General Cycling Discussion - A question about washing my face, perhaps the ladies of the forum can help.

Many of you know I require a CPAP to sleep at night. For those that don't know what a CPAP is used for please PM me or do a google search. Before I retire to bed for the night I wash my face with hot water & a wash cloth so the mask, which is made of silicon will have a good seal & prevent the air from leaking from around it.

This summer I plan on doing a lot of camping as I didn't do any last year at all. Using electricity to operate the CPAP is not going to be a problem. I have a DC power source or the camp grounds wave electrical outlets at the camp sites. The problem will be however is how to wash my face. I could probably walk to the shower house & use the sink there in camp grounds that have the facilities. The problem with that is by the time I get back to my tent, because of the humidity & could sweat thus the effort taken to wash my face will have been in vain. I could also boil a pot of water over the open fire pit or use my camp stove, dip the wash cloth in it & wash my face that way, then retire to bed before I start to sweat. One problem with that though is during bike rides like RAGBRAI no open fires or the use of camp the use of camp stoves are permitted in most areas.

So this leaves me with how to wash my face. Is there some kind of astringent I could use? Noxema perhaps? Please advise me on this. I would like it to be something that will not cause dry skin if possible, like alcohol can if used a lot. I have heard of witch hazel, but is it effective at cleaning off the oils & sweat from my skin?

Thank you.

John

I'm not a lady but I'll chime in.

How about instant hand cleaning gels like purell?
Or try Born wash lotion. http://www.tscyclingusa.com/products/born/bodycare.htm#

"Born #6 is the perfect solution when there is no opportunity to shower or wash after a ride or race. Born Wash Lotion contains 12% alcohol along with cleansing and refreshing ingredients to clean you up, and stop body odor.

USAGE: Apply Born #6 to a towel, and wipe off your body to remove sweat, dust, and body care products. "

You may try Clinique Scruffing Lotion (aka Clarifying Lotion...it's the same stuff but the women's version is cheaper). It comes in varying strengths to match your skin type so you won't get dried out. Kind of expensive, but it goes a long way.

How a person can make the simplest things difficult is beyond me...

1. Baby Wipes. Great when water is too precious to waste on washing up. They're good enough for our troop in Iraq. They're good enough for you.

2. Contrary to popular belief, you can clean your skin with cold water. Cold being a relative term when we are discussing the outdoors in summertime.

3. Move the mountain to Mohammed. Bring a water bottle full of hot water from the showers to your tent. Then do what you have to do.

How a person can make the simplest things difficult is beyond me...

1. Baby Wipes. Great when water is too precious to waste on washing up. They're good enough for our troop in Iraq. They're good enough for you.

2. Contrary to popular belief, you can clean your skin with cold water. Cold being a relative term when we are discussing the outdoors in summertime.

3. Move the mountain to Mohammed. Bring a water bottle full of hot water from the showers to your tent. Then do what you have to do.

I think by the term "astringent" he meant he wanted something to really take the grim and oil off yet leave his skin non-dry as to keep his face mask clean when he sleeps.
I'm not sure how good cold water is cause I have oily skin and cold water closes up my pores and keeps grim and oil in.
What he should do is use whatever he needs to clean and not worry about the dryness, just apply a light moisturizer afterwards.

Try Cetaphil. You can use it with or without water.

BR

Heh, are there any DC-powered kettles on the market?

Try Cetaphil. You can use it with or without water.

BR

I'll second the Cetaphil suggestion. It's a non-foaming cleanser recommended by almost every dermatologist because it cleanses without drying. You can find it at any drugstore and it's not expensive.
Koko

I'll second the Cetaphil suggestion. It's a non-foaming cleanser recommended by almost every dermatologist because it cleanses without drying. You can find it at any drugstore and it's not expensive.
Koko

I'll third the Cetaphil suggestion. My wife has very fair and sensitive skin, she uses it and as a result, so do I. It's good stuff.

RAGBRAI usually has lots of water available at the campsites.