We do love a weekend in the blazing sun hanging out with good friends and good music, but what havoc does all that partying wreak on our skin?! If you’ve got dry, sensitive or eczema-prone skin, you’ll be very much aware how a festival can leave you in all kinds of trouble.
Here are our top 6 eczema-friendly tips to surviving a festival weekend.
1. Stick To What You Know
If you have sensitive skin it can be disastrous taking fancy new products away for a weekend in a tent, using them for the first time on Friday and discovering that your skin does NOT like them one bit!
Stick to what you know or leave yourself time to do a good patch test the week before. This applies to sunblock, moisturiser, that lovely cheap sparkly festival makeup, even facial wipes. You don’t want to end up with hives, spots or a raging eczema flare-up for the rest of the weekend.
2. Avoid The Burn
Make sure that you are well covered at all times. Apply sunblock for sensitive skin every few hours - hot sweaty faces can lose their coverage quickly. Sunblock is a better choice than foundation.
Get a wide-brimmed hat that covers your face and the back of your neck and keep it on! Nothing dampens the fun more than spending hours watching a band and feeling your face burn to a crisp…
Take long, loose, light cotton layers. A fine cover-up with long sleeves and some light loose trousers can help avoid the burn, even if everyone else is in camis and cut-offs!.
3. Hydrate!
The importance of water cannot be overstated! Drink a glassful of water for every two alcoholic drinks; if you’re outside all day you will dehydrate incredibly quickly. Added to that the effects of alcohol on the skin - inflammation, enlarged pores, dullness and fine lines - and you’ll be wanting to make sure that your skin gets all the watery TLC possible.
Your skin will need hydration too: use plenty of good, thick, oil-based moisturiser like Skin Salvation Intensive Moisturising Ointment at night so it doesn’t burn in the sun (oil-based emollients don’t sting on application like water-based creams do which is a plus for hot, red, itchy faces!).
4. Double Up, Double Down
No one wants to haul loads of different products across endless fields so take multi-purpose products if possible. You’ll need hypoallergenic wipes and sunblock for sure, but one pot of Skin Salvation Intensive Moisturising Ointment can be used for all sorts of other things.
Use it as an overnight treatment and double down on hydration: before you crash out use generous amounts of ointment on dry lips, cracked heels, chafed thighs, sunburnt noses, brittle nails, blisters, insect bites, around sore, dry eyes, etc. It will work its magic overnight and your skin will thank you!
5. Keep It Clean
You can also use Skin Salvation Intensive Moisturising Ointment as a cleanser or makeup remover! It’s so important to cleanse every night if you have sensitive skin, even if all you want to do is roll into your tent and sleep. Dust, dirt, pollen, makeup and other allergens will be caking your skin all day and without fresh running water to hand, you’ll have to rely on cleaning with oil, face wipes or balm.
To use Skin Salvation ointment as a cleanser, just warm a little salve in your hands, massage it onto your face and around your eyes. Bring damp cotton wool in a ziploc bag and use that to gently wipe it away.
6. Glitter Up Responsibly
Everyone needs a little festival glitter, and both the Earth and your skin will thank you for using biodegradable glitter! We love the gorgeous range at Eco Stardust.
We’d advise that you don’t use glue or glittery makeup if you’ve got sensitive skin; instead use a light smear of Skin Salvation ointment on cheeks, arms or anywhere you want to sparkle, and dab the glitter on. It’s best not to use glitter on inflamed or broken skin and avoid the area around the eyes. Best to keep the glittering to the evening as well, so that exposed skin don’t burn in the sunshine!
