Cosmetic Surgery Blog

Extreme Beauty Tips for Extreme Sports Enthusiasts: Skin, Hair & Nail Survival

So your insatiable affection for endorphins doesn’t quite mesh with your beauty regimen. Some days it seems like a never-ending battle where the butting of tangled heads of hair meet the unabated desire to make the next jump into the wild blue yonder or round the next bend at 90 MPH. Can there be no compromise? Must I always look frumpy if I choose to fight gravity or scubadive with nothing but 7mm of neoprene between my bare skin and the frigid waters of the Pacific? What is an active lady to do??

I have had a lot of years to make mistakes and discover new ways to fix the ramifications of said mistakes. Hopefully my experience can help you on your way to maintaining diva status without looking like a grubby funkball. An extreme hobby-beauty balance is tangible. Maybe not 100% of the time, but you can at least look somewhat presentable while you are out having fun doing what you love most.

I will be posting beauty survival tips for a different extreme sport or activity, so tune in next week for another installment on how to maintain your aesthetic physical composure when faced with elemental overload.

Skydiving is one of my true passions. Unfortunately you can achieve an extreme level of nastiness partaking in this fun pastime. Most drop zones (DZ) on the west coast are dry, dusty and hot as can be in the summer. Just as sure as you can bet on afternoon dust devils, you will get sunburned, you will sweat, your hair will get tangled, you will get funky-dirty, you will get bruised, scraped, bloody, every molecule of sunblock you have carefully placed on your body will be obliterated, you will get bad breath from the mouth dryness and you will more than likely at least a couple of times per day have concentrated nasal mucous (a nice way of putting it) stuck like glue to the tip of your nose, in your nasal passages, coating your goggles and anything else that was above your nose during free fall. How in the heck does one remain sexy with all of that going on??

• Stay Hydrated! First off, bring or buy lots of bottled water. You must stay hydrated not only to survive but also to plump up your skin and keep it looking healthy. Overheated, shriveled people are not sexy.
• Sunscreen:  A good sunscreen is an absolute must. Although you will have a helmet, goggles, and a suit on when you are in the plane, freefalling and under canopy, you do have a lot of waiting-in-the-sun-time going on. Keep it in your gear bag and reapply as necessary; don’t get it on your gear.
• Bring a mirror—a pressed powder compact works wonderfully. I don’t care how perfectly applied your make-up remains or how knot-free your hair stays, if you have boogies, you won’t look good. Mirrors are the necessity of life as a female extreme sport enthusiast. You need them to check for the aforementioned gross mishaps, applying powder, and for signaling a search plane or vehicle in the event you land way off target. You could possibly even use it to fry a quail egg off of if you are hungry and the mirror failed to alert anyone to your whereabouts.
• Oral Hygiene: Bring a travel toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. Dry mouths stink, get over it.
• Baby Wipes are an amazing complement to your already increasing necessities. They dry out in the heat once they are opened even if you seal them back properly. Seal them further in a Ziploc baggie. These are great for removing grime (think sponge bath), de-gluing boogies from your face and gear, remove make-up from clothing and they freshen up your armpits quite nicely. Also bring a travel stick of antiperspirant/deodorant.
• Make-up: If you are less than confidant about your skin and you feel the need to reapply foundation and/or concealer, bring a little in a small kit. This is not a beauty pageant and although you should be concentrating on your gear checks and the wind direction, I truly understand.
• Lip Balm! Dry, chapped lips are not cute. They also hurt.
• Hair: If your hair is long, keep it braided or pulled low at the base secured with several ponytail holders down its length. As added protection, I use an Under Armor skullcap. They come in vented and non-vented styles. I have both and I have no idea why because I don’t notice a difference between them. Skullcaps keep the little hairs around your hairline from dreading up in free fall. They also keep your hair from sucking through helmet vents if you don’t have a closed style.  Also, PHYTO PLAGE Protective Sun Veil is a great way to help protect your hair from the elements,
• Nails: Keep your nails medium to short because if you have a nasty landing you will rip them off. I have acrylic and although it keeps them a lot stronger, if I don’t keep them up, they are more apt to lift and cause a major boo boo.  I ripped a nail off the other day, thought I was going to die.Wear your gloves, you know better! If I don’t wear them, I am sure to get a scrape even if I land perfectly. 
• Miscellaneous: Bring a few extra pairs of socks. Stinky, sweaty feet are gross. Have some pride.

Other items which should make it to your bag: travel packs of Kleenex, breath mints, mouthwash, shampoo and conditioner in the event you need to shower at the DZ, a small brush. Lotion can’t hurt. You can easily find what you need in the travel sections at your local pharmacy.

Cleanliness is Godliness so a shower is a must. Be sure to use a really good hair conditioner and moisturize your skin. Make sure you clean your ears well because for some odd reason even with a helmet on, dust gets in there. And if dust gets in your ears, you know it gets in your nose and lungs; take care in getting rid of that as well. Yuck. Be sure to drink plenty of water and eat a light, healthy meal to replenish all that skydiving drains you of. I personally think post-jump sushi is the way to go! Be sure to reapply lip balm, and take it easy on the cocktails.

Like I said, I know it’s not some beauty contest at the DZ, I just believe if you want to look even remotely presentable, there are simple measures you can take to not look like a trainwreck.

Be Safe & Blue Skies!

:)M

Next Week: Motorcycle Riding!

*Photographer: Steve Barker