Professional eventer Lainey Ashker had a cancer scare when she turned 30. A basal cell carcinoma appeared on her lip and it had to be cut out, not once but twice. That was her wakeup call to take better care of her skin.
“It’s never too soon to start,” said Lainey, who spends full days outside in the sun, riding 10-plus horses to keep her eventing and dressage operation going.
“This is my body I have to deal with forever,” she explained. “I have not taken care of it for a long time, but it has taken care of me. I try to give back to it as much as I can.”
Since then Lainey has made skincare a priority.
“Being in the sun isn’t kind to us. Age is what it is, but I would like to age a little gracefully, if I can,” she described. Lainey shared her skincare tips and tricks with Heels Down. Here are the secrets to her routine:
Invest in quality products.
This is not the time or place to be cheap, Lainey said. Some of the cheaper-end products on the market just don’t do what they say they do, and oftentimes they leave behind a greasy residue.
“Not all skincare is the same. I spend the money on the good stuff,” she said.
Lainey recommends investing in a good quality cleanser and a daily defense moisturizer. Lainey prefers one with Vitamin C in it. She uses brands like Skinmedica and ZO Skin Health. Every day she also applies sunscreen to her face and neck. While she rides in the occasional T-shirt or tank top in the summer months, she tries to stay covered when out in the sun in Kastel Denmark UV protective sun shirts and a Soless helmet visor.
Lainey also recommends investing in a big straw sunhat – anything that can fully cover your face.
Stick to a routine.
“I don’t care if I’ve had a late dinner and a few libations, I will always do my skincare.”
It starts with the cleanser, and she uses under eye pads that serve as a toner. In the summer months, she applies a Retin-A product every third night. She also applies a growth serum or thick moisturizer at night for her skin to soak up.
It’s the whole body, too.
Lainey says she does an organic juice cleanse two-to-three times a year. She drinks cold-press juices not to lose weight, but to give herself a restart.
“You’ll be surprised by how much energy you get from that,” she said. “I ride fully on it. I do yoga on it.”
Averaging about 12 juices a day during the cleanse, she says she stays full!
Makeup makes her turnout sing.
Lainey has two different makeup routines for horse shows.
“I’m never working nearly as hard at the dressage shows as when I’m eventing.”
She wears a tinted moisturizer and a bronzing/sculpting cream from Chanel when she’s at horse trials. Then she’ll apply a Pat McGrath Labs mascara. For dressage shows, she applies a lighter weight foundation and uses a Smashbox tray to add a highlighter and contour powder. For everyday rides, Lainey uses the Soleil tan bronzer cream from Chanel and she’s good to go.
“It’s quick, and I don’t look like I just stepped out of a funeral,” she said.
But the secret to any makeup look is Laura Mercier setting powder. She uses the translucent shade and it keeps her makeup in place all day. “Even if I’m pouring sweat, I stand in front of the fan and everything stays in place. I’ve never looked back.”
Lainey says if you’re over 40, it’s time to invest in Retin-A (dermatologist prescribed.) If you’re under 40, you should be using a quality cleanser and moisturizer.
If there’s one product Lainey couldn’t live without, she says it’s her COOLA lip sunscreen. With SPF 30, she says it never leaves her pocket.
This story originally published in the Heels Down Spark in September 2021. Get more conversation starters in your inbox every weekday morning by subscribing to the Spark now.