Ski Trip Skincare - Only Three Essentials to Protect Your Skin in Winter
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A sunny ski day in Val d’IsÈRE in the French Alps
While my skin benefits from clean mountain air and lack of pollution compared to my normal city surroundings, it definitely suffers from the harsh elements during continuous days and weeks of skiing each winter. I prefer to keep my skincare routine as simple and effective as possible, so when I’m planning a trip to the mountains I make sure to bring these three essentials: a sunscreen, a windburn protectant, and a restorative healing cream.
Continue reading to discover my favorites for protecting my skin while skiing.
Sunscreen for Face and Lips: Heliocare Oil Free Gel SPF 50
I’ve tried and tested many sunscreens for the face and this one has been my favorite for years. It applies and reapplies smoothly, though I feel on a normal day just one application in the morning is enough to last all day. (As a bonus, this particular sunscreen also works great as a primer for my loose powder foundation!) My lips are very sensitive, and if they are not well-protected then I will suffer from painful burns that turn to blisters. For this reason I’m very particular about the sunscreen I use for my lips, because I feel like many SPF lip balms wear off too quickly or are not protective enough for a day on the slopes.
A good solution I’ve found is to apply my Heliocare face sunscreen to my lips first thing in the morning— it’s important to do so before applying any other lip balms or protectants to ensure maximum absorption. The taste is not great but for me I feel it works the best for SPF protection. After applying Heliocare to my lips, I’ll then apply my go-to SPF lip balm: O'Keeffe's Lip Repair SPF 35.
Windburn Protection: Dermatone Skin Protection Balm with Zinc
You can use this anywhere on your skin to protect from the wind, but because my nose and mouth are usually exposed while I’m skiing, those are the areas I focus on. Once I’ve already applied Heliocare to my entire face, I’ll apply Dermatone balm around my entire nose and anywhere else that may be exposed or rubbed while skiing, and will bring it with me to the mountain so I can continuously reapply as needed throughout the day.
Relief and Repair for Face and Hands: La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Mains Hand Cream
There are plenty of products within the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast line that are specialized for different areas, but I personally feel like the hand cream works well for everything. The consistency of the hand cream is the least-greasy and the longest-lasting, and I use it for my face, lips, and of course my hands. It’s gentle, goes on smoothly, and feels like it promotes healing and hydration on any areas of skin that suffer from dryness, windburn, or sunburn.
Carina Otero At home in the mountains, filter-free and make-up-free
I prefer to keep my regular skincare routine as simple as possible, and the only difference between my ski skincare routine and my normal skincare routine is the addition of the Dermatone, and the frequency with which I reapply everything.
For those interested, my regular skincare routine consists of:
Nighttime:
Cerave Hydrating Facial Cleanser every night
The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane Serum every second night
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toning Solution every fourth night
Cerave Daily Moisturizing Lotion every night
Morning:
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Mains anywhere if needed
Heliocare Oil Free Gel SPF 50 every morning
O'Keeffe's Lip Repair SPF 35 Lip Balm every morning
Of course there are many factors that affect the clarity of my skin such as overall hydration, pollution levels, and hormonal cycles, but I do notice that my skin does feel the nicest when I’m in the mountains despite potential for harsh exposure while skiing— and for that reason always try my best to keep it happy and protected.
Shop all the skincare products mentioned here:
Do you have any go-to skincare products that you like to use while skiing, or have any questions about the products I’ve mentioned here? Let me know in the comments below!
About the author
Meet Carina Otero, avid skier and the creator of She is Not Lost, an online community for celebrating female travelers and a blog providing helpful tips, useful information, and inspiration for your future travels. Carina’s passion for skiing and love of writing and photography have inspired a new blog to share her experiences and personal favorites relating to the sport:
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