Watch for skin safety from UV rays and sharp winds at the ski resort

It is time for skiing. However, there are more risks for your skin than your thought. You should need to be careful of the dangers at the ski resort. It can cause various skin diseases without taking care of your skin.

The most frightening thing at the ski resort is the UV rays. People don’t care about UV rays in the winter season more than in the summer. It is easy to think that winter has low UV rays due to low temperatures and cold wind, but UV rays in winter, especially at the ski resort, there is high exposure to UV rays, so you need to take care of it well.

The UV rays at the ski resort are getting stronger a few times than on public streets. According to Dr. Yoon Dong Kim(a founder of the YD clinic), UV rays reflect 5~10% from the soil or asphalt due to high absorption, but in the snow, it reflects 80%, which is four times more than the reflection from sand in the summer (20%). That means you expose the UV Rays from the sun and reflected from snow.

Exposure to intense UV rays causes sunburn, which makes the skin stingy and reddened, and in severe cases, blisters and peeling of the skin can occur. In addition, pigmentations such as melasma, blemishes, and freckles appear, and photoaging is promoted, such as loss of elasticity and weakening skin defense.

There are not only UV rays, but also sharp wind and cold make your skin fragile quickly. Most of the ski resorts are in mountain areas, and there is low temperature and strong wind. When you speed up with a ski or board, the cold solid wind touches your skin and worsens it.

When the cold wind touches your skin directly, it loses moisture and becomes dry, and it causes skin problems due to a weakened skin barrier. In addition, when you enter a warm inside building after exposure to the cold, facial flushing or telangiectasia may occur due to abnormal contraction and expansion of blood vessels. If the skin freezes and thaws repeatedly, there is a possibility that the risk of frostbite increases. It is also common to get burned by staying near the stove for a long time because it is cold.  

Even if you visited the skin resort fully prepared, your skin would have been threatened. Dr. Kim said many patients visit the clinic complaining of the above symptoms when the resort is open.

After visiting the ski resort, it is important to soothe rough and crumbly skin that has lost resistance and become sensitive. At home, cover the skin with a towel soaked in warm water to supply moisture and open the pores to release wastes. Then, moisten a cotton pad with toner and apply a moisturizing pack or moisture pack to the skin to relieve all symptoms of burning or dryness. It helps to calm down to apply enough moisturizing cream than usual. 

Even though you cared for your skin thoroughly, your skin is still sensitive or pigmented. It might be the destroyed skin barrier. Good to visit a doctor.

Dr. Kim explained, “After visiting the ski resort, I recommend soothing moisturizing and regenerative care that uses microcurrent, electrophoresis, or sonophoresis to penetrate the ampoule of water-soluble, highly moisturizing ingredient. Suppose you are tanned or blemished, or freckly by UV rays. In that case, it is effective to get whitening management such as pigment laser treatment and ampoule penetration, and vascular laser treatment for facial flushing and telangiectasia caused by abnormal blood vessel movement. When the skin is severely dry, fluid treatment is also helpful.”

To protect your skin at a ski resort, you should apply sunscreen and moisturizer more frequently than usual.

Dr. Kim advised, “As for sunscreen, it is good to use a product with a high sun protection index of SPF 50 or higher and a product with a waterproof function in case it will be washed off by sweat or snow. It is important to thoroughly reapply on areas easily exposed at least 30 minutes before skiing. Applying 1.5 to 2 times more moisturizer than usual can prevent skin dryness.”

Covering your face with a mask, neck warmer, and goggles is also good. But these cause skin troubles, so it is good to use those after cleaning and drying well.