Protecting exposed skin in winter

I'm guessing the best protection for exposed skin of hands and head in winter is to not expose any, but that is probably unrealistic and could eliminate a productive discussion.

So, what are the best ways to protect exposed skin of hands and head [including lips, nostrils, eyebrows, ears, and everything else] in winter? Lanolin? Petroleum jelly?

Thoughts?

Thanks.

Zinc Oxide works,So does Chapstick!I've used both,Up in Mammoth!

Allowing the skin oils to accumulate naturally is of benefit....

You might be a little unclear. Do you mean "protect" like keeping from frostbite, or keeping from drying out and cracking?

Yes, you go through more chapstick and lotion during the winter months. Part of that is probably failure to drink adequate fluids. So I try and consciously drink more water.

Both, thanks.

... which means no shaving or showering in the morning before a day out in the cold. You can do that in the afternoon, after you come in again. This is recommended practice in the Norwegian Army.

On top of your not-freshly-washed skin you can put various ointments and creams. The recommendation is to avoid any water based stuff (fat is good). But I must add that I never felt I needed any cream to keep frostbite away, and I have never used any. From what I've heard, any fat based cream will work.

My problem in the dry cold is cracking lips and fingertips (just right by the finger nails). I use lip balm and skin cream for that, as well as staying hydrated.

Vitamin E
Petroleum Jelly

I'll put one of those on my face if I know it will be a harsh day on the ski lifts. I'm not talking about moisturizing here. These are more like shells to protect the skin from harsh winds at 2 degrees F. They feel annoying on your face when you're in a comfy room, but you'll appreciate them on your skin when the conditions are harsh.

One of the reasons my fire kit uses PJ/Cotton is that I've used that to reduce wind chap. on exposed skin. I've also rubbed it into cracked fingers. Multi-use is the way to go, IMHO.

Keeping your hands from drying out by using something like cocoa butter cream does help. But if you get those real annoying small cracks in your fingertips right by the nail, something I've found that really works is liquid bandage. The best is probably Walgreen's liquid bandage (which comes in a small bottle with an applicator. A double application, with the second several minutes after the first seems to do the trick). Smells like some kind of nail polish remover. But it really does work. If you keep getting your hands in water, those little cracks won't go away. Liquid band. gets it healed. I'd be tempted to include a small bottle in an emergency FA kit.

Tim W. (not a TV pitchman, but probably sounds like one).

To protect skin from chapping and cracking, all the above are good, use what works for you. If you feel the need for protection from wind, the zinc oxide and others help block the wind so you do not feel it as badly. All of them increase the chance of frostbite because they can increase the heat loss. Dry skin is a better insulator than skin loaded with a higher heat transfer medium. Many of them (particularly zinc oxide) also hide the first signs of frostbite and therefore tend to make the occurance worse because the damage is bad before anyone notices. Makes the answer much more complicated. I use lip balm and lotion but not if I have to work in the most severe conditions without - A balaclava, proper hood (preferrably with fur), goggles and good mittens are the best, then you can use any cream you want.

Facial hair and ICE are always good ;-).

Respectfully,

Jerry

When I was working on aircraft in the wintertime in Alaska, I put regular petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on my face, ears, and hands. It worked wonders. Also, the point about being hydrate cannot be overstated. The water in your body is just sucked out of you in those temps.

I also get cracked hands and fingertips from working in the winter, I often have to take my hands out of my mitts to handle fish caught by ice fishing. I wear thin polypro gloves inside my Military Artic Snowmobile Mitts but sometimes I have to work bare-handed to increase dexterity.

If my hands are cracked I have had good luck using Polysporin on them. I also put Polysporin on my firestarter cotton balls, I think it makes them extra multiuse (stole this idea for someone else on this forum). I will try out the liquid bandage for use on split fingertips, they are a painful nuisance. I also daily use Blistex Medicated Lip Balm, or Medicated Lip Ointment if they are already chapped.

This winter I bought some Dermatone Skin Protector to try on my hands and face. I think I will also pickup some Dermatone Lip Protector because it has a higher SPF rating.

I will post how it works out,

Mike

Mike -- Don't use the liquid bandage on top of the antibiotic ointment. It won't adhere. Tim

Thanks Tim.

Mike

Thanks for the heads-up on petroleum jelly and liquid bandage, I'll remember those.



I don't mean to derail this thread, but I disagree about covering up totally as being "unrealistic". But it takes dedicated gear. My solution is a neoprene face mask and googles. This will even to some extent work with glases if you are meticuously about a) making sure that the facemask prevents air from your nose to reach your glases and, b) not stressing and take care not to breathe heavily - but really, lenses is the way to go with googles.

Other solutions exist - different face masks, "cold air masks" that heats the air and you name it. Neoprene is the simplest, and it works. A balaclava, scarf or bandana will only work for a limited time in front of your airways before condensation and icing renders them useless.


Most of the time, this isn't nescessary. On foot, a proper hood, hat and something around your neck is plenty about 95% of the time. If you move against strong wind a neoprene mask or equivalent becomes a nescessity.


The only part of your skin that needs to be exposed from time to time is your hands - sometimes there is no way around it, you have to take off your mittens to fix things. If you wear thin inner gloves you can keep the time you have to work bare handed at a minimum. Oh, and only remove one mitten at a time. That way you keep one hand fully operational and minimizes your total heat loss.


Having the gear and knowledge of how to cover your face totally doesn't mean it isn't smart to know what facial creams you can use to protect bare skin. Sometimes, you may find yourself without proper gear, or will prefer to go without it.

+1 on that gear. When I go snowboarding in frigid environments with the freezing winds blowing, it feels almost like a pleasant summer day underneath my neoprene face mask and goggles. I'll add a neck gaiter that fills gaps between my jacket and head gear. My jacket has a liner that fills gaps between my jacket and gloves.

First, I would avoid using Polysporin or any antibiotic perpetration for routine use. I tend to avoid even using it on wounds unless there is reason to believe it is likely to get infected. Infections come from two sources: External to the person, but also fro the person's own skin. If you routinely expose your skin to Polysporin the natural, and ever present, flora on your skin will be resistant to the antibiotics in Polysporin, specifically bacitracin, neomycin, polymyxin-B. If/when those bacteria make it into any wound the Polysporin will be powerless. IMHO it would be better to avoid spreading the antibiotics so widely. I prefer to strangle bacteria in their cribs while they are helplessly naive. It gets harder once they have tattoos, attitudes, and switchblades.

Vaseline and lanolin work. Generic petroleum jelly is usually just as good. You might also try the nurses secret weapon, A&D ointment. It is essentially petroleum jelly with fish oil that speeds healing and seems to be step up from Vaseline for dry skin and protection from the weather. I've used it instead of antibiotic ointment for cuts and burns. Seems to speed healing a bit. No antibiotics to worry about and if the wound leeks like it might be infected I can always switch to the standard triple antibiotic mix.

A&D ointment is also closely related to hemorrhoid creme and is similarly good or soothing red and inflamed tissues.

"A&D ointment is also closely related to hemorrhoid creme and is similarly good or soothing red and inflamed tissues."

Well, what the heck, Preparation H started out as a burn ointment, didn't sell, got remarketed for hemorrhoids, and the rest is history.

So, we all ready to rub our faces with Prep H? Probably would work.

Tim

I'll take a ski mask, thank you.

For me from spending copious amounts of time outdoors snowmobiling, ice fishing and XC skiing in the winter I recommend the following equation:

No mustache = chapped lips

mustache = no chapped lips

Hey BH,

I guess it depends on the length of your mustache, I have had one for 23 years and still get chapped lips. I do tend to keep my mustache trimmed short because I do not like it when ice freezes-up on it.

Later, Mike

Lates recommandations here in Finland is to not use cream to cover your face for frost protection. If it´s waterbased it will freeze. And if not, then it will keep the moisture between skin and the layer of cream. And thereby creating frostbites when that misture freeze.

Best protection is your own grease from unwashed face.

Has anyone tried thin latex surgical gloves fo thing like meal prep, etc.?

No, but it seems a highly unpleasant concept in cold temperatures.

Trapping moisture from the skin beneath a thin vapor barrier and absolutely no insulation does not appeal to me at all.

But - I am judgmental, don't take my word for something I've never tested.

I have tried them before, the lesson was short lived. If I didn't know better I would have sworn that the gloves mad my hands colder. and if it is cold enough the latex will start to snap and become britle.

[quote=TyberI have tried them before, the lesson was short lived. If I didn't know better I would have sworn that the gloves mad my hands colder. and if it is cold enough the latex will start to snap and become britle. [/quote]

They DID make your hands colder. Most thinner gloves do, the increase in surface area overrides the insulation (expecially with something like latex which has very poor thermal properties). Only the very thick gloves that make the hand hard to use actually provide an increase in warmth. Blocking the wind is a slightly different problem and gloves do help with that. They also keep the water in the skin from freezing to very cold metals.

Respectfully,

Jerry