Author: Heather Connor, Realtor
Skincare in High Altitude Areas like Crested Butte
For those of you that recently moved to Crested Butte, and after you have gone through the joy of moving here and spending some time here, something you might notice is that the skin products that you’re using and your skin, in general, are not acting the way that it normally did back home. Welcome to living at 9,000ft plus.
Let’s talk about the stressors that happen up here in the mountain living.
1. The Air is Thinner
When you live in a mountain community like Crested Butte, there’s very low humidity and due to our high altitude the air is a lot thinner. That means, there’s less moisture in the air and that will directly translate to how your skin reacts.
2. Sun, Heat, and Dusty Winds
Technically, Crested Butte is closer to the sun, the UV rays can be pretty strong and you might be surprised that even standing in the shade you can get burnt. Especially during winter, the sun often reflects off of the snow and can magnetize the effect on your skin causing things such as burning, peeling, and other damage that you might notice. That generally means you get really strong UV rays and some pollution aspects that your skin may be experiencing that you’re not used to from where you are originally from.
3. GOOD NEWS: Even though it can get a little bit warm, Crested Butte is many degrees lower than many other states
Most folks would come to Crested Butte in the summer to escape the heat of where they currently live. What shocks people is that the majority of properties here do not have air conditioning, so we do not have to deal with the drying effects of air conditioning.
Now that we’ve talked about the high-altitude skin stressors, I want to share with you some of my current Skincare Items, some are really common and then there are 2 essentials that really helped with my overall skin health.
- SUNBLOCK – A high-quality sunblock that has UV protection in it. It can be in a form of lotion, cream, powder, etc., long as it has a UVA UVB combo.
- RETINOLS – Retinol is a night product because when you use it during the day, the sun’s rays will disintegrate the effectiveness.
Dr. Dennis Gross, an overnight serum that is a combo of Ferulic and Retinol. This product itself has a fairly hefty price tag.
Roc Retinol Capsules – Skincare product that is a single-serve, easy to carry on when you’re traveling.
Microneedle Roller – This is a product that I recently just picked up and probably cost maybe $20. From the name itself, “microneedle” has really tiny needles and what they do is that you take it and roll it over your skin. This is a great product to use at night, right before you start your night routine.
La Mer Beauty Cream – La Mer is a very classic cream. There is not anything added to it and this is what I use when my skin needs recovery. Although I am really not a fan of the subtle smell of La Mer, but I am a huge fan of the thickness and viscosity of the cream which really helps moisturize the skin overnight.
LED Light Therapy – Celluma Lite is my personal favorite; I get the LITE version being it is smaller and compact, it fits in my carry-on bag so I can travel with this.
Celluma Lite has 3 modes:
- Acne – great for just keeping your skin clear.
- Wrinkles – really helps with some of the appearances of wrinkles, dark sunspots, melasma
- Aches and Pains – you can use this on open wounds, and sore muscles after activities.
