As Big Bear Lake’s premier outdoor hiking guide, I spend basically every daylight hour outside from January through March. And when I say outside, I mean really outside, snowshoes strapped on, Adventure Dog by my side.
I’m talking 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts, snow flying sideways, and frozen crystals slapping my face like nature’s version of microneedling. I sometimes tell myself that this is basically a luxury spa treatment and that somewhere in Beverly Hills someone is actually paying $900 for this exact experience.
Unfortunately, when I get home at sunset, it’s usually less “glowing complexion” and more sunburn, windburn, and skin that feels like it went three rounds with a snowblower.
I live outside and my face is fighting for survival
So what is an outdoor adventure guide supposed to do? I mean, besides picking up the nearest bottle of Pinot Grigio when my skin is really screaming for some hot water with a squeeze of lemon in it.
This winter, I decided to set down the dry white wine and seriously upgrade my winter skincare routine.
Attempting to Undo the Damage of My Twenties
Let’s just say I am now paying for every terrible skincare decision I made in my twenties.
SPF 10?
Tanning oil?
Believing I was “building a base tan”? Yes, I was Tan-o-rexic.
So this winter, I decided to go all in on anti-aging winter skincare.
We’re talking:
- overnight face masks
- expensive serums
- boujie oils
- and yes… the internet even tried to convince me to consider salmon sperm facials.
Between violently sneezing from winter allergies and Googling why salmon sperm is trending in skincare, I realized something else was happening.
I had developed a rash that looked suspiciously like the last time I had COVID.
Ah yes. COVID.
The modern medical explanation for absolutely everything.
Weird toe pain? COVID toes.
Strange rash? Probably COVID.
Random inflammation you’ve never seen before? Obviously COVID.
Sure enough, I ended up with the lovely COVID rash situation, which thankfully stayed on my chest and did not migrate to my face. Small miracles.
My Real Self-Care Is Snowshoeing
When life gets stressful — sick pets, illnesses, work chaos, open sores — my version of self-care is not always spa days.
My self-care is snowshoeing forty miles a week through the San Bernardino mountains.
Which is great for mental health.
But terrible for youthful-looking skin.
So this winter, I decided to finally take winter skincare for outdoor women seriously.
Natural Winter Skincare Starts Before Sunrise
Every morning before I hit the trails, I start with a gentle oil cleanser, such as Plump Me Up by Iconic Aesthetic.
My current obsession is a grapeseed oil cleanser from a local esthetician-owned small business and my winter dry skin soaks this up every a.m. My parched skin drinks this stuff like it’s been wandering the Mojave Desert for a week.
Grapeseed oil is packed with:
- linoleic acid
- vitamin E
- polyphenols
Which means it helps calm inflammation, hydrate dry skin, and fight some of the environmental damage that comes with constant sun and wind exposure in the mountains. In other words, it’s the perfect cleanser for winter skincare for dry skin.
My Boujie Overnight Skincare Addiction
I’ve been obsessed with Sunday Riley’s Luna Sleeping Oil for years. And yes, it’s expensive. But so is repairing the damage from decades of questionable sunscreen habits.
This oil works overnight while I sleep — which is ideal because it means I can do absolutely nothing and still wake up looking slightly more human.
The formula contains a retinoid complex that helps reduce fine lines, improve skin texture, and shrink the appearance of pores. And it’s balanced with calming oils like blue tansy and chamomile, which basically tell your irritated winter skin to calm the hell down.
After ten hours outside in freezing wind, my face appreciates that.
My Daily Vitamin C Obsession
If I’m leaving the house during daylight hours — which is every day — I use Vitamin C oil, specifically Sunday Riley’s C.E.O. Glow. If you’re spending hours outside in a high-altitude mountain environment, antioxidants are not optional.
Vitamin C helps:
- brighten skin
- protect from environmental damage
- fight free radicals from sun exposure
And the turmeric in this oil helps calm inflammation from windburn and cold weather. This is extremely helpful when your job description involves snowshoeing through sideways snowstorms.
Honey Face Masks: Nature’s Skin Emergency Kit
Another winter skincare staple in my routine is a honey face mask like the Farmacy Hon
ey Hydration mask.
Honey may sound like something that belongs in tea, not on your face, but it turns out bees have been quietly outperforming half the skincare industry for centuries.
Honey is one of the most underrated natural skincare ingredients on the planet. It’s also a natural humectant, which is a fancy skincare word meaning it pulls moisture into your skin and locks it there. So instead of your face feeling like a dried apricot by February, it actually stays soft and hydrated.
It’s:
- antibacterial
- anti-inflammatory
- deeply hydrating
It also gently exfoliates dead skin cells while helping repair damaged skin.
And when I had that lovely COVID rash situation, honey masks actually helped calm the irritation and speed up healing.
Nature: 1
Expensive dermatologist visits: 0
Marula Oil Saved My Winter Skin
If you spend a lot of time outside in winter, marula oil is basically liquid gold.
It’s packed with antioxidants like vitamins C and E and loaded with omega fatty acids that help repair dry, damaged skin.
It absorbs quickly, hydrates deeply, and doesn’t clog pores.
After a full winter of windburn and sun exposure, I swear my skin looks ten years younger.
Which means I will continue buying marula oil until further notice.
You Are What You Eat (Unfortunately)
Winter skincare isn’t just about what you put on your face. It’s also about what you eat. Foods like rice are packed with antioxidants, amino acids, and vitamins that help support healthy skin.
Rice contains compounds that help:
- boost collagen production
- improve skin elasticity
- reduce inflammation
- brighten uneven skin tone
In other words, carbs can occasionally be good for you.
I know. Shocking.
Collagen: Because Gravity Is Real
Collagen is basically the structural scaffolding of your skin. It keeps everything firm, hydrated, and relatively lifted. Unfortunately, your body produces less collagen as you age.
Which means if you spend as much time outside as I do, supporting collagen production becomes extremely important.
Collagen helps:
- reduce wrinkles
- improve hydration
- strengthen the skin barrier
- repair environmental damage
Which is exactly what you need if your daily routine includes snowshoeing in high-altitude winter sunshine.
Why Drinking Hot Water Is Basically Free Skincare
Now let’s talk about something far less glamorous but extremely effective: drinking hot water.
Not a trendy detox tea.
Not a $14 wellness tonic.
Just hot water.
Staying hydrated is one of the simplest ways to improve your skin, but warm water actually helps boost circulation and improve nutrient delivery to your skin, which is helpful if you spend most of your winter getting blasted in the face by alpine wind.
Why Hot Water Helps Your Skin
Better Circulation
Warm water helps expand blood vessels, which increases blood flow to the skin. That improved circulation helps repair damaged skin cells and gives you that healthy glow everyone is chasing with $80 serums and or salmon sperm.
Hydration & Detox Support
Drinking enough water helps your skin maintain elasticity and prevents dryness. Warm 
water also helps your body flush out toxins more efficiently, which can lead to clearer skin.
Supports Collagen Production
Hydration is essential for maintaining collagen production. And collagen is basically the scaffolding holding your face together.
Sunscreen: Even When It’s Snowing Sideways
When you spend your life outdoors as I do, sunscreen is not optional. Even in winter.
Especially in winter.
Snow reflects UV rays like a giant alpine mirror, which means you can get sunburned even when it’s freezing.
My favorite natural sunscreen is Supergoop Play Everyday SPF 50. It gives broad-spectrum UV protection for both face and body and is packed with antioxidant ingredients like sunflower extract, rosemary, and rice.
It’s lightweight, moisturizing, and actually absorbs into your skin instead of making you look like you applied drywall paste. Which is important when you spend your days guiding hikes instead of modeling zinc oxide streaks.
I also love Kiehl’s Better Screen UV Serum SPF 50+, which contains collagen peptides and layers beautifully under skincare. And yes — I reapply constantly. Because the only thing worse than wrinkles is realizing you got them while snowshoeing.
How to Save Your Face After a Winter in the Mountains
By the end of winter, my skin has usually taken enough abuse that it deserves a full reset. My favorite way to do that is a Korean salt scrub at a Korean day spa. I live to spend a few hours rotating between the saunas, jade room, and infrared clay room. This helps me feel like pressing the reset button on my entire nervous system.
But the real magic is the full-body Korean salt scrub. It exfoliates every inch of winter-damaged skin and leaves you feeling like you just shed six months of dry mountain air.
Unfortunately, the closest Korean spa to me is two and a half hours away. If it were closer, I would probably go every month. But once a year at the end of winter? Absolute naked zen heaven. After months of windburn, sun exposure, and snowshoe miles, it’s the perfect way to say goodbye to winter and welcome spring.
Because if my skin survived another Big Bear winter, it deserves a little luxury.
The Outdoor Girl Winter Skincare Plan
If you spend your winter outdoors as I do, your skincare routine has to work a little harder.
Between windburn, sun exposure, dry mountain air, and the occasional mystery illness, your skin is dealing with a lot.
My approach this winter has been simple:
- hydrate aggressively
- protect against sun damage
- repair inflammation
- and embrace a few boujie serums along the way.
Because if Mother Nature is going to microneedle my face with sideways snowstorms, I might as well fight back.
Comments
I’m in this season too! Thank you for these tips! It can be hard to know how to best care for our skin in the elements! I appreciate this!