Facial Skin Care For Skiers

How do you keep the skin on your face from getting destroyed by the elements?

I'm a gaper, but if it is not too hot, I try to wear a bellaclava most of the time. Really pale skin. Otherwise I slather on the SPF 70 sunblock.

There are genuine issues like skin cancer.

However, if the question is straying into beauty tips for skiers, then only a big girl's blouse would be interested.

Well, to make a short story long, I met Kristen Ulmer’s at Alta this past year. She was giving a "ski to live" retreat at the goldminer's where I was working. Any way, as you know, she is/was one of the pioneers of professional free skiing. As such, she is been skiing for a very long time. She looks great. I asked her how she keeps the skin looking so good. She recommended Aubrey skin care products. I've never used them, but with the opinion coming from her, I imagine they work well. Here is the website:
http://www.aubrey-organics.com/spec_..._care_0506.cfm

From my experience (older than I want to admit, though I fit in well with the 20 something skibums) sunblock every couple of hours, minimal drinking, no smoking, call it a day.

Helmet, goggles, and beard. If my nose and that little bit of skin above the beard and below the helmet have problems, tough. I use sunscreen on them on sunny days.

Posaune - ever seen a person minus lips? I have seen quite a few - lips removed due to skin cancer!

Apply sunscreen to all the bits... you will look funny without that nose! (yes seen them too....)

You're all going the sun route, but what about the drying factor. Even Mudman's skin will dry out under that balaclava. Being of mediteranian descent, I have natural sunblock and moisturizers, but some of my caucasian friends use moisturizer every ski morning... Some moisturizers have sunscreen, so you can kill 2 birds with one snowball.

your "natural sunblock" does not prevent skin cancer though... just because those of celtic background are more susceptible doesn't mean the rest can forget it.....

every year we get some person from a N hemisphere resort that insist that they don't need sunscreen "never used it never been sunburnt" almost without fail they have a strange resemblance to a lobster a couple of days later.... SLIP, SLOP, SLAP(Slip on shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat)

I've had patients with bits chopped off from many different ethnic groups.... ONE over exposure can be the cause....(ever see a 16 y.o. female missing half an upper arm... and on chemo? not a pretty site!)

Ego pharmaceuticals do make a face mosituriser with factor 20 - suitable for sensitive skins.... but not really enough sunscreen for skiing in most moisturisers....

I ski in their Ego Ultra sunscreen (goes on as SPF100 but does not make the hours at that and Oz requires SPF30 as maximum on label - as that is most likely EFFECTIVE sunblock you will get in real life - so labelled SPF30).... I carry a small bottle to reapply OFTEN....
On a day with NO sun(blizzard) I may be evil an wear the Ego Daily Face which is a moisturiser with factor 30 but lots of titanium and stays on VERY well... (friend is a climber and red head uses it as it does NOT run off into eyes)

Apply BioOil each night at bedtime after skiing and a good dose of the Jurlique Herbal Recovery Mist and Jurlique Herbal Recovery gel when sunscreen is removed... (Aussie organic herbal/aromatherapy products - they grow the plants on South Australian Farms to ensure the organic standards they require are met)

Lips - Ego Sunscreen for Lips in spring etc when the sun is out in force.... in milder weather maybe the Blister Clear Advance.... pretty much anything factor 30(maximum labelling allowed) that stays on.... The Ego one is ugly (titanium =white) but stays on well....

Desperation status = ZINC OXIDE OINTMENT/CREAM/STICK.... at least the fluoro stuff looks funky (actually skin colour used by many of my surf instructors on faces .... and they all have strap on hats for surf teaching)

I love it when people use details in their posts like Disski

I have worked in the sun all of my life and haven't ever used enough sunscreen . Now I am using more than ever because it makes sense. We had alot of recent sun and didn;t use any sunblock and felt sunburned on the top of my head and my arms had tanned but had in places a splotchy pattern that i think is from overexposure to the sun.

If you are out in the weather you should follow Disski's advice about sunscreen and moisturizers. I intend to.

garry
many fabrics do not provide decent sun protection....
check what your stuff is made of.... in Oz we have stuff labelled with spf...

sun exposure

Great post from OZ. I have been diligent about using spf 30-45 spf while skiing and at least 25 the rest of the time in winter. It did not keep my early sins from coming back to haunt me. Decided to get a skin check and had a in situ melanoma removed from my back. Now on the every three month skin check and sample of anything that makes the derm blink twice.
Think SUN BLOCK !! make sure your kids have it as part of their routine too!

use alcohol based sunscreen for hair.....

errrmmm typo....

Blistex

I skin cancer hereditary in that susceptibility to it runs in families?

skin Cancer

Read an article recently, that states that some men are at increased risk of aggressive melanoma based on a genetic predispostion in the Y chromosome. No testing for this as yet.

I've started using products from Kabana over the past two years. They have only seven natural ingredients, and the site has a bunch of information about the reasons that Erik developed the products the way that he did. Basically, while doing pharma studies, he discovered that all of the chemical approaches did not do as much for skin as the natural butters do.

I have used the GreenScreen and Liplovers, and I think that the Sensei soap (which includes sunscreen!) is a really cool idea. The version of the soap that I used was a little bit earlier than the final product available, so I won't give a review on it specifically...

Anyway, couple of things about the products: first, GreenScreen and Kabana Creme seem a little greasy going on in comparison to modern chemical sunscreens amd moisturizers. This is due to the natural butters. Interestingly, though, they absorb very quickly and that sensation goes away. Sometimes I wash my hands after I apply it. Sometimes I don't.

Second, because it moisturizes, I use it every day I ski, regardless of weather. It helps with windburn, sunburn, and general dryness.

Third, it's a young business. I've been peripherally involved almost since he started the company, and have helped him with product testing as well as some technical stuff. I like supporting the little guys.

Fourth, if you use the links in this post to buy some stuff, EpicSki will benefit as an affiliate. Not a big deal, but nice.

Anyway, I think it's good stuff. I like that it's natural. And it has worked very well for me over the past couple of years.

disski,
Thanks for the warnings, but I've got it covered. I forgot to mention the lip balm, SPF 35, that I use. I get my nose really well too. Thanks for your concern, though. The original question asked what we did to keep our faces from being destroyed by the elements. When I implied that I didn't care about my skin when it wasn't sunny out, I meant that I didn't care about it drying out. I envisioned a day of thick cloud cover and heavy snow and wind. We see a lot of that around these parts. I should have been more clear.

Dermatone.
Yes it's a little gooey, but it protects from windburn, frostbite and sun. You can put the same product on your fact and lips or get the lip balm.

I'm your basic fair skinned Irish with and I have a few relatives who have had a brush with skin cancer and I have rosacia. With the dermatone, my face isn't dry and red at the end of the day. The tin is small, si I can reapply throughout the day.

Having sensitive dry skin that is also very fair - I've been told I have porcelain doll skin - I feel like I'd be good to respond. Personally every morning after my shower I apply a good moisturizer to my face. I like Eucerin as it is great for moisturizing and works well with my sensitive skin. I do this after every shower no matter what. On days when I will be out in the sun more than 15 minutes I apply a sunscreen - at least SPF45. My current favorite is Aveeno's stuff which is great for not irritating my skin, leaves me not feeling greasy etc, and does a good job protecting my skin from the sun. It even lasted through massive sweating. When I apply both moisturizer and sunscreen to my face I slather it all over, including on top of my eyelids and work the sunscreen into my scalpline. On the slopes this may be overkill most of the time as I wear a helmet and goggles. I only wear a clava when it's really bitter as I find the clava getting wet (condensation from my breath) and rubbign against my skin to be more irritating that a little cold temperature.

I am definitely going to try some of this stuff.

I was sort of afraid to start this thread because I thought since I'm a guy it would seem wussy-like to talk about skin care on the face, but hey, I want to look good, sorry.

I've been using Dermatone on my face skiing and in the desert for several years. It is really good stuff, and comes in small tins you can pack easily.

http://www.dermatone.com/tins.htm

I try to wash my skin once per day with any old soap and water (hot if available, otherwise cold). Any cuts, lacerations, etc I try to have my wife stitch-up if longer than one inch and deeper than 1/4 inch, otherwise I just go with a good skin closure. I sun screen and try to keep frost bite to a minimum. I have been known to slap a hot iron to skin tags and other skin anoyances, and yes it does get your attention. I go to a doc every two years for a skin cancer evaluation. Other than that I really don't care much.

Mark

skin care

Show off

Definitely a big girl's blouse in my book then.

What they call a 'metrosexual' maybe i.e a heterosexual male with some behaviour patterns more typical of a woolly woofter.

Anyway, with a name like Trotski, you should be more worried about fatal ice pick injuries.

I knew I would find some answers on a ski forum.

I know this topic is more for prolonged skin care especially for cancer prevention and this is great but perhaps you can help me out here. My skin is somewhat fair but not your typical Irish skin tone. I will tan with sun block but burn easily without.

However, my situation is this...when I am out in the cold I will put on sun block to block out the harmful rays, but what happens to me when I return from the cold is that my face turns red hot for about 1-2 hours afterwords. If I am skiing all day it will last much longer.
Now, I am not really much of a skier but I turn to you as you are in the cold more than I and was hoping I could find some answers.

So, I am looking for something (medicinal or clothing) that can be used to protect the face from the cold (and cold wind) so that my skin wont turn red hot when I come in from the cold. It happens usually when its below 50 degrees and especially if windy...like today it was 51, windy, and I golfed and was outside for about 6 hours. My face is perfect for the entire round of golf but once I come in from the cold, the redness happens.

I find it irritating because my skin feels on fire and I also have pyschological issues as I feel others are staring and wondering why my face is so red (this affects my social life sometimes).

I saw some posts regarding dermatone and will look into that, but if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know. Feel free to PM me if you like.

Yeah, my face goes bright red too, and after quite a few northern winters my face has those horrible little red bursting veins (family pre-disposition). Dermatone apparently helps a bit, I used to put coloured zinc cream on as a barrier but it made such a foul mess of everything it came into contact with I stopped. Apparently a physical barrier like that is the key, but finding one that doesn't leave brown crap all over your goggles and clothes is another matter (I always use the strongest sun block, of course).

try the titanium oxide based sunscreens ant... they are like zinc...b ut less messy...

Ego Sunsensitive.. or Ego daily face can be worth a try... I forget which others...

There are certain ski related things that I quite never understood. For example, as I mentioned in a thread a few weeks back, how in every ski magazine people are portrayed with BIG toothy grins on their face while taking on all sorts of challenging terrain. Another thing is how most of these filmed extreme skiers, in waist deep snow, in Alaska, or some other -20* part of the world, ski with no face mask...or for that matter how anyone that skis a full day at a resort in the middle of winter can do it and come back for more!

My protection is in layers, I first apply a quality facial moinsturizer with SPF, then Neutrogena or other sunblocking lip moisturizer, then I wear a full face balcava/helmet liner, then a full face helmet, and then top it all off with mirrored goggles. In a pinch I will use any moisturizer I can get my hands on. Anytime the goggles are not on then high quality sunglasses are. So I am pretty much blocked from the sun and wind, and this why I ski virtually non stop only taking a time out to eat or get rid of what was consumed prior, my buddies on the other hand, no face mask, no good goggles; usually have to take an extended lodge break, and at days end look like someone had been slapping them in the face all afternoon.

Skier's tan to me just means that person enjoys to ski in a world of hurt.

I let my beard grow. It's only natural.

Ego is good, I'm not allergic to it, I'll go get some and try it out. The Coles 30+ is the best sun block I've found so far, but it isn't a barrier.