Sunscreen for Winter Sports

Winter has arrived (finally) and now there are months of snow sports ahead! While it is exciting to think about getting out there and carving through some moguls, kicking and gliding along a pristine trail or catching some air on a halfpipe, you want to be sure you are taking care of your skin so you don’t suffer later.

It is important to remember that even on an overcast day, at high elevations, UVA rays are still bombarding your skin at a much higher rate than on lower ground. Additionally, many of those rays are reflected back on the skin by the snow’s surface. So even though you are unlikely to get a sunburn on an over cast day, you ARE aging and damaging your skin if you don’t protect it from UVA and UVB rays.

The best thing to do is consider the conditions when you are choosing your protection. On a cold, snowy day with wind blowing, BOB KIDS SPF 40 Mineral Sun Balm is your best bet for protection that not only protects from UV, but also helps the skin retain moisture, so that you won’t end up with chapped, painful skin from the elements.

How does it do this? Ingredients like argan oil, flaxseed oil, meadowfoam seed oil, shea butter and rice bran wax form a protective layer that locks moisture into the skin, and provide a protective layer from the elements. Then ingredients like murumuru butter, hemp seed oil and candelilla wax draw moisture from the environment and deeper layers of the skin to keep the outer layer of the skin comfortable and soothed. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that all of these oils and waxes are also loaded with fatty acids and antioxidants to keep skin healthy.

BOB KIDS SPF 40 Mineral Sun Balm is also water resistant for 80 minutes, so even if rain (oh no!) or snow are hitting your face, you are still protected from UV rays for 80 minutes. Of course, if you wipe your face off, you do need to reapply, but since the tin is thin and fits right in your pocket, that’s easy to do. Keeping it in a pocket close to your body helps keep it warm so that it will spread easier than it would at a lower temperature. And rest easy knowing that you are protecting your skin with the mineral sun protection active zinc oxide, no chemical sunscreens here.

On less extreme, or even bright sunny days, sunscreen is more obviously important, and reapplying is critcial. On these days we recommend a layering technique that will keep you fully protected all day, both from UV rays coming directly from the sun, but also from the reflected UV from the snow’s surface.

Start your day with Sheer Genius SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen + Moisturizer. Apply to face, neck, arms and hands to give yourself a great base layer of moisture and protection. If you have dry skin and don’t mind removing gloves to reapply, the slim tube fits easily into a pocket, and can be reapplied every 2 hours.

Squalane, glycerin and jojoba help keep moisture locked in, while zinc oxide provides the SPF 50 protection, making Sheer Genius a terrific 2-in-1 skin hero. Please remember though, even SPF 50 needs to be reapplied every 2 hours. The higher SPF doesn’t extend the time it protects, just the percentage of UV rays that it blocks.

If you don’t like reapplying liquid sunscreen while on the slopes, that’s ok, Brush On Block still has you covered. Tuck your Brush On Block Mineral Powder Sunscreen (SPF 30 or 50) into your pocket for easy reapplication every 2 hours. Powder sunscreen is easy to reapply on the chair lift or, well…anywhere. You don’t even have to remove your gloves--just remove the cap, twist to open, give it a flick and buff onto the skin! Sun protection has never been so easy!

Our mineral powder sunscreen formulas use no chemical sunscreen actives, so they are reef-friendly and are easy to apply to yourself and your children—definitely family-friendly! And all of our powders are also cruelty-free, gluten-free, vegan and manufactured in the USA!

With these three products at the ready, you’d think your ski-bag would be complete, but you’d still be missing one, very important thing! If you’ve spent much time on a mountain, you have probably experienced sunburned or windburned lips. Extreme dryness and chapping are signs of damaged lips. And it makes sense, the skin on your lip is about ¼ of the thickness of the skin on the rest of your face, obviously it will feel the effects of sun and wind before the rest of your face, but you may not recognize the damage since it is a little different.

The solution though, is easy to slip in your pocket and easy to apply over and over again—our Sun Shine SPF 30 Protective Lip Oils! For the whole family, Nude Tint is a sure winner. The barely-there pigment masks the white of the mineral sunscreen actives, and just gives you a slightly shiny look. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, Sun Shine Protective Lip Oils have quite a few male fans. Women absolutely love it, and often take advantage of the two other shades, Coral and Fig.

Sunflower and argan oils hydrate the lips and help keep moisture in, while iron oxides provide blue-light protection (the sun is the biggest source of blue-light), and zinc oxide and titanium dioxide provide the UV protection. You won’t want to be without it.

After a day on the slopes, many people like to warm up with a hot shower to loosen tight muscles. After your shower, the final skin-care step in your day can be a few drops of Nobody’s Perfect Daily Face Oil to restore any lost moisture and make it comfortable for a restful sleep before you wake up and do it all over again!