The Halfdayer

Your on-mountain guide, curated by Halfdays

Halfdays Guide to Skin Care for the Slopes

They don’t call it alpenglow for nothing.

There’s nothing like feeling the warmth of the sun on your cheeks or wind sweeping past your face to tousle your helmet hair. The elements have a way of creating a natural, rugged beauty in the landscapes we wander. Mother Nature has a way of bringing out the best in us too, but don’t be fooled- she can play rough.

A solid skin care routine around a day (or season) of skiing in the great outdoors can make all the difference in the world when it comes to your skin health.

Before

Sorry to play Mom here, but we probably won’t shock you when we start with the most basic skincare advice of all- wear your sunscreen, kid!

We love a good pop of red, but only if we’re talking accessories or base layers. Sunburns are just not ideal. Short term, they simply don’t feel good or look good.. Long term, they make you more likely to develop lines, aging spots, and much more serious issues like skin cancer later in life. The writing is on the wall, but when most sunscreens leave your pores clogged and skin greasy, we understand the hesitation. Luckily, we have some solutions…

Dune Suncare has mastered the art of keeping it simple. They offer a Mug Guard, Bod Guard, and Lifeguard- a sunscreen for the face, a sunscreen for the body, and an aloe based sunburn relief gel for any spot that gets a few too many rays. The only thing simpler than selecting a Dune product is the ingredients in the products themselves… Dune’s Mug Guard uses minimal ingredients that become weightless and invisible on all skin tones. It dries quickly, and offers water resistant SPF 30. But the main effect isn’t even the best effect… the Mug Guard even diminishes dark spots and redness, reduces fine lines and wrinkles, and provides extra hydration.

If you prefer a tinted sunscreen, consider giving Kinfield products a try. Kinfield covers a wider range of products, but for now: the Sunglow SPF 35 sunscreen. The tint highlights any skin tone without a need for color matching, with no streaks of white to be found. It’s made of nourishing plant based products including sunflower seed oil, rosemary extract, and jojoba oil to keep you glowing but not greasy.

Both Dune and Kinfield products are vegan, reef-friendly, non-toxic, and made without parabens… helping to keep the earth as clean and clear as your face.

After skin safety has been taken care of, it’s time to move on to the fun stuff. Lift selfies are just better with the goggles off… so let’s make sure what’s underneath is ready for a close-up.

Ilia’s Essential Brow Gel sculps, volumizes, and then holds brows in place so nothing winds up all over your forehead during those helmet off, hat on transitions. It comes in 3 shades that compliment every tone on the spectrum. Ilia’s Necessary Eyeshadow Palette grants you the opportunity to give your look a subtle personal touch or make a big, sparkly statement. Choose from a cool-toned or warm-toned for a 6 in 1 palette, or get them both to match every mood. Each palette contains matte, satin, and metallic options and ALL of them are made with clean ingredients with added vitamin E and plant extracts for a shimmer that keeps you shining even when it’s gone.

Mascara tends to be a personal preference, but our fav has got to be Tower 28’s MakeWaves Lengthening + Volumizing Mascara. It’s safe for sensitive eyes, super lightweight, and gives a much more natural look than some of the clumpier mascaras on the market. We know you might still be wondering what makes it so good for skiing: Tower28 uses Aquaflex technology to keep eyelashes humidity proof. Goggle fog? No prob.

Double down on element resistance with some setting spray: we love Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Set + Refresh Spray and Rare Beauty’s Always an Optimist 4 in 1 Prime & Set Spray (shoutout Selena!).

During

While you’re out there, sunscreen reapplication isn’t a bad idea, but sometimes we gotta prioritize. Dune or Kinfield has your cheeks covered- and the only thing worse than a sunburned face is windburned LIPS. The kissers aren’t immune to rays either, and are especially prone to drying out when they’re stuck in a big smile all day long. So that’s that- if the lift is short, here are some good balms to be sliding out of your jacket pockets:

Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment- available in flavors of salted caramel, watermelon slice, or unscented

Summer Friday’s Lip Butter balm- comes in 4 shades including vanilla, poppy, brown sugar, or vanilla beige

Olehenricksen’s Pout Preserve Peptide Lip Treatment- a citrusy scent, perfect for after some colored balm for a boost of shine and hydration

After

So, you’re free of sunburn and your eye makeup still looks fresh as you wrap up the day. BUT, you played hard and you worked up a sweat. Cue Carpe Sweat Absorbing face wipes. These quick drying, paraben free wipes swipe away grease like magic. They’re perfect for mitigating the effects of a shiny forehead on your après glam. Tower 28’s SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray can also come in clutch to refresh your money-maker and calm redness.

No need to rush home to wash your face, but once you’re there the skin care doesn’t stop…

After-After

Don’t let your guard down yet! When it comes to after-ski-skin care, the biggest must-have is MOISTURE! The high altitude climates of ski mountains don’t exactly lock in any dew, and if there’s a little bit of wind or a lot a’ bit of sun, we’re all bound to dry out. Luckily, Glossier After Baume is ready to restore! This Halfdays fav is literally advertised as ‘a puffer jacket for your skin’- it’s a specially formulated recovery cream for super dry skin that has been exposed to harsh weather elements like extreme wind or excess sun. Rest assured, it’s another product free of irritants and made with vegan ingredients.

Now you’re covered in the realm of flawless skincare before, during, and after the slopes. The only thing left to do is look good, feel good, ski good. We can’t wait to see you out there… and we know you won’t be hard to spot when you’re glowing.

Still want more!? Check out our homemade hand and foot mask recipe below.

Halfdays Homemade Hand and Foot Scrub

2 cups of Epsom salt (have any leftover?)
½ cup of baking soda
5 drops of essential oil of your choice… peppermint?!

Combine all the above, mix well, and use with hot water.

Bailey Ness

Bailey Ness is the CEO and Creative Director at Nesscessity, a creative marketing agency based in Denver, Co. When she isn't busy running her business (#bossbabe), she loves to ski, run & brunch.

@baileynesss