One of my all-time favorite pieces of outdoor jargon is the term 鈥渂acon face.鈥 It describes what happens to your mug when you don鈥檛 lube up听before a long day skiing in the mountains. And it鈥檚 only a slight exaggeration.听As anyone who has had their face whipped by the wind can attest, your cheeks and beak really do look and feel like crispy pork. To help you avoid that condition this winter, I put four of the most popular facial skin-care products head-to-head.
The Test
First听I applied each of the products听to my face and went听skiing at my local resort, Mount听Ashland, in Oregon, on days with 15-to-40-mile-per-hour winds and temperatures ranging from the mid-twenties to听the mid-forties. For听head-to-head (or, more accurately, cheek-to-cheek)听comparisons in identical skiing conditions, I听lathered up the right side of my face with one balm and the left side with another. Also, because听many balms can freeze up in frigid weather, I placed each product in my freezer for an hour, then applied it to my face to see how well it went on while extremely cold. Finally, I tested how well the balms听tolerated water听by applying听them听and sitting in the shower with the stream aimed directly at my face for two minutes.
It鈥檚 worth noting that I focused on how well these balms dealt with the winds,听low temperatures, and dryness of mountain environments. I did not attempt to evaluate their ability to defend my face from the sun, instead relying on the听manufacturers鈥櫶齋PF rating. (Meanwhile, as 国产吃瓜黑料听recently reported, our understanding of听sunscreen may be on the verge of a massive shift.)
The Results
1. Original Ski Balm ($13)
SPF: 40
Freezer Test: 2/5
Shower Test: 4/5
Ski Test: 5/5
Takeaway: While the was one of the hardest to get out of the jar after the freezer test, it absolutely shined on the mountain, thanks to its balance of comfort and protection. It went on grease-free but still guarded my sensitive skin from 20-mile-per-hour gusts that pummeled听me with snow for the entirety of a four-hour ski session. It was the second best in terms of staying power in my shower test, too.
2. Beyond Coastal Active Face Stick ($8)
SPF: 30
Freezer Test: 4/5
Shower Test: 2.5/5
Ski Test: 3/5
Takeaway: While the still remained on my cheeks at the end of the shower test, it didn鈥檛 hold up as well during the real-world portion. I had to reapply it twice over the course of the ski test. But it had听ease of use going for it: this balm and the Vertra, below, were the simplest to reapply on the mountain because of the stick design, which is听similar to a tiny deodorant dispenser.
3. Vertra SPF 50+ Sunscreen Face Stick ($22)
SPF: 50
Freezer Test: 4/5
Shower Test: 2/5
Ski Test: 3/5
Takeaway: I was shocked at how well played in the snow. It smeared right on my cheek after sitting in the freezer, earning it second in that part听of the test. It also came out nice and thick. But I had to ding some points because it ran a bit under the showerhead and left a white residue on my nose and cheeks, which I don鈥檛 mind rocking while surfing but prefer not to sport听in the mountains (and not just for vanity reasons鈥擨 just didn鈥檛听fully trust the coverage in a snowstorm).
4. Dermatone Lips鈥檔 Face Protection Creme ($6)
SPF: 30
Freezer Test: 3/5
Shower Test: 3/5
Ski Test: 3/5
Takeaway: 听did everything well but wasn鈥檛 quite the best at any one thing. If smell was one of the categories鈥攊t has a lovely tropical scent鈥攊t would鈥檝e been the winner. It was fine on the ski hill, though I did have to apply it twice. And the little metal tin, which听is about half the size of the plastic Ski Balm container鈥攑roved onerous to open with cold fingers. (To be fair, Dermatone also makes this cream in a stick.) And like the Vetra, it left a similar white residue, which听made me a little self-conscious at the resort.