Reviving your skin after a workout as just as important as reviving and recovering your body and muscles after a workout. Athletes tend to know how a lot about how to revive and recover their body and muscles after a workout, by resting and refueling. But how do you revive or recover your skin after an outdoor workout be it running, cycling, hiking or just a cookout? With the right ingredients and regimen it is possible to both protect and revive your skin.

What happens to your skin outside?

UV radiation, wind and heat all have a damaging effect on skin.

Exposure to UV light can thicken the epidermis, increase pigmentation, degrade collagen and elastin fibers in the skin matrix, damage capillaries and damage DNA. At higher elevations as in Colorado, these effects are magnified.

Exposure to wind can remove moisture from the skin causing it to become dry and compromising the barrier function of the skin.

Heat causes perspiration which can cause redness and irritation to the skin. But heat, or infrared radiation, also can speed aging by altering collagen and elastin fibers and thereby causing degradation of the skin matrix. Heat, as does UV light, also increases reactive oxygen species.

What can you do to revive skin after being outdoors?

Your sweat glands have been working great to keep you cool during your workout, but sweat on the skin can affect skin pH and harm the skin. After working out, wash your face as soon as possible to remove sweat (Meadow Mist Cleanser) and use a pH balanced toner to help restore and recover your natural pH.

Botanicals and herb extracts are rich sources of antioxidants which are important to the skin after sun exposure. The polyphenols found in green tea have been found to help repair sun damaged skin. Herbs provide a multitude of antioxidants to skin that can help repair damage. Additional antioxidants are vitamin C and alpha lipoic acid. Botanicals and herbs also provide anti-inflammatories to reduce reddening of the skin.

To combat damage done to the skin matrix proteins, we use ingredients that boost collagen production. We like calendula, vitamin C, and peptides.

These ingredients should be incorporated in a good moisturizer to help replenish the moisture content of skin and repair the barrier function of skin such as Springtide Gold Face Cream. When it is very hot outside you may want to try a lighter moisturizer such as Razz Tightening Serum with hyaluronic acid.

Your skin should feel the difference right away and recover from the damage caused by your workout.

Skin Inc., magazine just published the top 5 states that are most prone to wrinkles. Colorado ranked number 4 in this list with it’s risk factors being high elevation and sunny days. Other states ranked high include New York mainly for their ‘dissatisfaction with life’ and long commutes, Pennsylvania, West Virginia for high smoking rates, and Massachusetts, again for long commutes.