Winter face cream

[MikeB]

Not sure whether to post here or the medical forum. This one won!

I'll be leaving from León on 20 December and am now trying to arrive at Santiago on the 30th. Ambitious I know, but....

Has anyone used any cream to spread on their cheeks to prevent cold/wind chapping. After my 2 x 30km training walks last weekend in the UK Midlands (Saturday, very wet and cold, Sunday just cold), my cheeks were very red - too red - and I'd prefer to prevent, rather than cure.

In the summer, I've only ever needed to use lip-salve on the Meseta. Even in the heatwave year of 2003 late-July/early-August I had no problem (15 days from Arles to Toulouse), but the cold does seem to affect my face.

Thanks for any advice.

Mike

 

[JohnnieWalker]

There are preparations available used by winter climbers and skiers. But another idea might be the special offer which Blacks have at the moment for a neck gaiter + either gloves or hat for £20. If you have gloves and hat - then the neck gaiter is still very reasonably priced. I use it to come up to my nose and my hat to come down to my eyebrows when it is biting cold.

 

[Arn]

MikeB,

I was stationed above the Arctic Circle in Norway and we had several creams used:

Here's two: Mustela Cold Cream Nutri Protection and Original Melkfett Skin Cream. My problem wasn't so much my face as it was cracked heels and split fingers. Nothing worked on all three areas. When my 1st Grandchild was born, my Daughter Romi noticed a severe drying on his leg. A friend suggested "Bag Balm" and it's made in Lyndonville, VT 05851. It works on everything! Even cow udders! It's the best I've ever come across..
regards
Arn

 

[frescotours]

Hello Mike,

I bought a tube of VICHY Mag-C facial cream at the pharmacy in Spain and it works great. Not too greasy, hypo alergenic, and smells pretty good. Make sure you get something good, it will be cold and probably windy going up by the Iron Cross! Buen Camino - enjoy New Years in Santiago!

Saludos,

Alex

 

[MikeB]

Thanks everyone. Due to limited time, I'll try and pick up some of the Vichy Mag-C cream in Spain. I've got a four hour wait in Madrid between plane and bus - two hours of which I'll be spending having lunch with an amiga peregrina - so enough time to find a farmacia

Thanks Arn, I'll look for Bag Balm, but I have less than 48 hours before I leave my house - and I'm working Monday and Tuesday - so unless Boots (big chemists chain in the UK) have it in stock, I'm stumped.

Johnny, I tried that today, with my Buff neck gaiter and hat, and I found that my breath was making the neck gaiter damp, and hence rather cold. But I'll learn and adapt as time goes by. By the end, who knows, maybe I'll have useful advice for others!

Mike

 

[Arn]

Mike,

Buen Camino...I'm excited for you~

Arn

 

[WolverineDG]

Vaseline petroleum jelly is what I swear by. Really keeps my skin moist in the winter time. I also use it to keep my lips from getting chapped.

Kelly

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I can't name any specific products, but a local pharmacy is France or Spain should be able to suggest something, perhaps different from the products at home. Last year I developed a terrible cold/sinus with fever, and my lips became awfully cracked and sore. I bought a product in an Italian pharmacy that was actually a French homeopathic remedy. It felt beautiful when applied, and worked incredibly quickly. I only wish I knew what it was called so I could buy some more to bring home another time, but I threw the tube out when I had no more need of it ( as you do when you are backpacking!)
Margaret