Does cutting salt before a show actually work?

Short answer

No. When you cut salt, the body starts holding on to it within 2 days, and no study shows that only the water under the skin leaves. All 3 people who tried it quit because the results were inconsistent.

Does cutting salt before a show actually work?
'Less salt → less water under the skin → sharper look' — does this formula hold?
Some say cutting salt a few days before a show drains the water under your skin and makes muscles look sharper. We checked how many people actually do it and how the body reacts when salt is cut.
Do many people really do it?
1 in 5 cut salt
Of 81 bodybuilders, 16 (20%) cut salt right before the show and 20 (25%) increased it. The order varied too: some cut, some loaded, some loaded then cut, usually 3 to 4 days out.
What does the body do when salt is cut?
It starts holding on to salt within 2 days
16 people suddenly dropped their daily salt from about 12 g to 0.6 g. The salt-holding hormone (aldosterone) doubled from 10.4 to 22.5 within 48 hours. Salt leaving in the urine fell from 217 a day to 59 on day 2 and 9.9 by days 5 to 7.
So which water leaves?
No study shows only the water under the skin goes
In combat sports, people cut salt and adjust water to drop weight before weigh-ins. More urine and water loss is real. But when water leaves, it comes from muscle too, not just from under the skin, and no study so far has removed only under-skin water by cutting salt.
How did people who tried it do?
All 3 quit
Interviews with 7 bodybuilders found 3 who had loaded salt for three days and then cut it for three days. All three said the results were inconsistent and stopped. One said that after 16 weeks of dieting, messing with salt in the last 2 days and showing up bloated on stage ruins it all.
What if salt stays the same?
In 1 case, under-skin thickness dropped 10%
1 competitor kept salt at about 2,300 mg a day during peak week and even raised it to 3,059 mg from 3 days out. Adjusting carbs, under-skin thickness across sites fell 10% from 3 days out to show day, while muscle thickness went up. Muscle thickness moved with carb intake.
Bottom line: cutting salt has not been shown to work
The body catches up in 2 days
When salt was cut, the body started holding on to salt within 2 days. No study showed only under-skin water leaving, and all 3 people who tried it quit. In the 1 case where salt stayed normal, under-skin thickness still dropped.