“You stand on the bottom of the slopes as people come down at the end of the day, and when they take those goggles off, you really end up seeing just a lot of sunburn,” says Corey Hartman, M.D., a dermatologist based in Birmingham, Ala. “A lot of chafing, a lot of dry lips that don’t have the appropriate lip balm and protection before they go out.” Fortunately, he and the other leading skin doctors say that defending yourself from harsh weather is easy—as long as you get a head start.

About a week before she and her wife head to their home in Keystone, Denver-based dermatologist Nicole Neuschler, M.D., dials back her use of retinoids. “Once you get out there on the slopes, it is sunny and it is dry and windy, and you’re going to exacerbate what’s called retinoid dermatitis,” she explains, referring to the redness and peeling that the antiaging ingredient can cause. Donald Yoo, M.D., a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, avoids retinoids during snowboarding season altogether, even though he uses them during the rest of the year. “As you’re getting closer to your trip, you should kind of wean off” to avoid inflaming the skin, he says. “You’ll get plenty of that just from the sunburn and the windburn.”

Both Hartman and Neuschler recommend taking a fern-derived supplement called polypodium leucotomos, sold as a popular pill called Heliocare, which acts as a sort of internal sunscreen. “It’s just like taking another vitamin,” Neuschler says. “And so, all of our skin cancer patients, I recommend it to, and anyone who is really active.”

Using deeply hydrating products, such as Eighth Day Skin’s Regenerative Serum, and occlusive moisturisers with ceramides and lipids that enhance the skin’s barrier function before clipping into your bindings is also key. “Skin that does not have a strong, healthy barrier is more prone to accumulating damage,” Yoo says. Augustinus Bader’s Rich Cream is a great option for building up this defensive layer.

And though an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, there are some products that can help restore your skin to a healthier place. For redness and irritation, try RéVive’s Sensitif Calming Serum, which is rich in antioxidants and other ingredients that calm inflammation. Hartman points to SkinMedica’s much-loved TNS Recovery Complex, a growth-factor serum that activates the skin’s natural repair mechanisms.

But the best advice doesn’t involve skin care at all. Neuschler says you can avoid the worst if you don’t overindulge between sessions. “The problem, usually, is a combination of stopping for lunch and having some alcohol and, you know, forgetting your sunscreen.”