Winter Skin Care

It is currently 10 degrees outside, and the overnight low was 2 below. What a perfect time to talk about cold weather skin protection!

Nordic skiers know that when the temperatures drop and the snow crystals get sharper, you need to need to wax your skis with harder waxes to “harden-off” your bases to help prevent the sharp crystals from sticking to the bases and slowing you down. To some extent, in cold weather, you want to do the same thing with your skin. As the temperatures get colder, think about layering heavier skin products onto your exposed skin for wind and cold protection. The following is an old tip that can be helpful at times.

Grease is good… for skin protection. When temperatures are in the teens and single digits, put a layer of sun block on your face to hydrate, protect and help seal up the pores of your skin. Then, put a layer of bag balm or petroleum jelly over the block in areas where there is not a lot of tissue – cheek bones, noses and chins. This additional layer helps block your skin from wind and cold exposure where your skin tissue is most vulnerable. It does not replace full coverage of your skin with clothing, but it does help, and there are times when full coverage is not practical. A little dab on the underside of your nose will also prevent chapping. Don’t want to put petroleum products on your skin – no problem. Use a natural foot balm or heavy body cream. Last winter I used a natural product; the Hand and Body Cream made by Yellowstone Bees (www.yellowstonebees.com). I used it under my sun block and then put it on over the sun block in the thin tissue areas – it worked really well.

Also, winter athletes – are you inflicted with really dry skin in the winter? Does the dry air, and the showers or hot tubs after workouts fry your skin? For me, it got to the point where I would completely avoid hot-tubs and my shins would dry out to such an extent that the itching and bleeding would keep me up at night. After being reluctant to try any products on my shins due to irritations and reactions, I finally used the Hand and Body cream last winter on my shins. The hand cream completely fixed my shins, and it seemed to have long lasting effects. I generally would only put it on 2 or 3 times a week, basically because I forgot about my shins and I’m not in the habit of using skin cream. It does have a buttery, greasy feel to it, but is also has a soothing, healthy feel to it. Unlike petroleum products, it felt good to slather it on – and my skin would absorb it and became more resilient (hydrated) because of it.

Got cracking heals due to the winter weather? My wife used Yellowstone Bees’ Foot Balm all last winter, and was very pleased with the results. She used to use bag balm, but the foot balm felt better, was a little lighter, and she felt her skin absorbed it better. Just remember to put on light socks after you put it on at night, to prevent any staining of your bed sheets.

I seem to have sensitive skin that reacts to the fragrances and other junk that many companies put in their products. As a result I wouldn’t do anything to try to alleviate my dry skin. Yellowstone Bees’ Hand and Body Cream completely solved the problem and now I don’t even think about my skin. Yellowstone Bees’ products are hand made using quality, natural ingredients, and you can feel the difference. They worked for me and I hope you will find them helpful as well. Many commercial products promote their grease-free composition, but when you need a product to deal with harsh winter conditions – grease is good.