrive during the festival.

Organika Liver Support Electrolytes

These electrolytes are my current favourites. I picked them up because I am working on improving the health of my liver (you can read why here), but also recognize the benefits they offer for festivals.

Milk Thistle

Milk thistle has been known to be a great ingredient for helping the liver filter function optimally. This is due to a compound that it is rich in, silymarin, which has been shown to be an effective antioxidant, antiviral and anti-inflammatory.

Choline

This is another great mineral to have when you’re looking to keep your liver in good shape. In fact, it is well known that diets that are deficient in choline are typically associated with people who suffer from fatty-liver disease. In studies, when they feed rats a diet that is low on choline, those rats develop fatty-liver disease as well.

So it is clear that having an adequate amount of choline in your diet is a sure-fire way to protect your liver and keep it running smoothly. Especially on a weekend where you may be indulging a little more.

NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine)

This fun little acronym packs a powerful punch. This helps replenish glutathione, which reduces the risk of liver damage caused by toxic byproducts (like that last drink you had to watch the headliner).

Great thing about Organika products is that you get 25% off when you use code RILEY_25 at Organika.com. These electrolytes sell for $55.99 if you buy them once, or you can save an additionally 25% off by subscribing. If you buy the box of electrolyte packets, it costs $59.99.

Coconut Water

As nature has been known to do, nature has provided us with a great source of electrolytes that are completely natural and single-source. Coconut water is an excellent source of electrolytes and a tasty way to recover after a festival.

I find I reach for coconut water whenever I find that a powder electrolytes supplement will be too sweet, or if I am feeling sensitive to a manufactured taste. This happens and I like to think it is my body’s way of telling me to go back to something all natural.

In this case, I typically buy the Vitacoco Coconut water (get a 12-pack from Amazon here), mainly because most of the shops near my apartment sell it. So if I roll out of bed and don’t have any electrolytes on hand, or am craving a natural source, I don’t have to go to far to get some.

The great thing about coconut water is that because it is natural, and therefore not manufactured to offer a very specific set of benefits, you get other vitamins and minerals and a higher potassium content from coconut water. Namely, 6% of your daily calcium and up to 19% of your daily magnesium, an important mineral for muscle recovery.

Electrolytes enhanced with Collagen

The final electrolyte product I regularly reach for is Organika’s electrolyte mix enhanced with collagen. Specifically the strawberry peach flavour.

Not only am I getting all the benefits of electrolytes to help re-hydrate after a big day of dancing, but I am also getting the benefits of supporting healthy, glowing skin, and strong hair and nails. I always do some kind of hair-style with hot tools, and I glue on press-on nails for every festival, so having the collagen to support and strengthen both of those, all while keeping my skin glowing is a lifesaver.

For the rest of summer I will likely be reaching for my liver-support electrolytes because I am working to help my liver recover after several rounds of IV anti-biotics and medication, but coconut water and the collagen-enhanced electrolytes are always on hand as well.

Other Pro-Tips to Dance All Day (and do it all again the next day!)

As I mentioned, I’ve been going to music festivals since for 10 years. I am no longer in my 20’s either, so my routine for getting ready and going prepared for anything at the festival has been finely tuned and I feel like I have a pretty good list of products and habits to help me enjoy every moment of the festival.

Pro-Tip 1: If you are applying a fake tan, do it 2 days before the first day of the festival.

I have been fake tanning for festivals for 7 years now, and have certainly learned a lot. For starters, I have tried many fake tan products, but always come back to Bondi Sands aero foam ultra dark. The 1hr express is OK and great in a pinch, but because I prepare for the festival in advance, I get the one that take about 6 hours to marinate.

I always tan 2 days before the festival (Wednesday night for a Friday festival, Thursday night for a Saturday festival) because I find it gives the tan more time to settle into my skin. This means it won’t transfer to any of my clothes on the day, and I can also correct any mistakes if I notice them.

And then of course, be sure to wear sunscreen during the festival to maintain your tan while protecting your skin. I use Neutrogena for my body, and La Roche Posay for my face. Mixing La Roche Posay with my make-up makes for a very pretty application of foundation.

Pro-Tip 2: If you want a more snatched look, drink 3-4L of water per day for the week leading up to the festival, and then at noon the day before, stop drinking water.

This is one of those hacks from my time working as a personal trainer and speaking with clients and trainers who participated in physique competitions. You essentially fill up your muscles with lots of water, but you’re also drinking so much water that you’ll be peeing a lot.

By the time you get to the day before the festival, your body will still be trying to filter the excess water. So when you stop drinking, you’ll still be peeing a lot because your body thinks it is going to get more water.

The result is that you will wake up the next day with a “dried out” look.

Now it is VERY IMPORTANT to start drinking water again before and during the festival, but you won’t be drinking liters of water like you were before, so you won’t disrupt the snatched look. Hydration is absolutely critical to a positive festival experience, but I also know that everyone wants to feel good when they put on their festival outfits, so that’s why I’ve decided to share this fitness-industry hack.

Pro-tip 3: Get insoles or some type of arch support for your feet

I am a converse or FILA girlie when I got to festivals. The shoes are cute, easy to dance in and look good with most festival outfits. However, my knees and my back do not appreciate the way these shoes are made.

So I have found that buying a simple insert for your shoes to support my feet really helps. I pronate, which means my arch collapses inwards when I walk without supportive shoes. Experiencing that collapsing motion all day ends up affecting my knees and my hips, and ultimately my lower back.

I really don’t like to sit down or stop dancing when I am at festivals, so this simple pro-tip allows me to do that. These are the ones I use.

Pro-Tip 4: Use boob tape or KT tape to protect your heels and ankles from blisters.

This is a tip I got from one of my friends who is a podiatrist (foot doctor). If you’ve bought new shoes or your shoes have a stiff heel, you may end up with painful blisters on your ankles. To protect yourself from this, take a piece of skin-coloured boob tape or KT tape and anchor it under the heel of your foot, and tape it up the back of ankle.

I once left a festival and my new white Converse shoes were ruined because I had blisters that burst during the day. This tip has saved me and my white shoes ever since.

Pro-Tip 5: Prepare your festival survival kit

The final tip includes a couple of different products that I now always keep in my fanny pack (or bum bag if you’re British). I’ve been collecting these items like infinity stones and each of them are the result of being in the crowd and wishing I had a simple solution for things like forehead sweat, lagging deodorant, and running make-up.

1. Deodorant wipes: You could obviously bring a travel sized deodorant with you, but I like these because you wipe away the dirt and sweat, and with the next wipe you are applying a fresh coat of deodorant. This gives me the confidence to dance all day with my arms up high in the sky!
2. Sweat blotting paper: Summer festivals get hot, and even though I use a great setting spray that keeps my make-up in place, I don’t love the feeling of sweat sitting on my forehead. So now I pack these blotting papers from Clean & Clear which help me control shine throughout the day.
3. Q-Tips in a Q-Tip holder: This is a hack I got from my sister, who I have been going to festivals with since the beginning. She always carries a couple q-tips in her bag to clean up running mascara or eyeliner that is bound to happen on a hot day of dancing. I have introduced a small q-tip holder to protect the q-tips from festivals where it rains or if you get blasted by a water canon (speaking from experience).
4. Listerine pocketpaks (breath strips): We do typically bring gum with us, but sometimes I find chewing on gum annoying. I have to take it out when I drink, and it just eventually turns into this weird rubbery thing in my mouth. So, to keep my breath fresh, I have started packing Listerine strips. They don’t take up too much space, and are a discrete way to keep your breath fresh.
5. Rechargeable hand fan: The first time my sister and I went to Tomorrowland, she surprised me with these really great electrical hand fans. They stayed with us through 9 years of festivals, but unfortunately died last summer. So this summer, I am using the latest version of the rechargeable hand fan. They are a life-saver on a hot day, and you don’t have to worry about fan clacking or carrying around a giant fan all day.
6. Lighter: This is maybe an odd one for a fitness website to share. I do not smoke, but I love when someone turns around in the crowd and asks for a lighter, and I can give them one. It’s a small moment that brings me a lot of joy. So I always bring a lighter for the other people in the crowd who may ask for one.
7. SPF Lip-Balm: Do not forget about your sensitive lips when you are at a festival. I always pack an SPF lip-balm now after really badly burning them one year and suffering through a full week trying to bring my lips back to life.

One other item that is great to bring with you is a naloxone kit. These things can happen at festivals and it can save a life. You can find them at your local pharmacies and ask the pharmacists for help understanding how to administer it.

I hope these electrolytes and festival preparation hacks have been helpful. And most importantly, I hope you have a great time dancing at festivals this summer!