Anti-weathering health and beauty tips for male and female runners
Falling temperatures, whipping winds, and cold precipitation
can speed up the wear and tear on a runner’s face – especially during the
harsher weather months. Anyone who spends considerable time outdoors from late
fall through early spring can attest to this.
Runners can log tons of miles without welcoming weathered
faces by taking some basic beauty, health, and skin care steps. Consider these
10 cold-weather health and beauty tips, with comments from area runners
(encountered at a recent winter race).
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1. Wear a brimmed
cap.
Squinting at sunlight can cause wrinkles, especially around
the eyes. Who wants to develop crow’s feet prematurely, simply by running
outside? A hat with a brim, such
as a ball cap, can help to prevent this. In really cold weather, a fuzzy or
insulated hat with a brim (and perhaps even cozy
side flaps) can help. Some runners, like Pete from Minneapolis, stick a
visor over a wooly winter hat to keep the sun’s glare out of his eyes.
Often, sunlight seems brightest in the winter, with the rays
reflecting off white snow, icy surfaces, and frozen pavement.
Gloves
or mittens guard hands against winter chill and drying. Who wants scaly
hands from running in the cold with bare mitts?
2. Grab a pair of sunglasses.
Sunglasses
aren’t just for summertime. The best ones offer protection from ultraviolet
(UV) rays. This guards the eyes, while also helping to prevent the dreaded
squinting.
“Because I have frequent migraines, I wear sunglasses on the
cloudiest days,” said Betty, a Fond du Lac runner. “It’s a bonus to think my
shades may help keep my eyes from getting too wrinkly.
3. Drink lots of
water.
Sure, runners tend to sweat more in hot weather. We
understand the importance of warm-weather hydration. But cold and windy weather
can cause dehydration too. Winter hydration is essential, and fosters beautiful
healthy skin.
“My general rule is to carry
water with me on any run longer than two miles,” reported Fran, a
marathoner from Beloit.
4. Don’t forget the
sunscreen.
Protective sun-block
products are critical for outdoor runners, even in colder months. For
outings lasting 30 minutes or more, such skin protection is a must.
“I try to remember to cover any skin surface that sticks
out,” explained Marty, who trains in the Racine area. “That includes my face,
neck, hands, or whatever.”
5. Moisturize often.
Any exposed skin can quickly dry out in blustery, frigid
weather conditions, which hearty runners face for several months each year.
Faces and hands are at particular risk. Frequent and generous moisturizing
helps a lot.
A quality lip
balm is a runner’s cold-weather friend, too.
“My hands get painful cracks in the wintertime,” said Craig
of La Crosse, Wisconsin. “So I can assume the cold weather affects my face too.
But I gotta run all winter. I'm not an indoor treadmill kind of guy.”
Plenty of winter runners swear by in-home
humidifiers. Some, like Artie from Indianapolis, have installed full
house air cleaning and hydration systems on their home heating systems.
6. Wash up before
bed.
Bedtime face washing is a daily ritual for many,
particularly outdoor runners. Dust, debris, salt, and sweat can build up. And
that’s not good for skin. Makeup, hairspray, and other stuff doesn’t help,
either.
“Washing off the daily crud and slopping on tons of lotion
make me feel like I am doing my face a favor each night,” recounted Angie, a 5K
runner from Oshkosh.
7. Sleep well.
Beauty sleep is no secret. Sufficient rest contributes to
overall health for anyone, but perhaps especially for those who put on the
miles in harsh weather.
Here’s something many folks don’t realize. Plenty of skin
care experts believe that sleeping on one side all the time can cause uneven
wrinkling of the face. Flipping back and forth may prevent this. Sleeping on
one’s back could be even better.
“Running actually helps me sleep better,” claimed Krystal, a
triathlete from Black Earth. “So I cannot argue with the importance of rest.”
8. Cut stress.
Stress is pretty much universally regarded as a health
buster. Unspent anxiety is blamed for aggravating all sorts of medical
conditions, as well as facial deterioration. From the furrowed brow to deep-set
creases, many believe such marks of aging may be accelerated by stress buildup.
Many people claim to experience increased stress during the cold-weather
months, when the sun tends to shine less often.
“Pounding out a few miles helps me blow off steam and
stress,” said Fred, a snowshoe
enthusiast from Marinette. “And it gives me time to think about stuff that
bothers me, so I can come back with a calmer perspective.”
9. Skip the sugar.
Refined sugars and simple starches have been villainized –
perhaps rightly so – by nutritionists, physical trainers, and all sorts of
experts. After all, healthy nutrition contributes to general health, beauty,
and overall condition, right?
Unfortunately, winter brings comfort food cravings, so it
can be more challenging for folks to forgo such fare.
“Since dropping sugary sodas and sticky snacks, I swear my
skin looks better,” Robby of West Bend asserted. “Plus, my endurance seems to
have improved.”
10. Give yourself a
facial.
At least once a week, a do-it-yourself
facial can help alleviate some of the ill effects of winter weather
exposure to the skin. The most basic procedure usually includes makeup removal
(if needed), washing, rinsing, exfoliating, toning, and moisturizing.
“A few minutes of personal pampering make a nice break,
while boosting my skin’s health,” explained Patty, a track runner from
Wisconsin Rapids.
These basic winter health and beauty tips can help nearly
anyone, but they may be particularly applicable to outdoor runners, who race
against the wind and weather throughout much of the year.
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