Cross Country Skiing Articles

Protecting Your Skin When Hitting the Slopes This Winter

As we head into the winter months this year, it is time to break out your skis and snowboards. Despite the fact it is winter, you need to keep skin cancer in mind.

Deep, fresh powder! Ah, nothing beats it. Whether you are hitting the slopes for the weekend or taking a full vacation, the winter sports season is upon us. While getting fresh air and enjoying yourself up in the mountains is a must, it is important to keep in mind that you need to protect yourself.

The very nature of winter is that it is cold and often cloudy. Many people mistakenly think they can just head outside without worrying about their skin. If you take this route, particularly when skiing or snowboarding, you run the risk of serious damaging your skin. In this case, we are talking about your face and neck.

Sunlight contains a massive amount of energy. If we could somehow harness the energy in one day of sunlight, we would have enough energy to cover the entire need of the planet for one day. On the downside, sunlight can also do massive damage to skin and skin cancer is a health problem that is appearing more and more.

Sun is absorbed by dark surfaces and reflected by those that are light. Unless you are skiing or snowboarding in a very unique location, you will be standing or falling on white surface. In practical terms, the slopes are one giant reflector for sunlight. You probably already know this if you have spent a day on the slopes without putting sun block on. Simply put, you get fried.

The double whammy of sun exposure on the slopes is something you must protect yourself against. Skin cancer is dangerous stuff, so you should take steps to protect your skin. Your best option is to use sun protection that both blocks the sun and contains a moisturizer for your skin. This combination will limit the sun damage and keep your skin from drying out as the wind whips by you on the way down the slope.

John Grimes is with AllTerrain - makers of sun protection products with natural ingredients that work.

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