Release Date: 11/6/2010

Stepping off your motorcycle after a ride isn't always the glamorous, romantic vision it is in the movies. There are bugs smashed on your jacket, a dirty film covering your skin, you might never be able to run a comb through your windblown locks and a dull dry skin is spreading over your knuckles. Keeping up a non-crusty biker image is sometimes a challenge, but with a little preparation and know-how your can preserve your soft skin, gloss locks and clean pores before, during and after the ride. Regarding your skin, my best advice is cover up! I wear a full face helmet, long pants and sleeves always. I've taken a few unfortunate spins in a half-helmet and a tee-shirt and always felt so grimy after, I swore off that style of riding completely. For me the extra effort to throw on proper gear is worth avoiding a highway facial, keeping exhaust fumes, muck and stickiness off my skin as well as you can. Beyond covering up, prepping your skin for the ride can make the post-ride experience more enjoyable without cracked or chaffed skin. I like Palmers Cocoa Butter formula for my legs, hands and arms, it's a light, absorbable lotion with Vitamin E and no stinging perfumes or dies. Palmers also has a concentrated formula that's great for knuckles, elbows, knees and lips that I like to keep on me when I ride. Finally always, always keep some natural chapstick in your motorcycle jacket pocket, for the inevitable emergency. If you choose to roll natural, with a half helmet or no helmet and sans jacket, keep some hand sanitizer in your bag to de-grim at stops. Next component to consider is your hair. Like covering my skin, I take the straight forward route with my hair as well and always keep it firmly tied up in a bun while riding. I also take extra steps in the bathroom, conditioning everyday and always spraying a leave-in conditioner on my locks. I also do a hair mask every so often, Kerastase makes an excellent albeit expensive mask, but economical ones like the one Aussie makes does the trick as well. I like to throw the mask in, cover my hair with a plastic cap and let the product work its magic as long as I can hold out. While I love being a "bike girl" I never want to look like the cliché "biker chic," which is a easy enough desire to fulfill with a little extra moto-girl prep on and off the bike. Know your riding style, know the elements and grab some products to give you a hand.

Top
Back to Articles