Year Round Protection On The Bike By Sportique – A Review of Elements, Century Riding Cream, Warming Up Oil and More

Athletes are hard on their bodies, so it is important that they take care of them. They watch what they eat, they hydrate, they train, they rest, but one area they tend to overlook is their skin. Not only is it important to use sun block when outdoors, but there are other products that can be very beneficial to use before, during, and after your work outs. Sportique believes their all natural products have you covered from head to toe. They sent a care package over to our offices with products geared towards cyclists to review. This is the first of four reviews of their products. The first will consist of products to apply before and during your ride. The next will highlight products for after your work out. The third article will cover their shave products and the final article will be geared towards products that are more women specific and skin care.

Sportique Brands is the US distributor of the European brand, Sportique. Their motto states that their products are “created for and by physically active people.” They pride themselves in offering the purest products possible to take care of your body, without exposing it to harmful chemicals. Their products are free of irritating sulfate based detergents, petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances, parabens, and diethanolamine (DEA), all of which are either harmful to your body, or are just not up to their standards. What they do use are botanicals, naturally moisturizing oils and nut butters, herbs, essential oils, and minerals.

Let’s start off by telling you about the products first, and then get into the review, since a lot of the products mesh so well together in use.

The Products

For on the bike, one of my favorite products is the Elements Cream. This versatile cream helps protect your skin in all types of conditions from chaffing and chapping in both the heat and cold. A unique ingredient used is an extract from Durvillea Antartica. It is a seaweed species that Sportique says makes a protein that prevents ice from freezing down to -40F. It also seems to help to block the cold on your skin. There is also a blend of oils that help create a moisture shield to protect your skin from intense heat. So what you have is a product that you can use all year round to protect your skin from the elements. You would use it the same way you would embrocation, but without the burn. Apply a thin application, followed by a more liberal application on any exposed skin.

A product that goes well with the Elements Cream is the Warming Up Oil. It is an embrocation massage oil that works well under the Elements Cream to add some warmth to the barrier. The mix of essential oils and capsicum help to stimulate your muscles and promote blood circulation through massaging it in during application.

The Century Riding Cream is Sportique’s chamois cream. While not exclusively a chamois cream, it is an antifungal and antimicrobial cream that also acts as a barrier to prevent chaffing. The blend of botanicals helps prevent chaffing and irritation, and repairs your skin if it does get damaged or chaffed. Plant based occlusive silicones create a friction free barrier, made to last through the longest rides. It’s not just for the chamois though. Any place you feel friction, is a good place to apply it.

One of the most overlooked areas is your lips. Whether out in the cold and wind, or the hot sunshine, you need to keep them hydrated and protected. The Soothing & Protecting Lip Balm treats your chapped lips while the LipGuard UV Lip Balm protects them. The natural oils, butters, and botanicals of the Soothing & Protecting Lip Balm provide the moisture while Jojoba oil, shea butter, and evening primrose oil heals your chapped lips. The base is made of bee’s and orange waxes, with menthol and camphor blended for cooling and antibacterial benefits. The Lip Guard UV Lip Balm uses finely ground Zinc and Titanium as a reflector of UVA and UVB rays, and will not absorb into your skin. This provides a real SPF 30 protection. The all natural ingredients work to keep your lips from drying out, and is water resistant to stay on all day, whether you are on the bike or in the water.

Sportique products are suitable for vegetarians and vegans, as they do not use any animal products and will never test their products on animals. Below is a list of how the products from this review fit into those categories.

Suitable for vegetarians:

• Century Riding Cream
• Elements Cream
• LipGuard UV Lip Balm
• Road Rash Remedy

• Soothing & Protecting Lip Balm

Suitable for vegans:

• Warming Up Oil

The Review

Since the products are made to work with each other, I decided to make it a Sportique day. I started off by applying the Century Ride Cream to my microfiber Nalini chamois. As always, chamois cream before embro! It was a thick cream, creamier than my go to waxy chamois cream for cold, wet days, but it went on well. It was easy to spread over the entire chamois, so start off working in a small amount, and add more as needed. By the way, you can apply it directly to your skin if your prefer. I do that method when I use a synthetic chamois, but for the microfiber, I apply it directly to the chamois. The little bit of extra that was left on my hands, I applied directly to my skin where I have had sores in the past.

Next, I applied Pre Ride Warming Oil to my legs and lower back to get them ready for the cold winter day I was about to go out and train in. After applying a light film on my legs, and decided to put a little more on my right leg to see if there would be a difference. Massaging it in seemed to help loosen my legs up and get them ready to ride. There wasn’t an immediate warmth like other embrocations I’ve used, but with capsicum in the ingredients, I knew it would be coming at some point.

The next product to apply was the Elements Cream. Instead of a waxy consistency of an embrocation, it is a true cream. I started out by putting a light base layer on, and followed it up a few minutes later with a thicker layer. Anywhere I had exposed skin, my shins, face, ears, neck, I applied the Elements.

In between putting on the other products, I put on some of the Soothing & Protecting Lip Balm to get my lips moisturized. A little bit goes a long way though, so apply it conservatively. It had a nice little tingle to show that it working, and soaked in pretty quickly. Right before I left, I put on the LipGuard UV Lip Balm. Remember when you go to the beach, and you see the lifeguard with a white nose. That is a zinc sun block. My lips looked the same way. If you rub it in, it won’t be so white, but it also does take away from the protection.

It was an overcast day in the low 20’s, with wind chills into the single digits. I was riding on a local rail trail putting in some outdoor base miles for the new season. The trail was wet, so my lower body and lower back were getting sprayed quite a bit. The first thing I noticed was I wasn’t that cold. Yes, having my winter long sleeve team jersey and knickers on, and a thermal vest, but my exposed skin wasn’t frozen as I had expected. The Elements Cream did a great job at blocking the skin on my face, ears, neck, and shins from the frigid cold. Normally, I would have worn a face mask on a ride this cold, but I was pretty comfortable with just the Elements Cream. As I road on, the Warming Oil started to kick in a bit on my legs, but even more so on my lower back. It felt like I had put on one of the hottest embrocations I own, which helped keep my back nice and flexible during the ride. My legs didn’t warm up as much, but I definitely felt some additional warmth over my face. Even with the water spray, the Elements and Warming Oil stayed on well.

By the end of my two hour ride, my lips felt a little chapped. Reapplying the Soothing & Protecting Lip Balm would have definitely helped, but they would have been much, much worse without it. The LipGuard did a good job handling the wind, and would be great on a hot sunny day to protect from the sun.

The Century Riding Cream worked well, but probably would not be my first choice on a wet ride. The cream just didn’t hold up to the wet conditions as well as a waxed based chamois cream. Everything stayed lubed and comfortable in the beginning, but as the spray from the wet trail began to soak in, it wasn’t as comfortable. Further testing is needed, so check back for a follow up.

Overall, I was quite happy with my experience on the bike with Sportique products. They lived up to the marketing hype, and kept me warmer and protected than I would have been without them. Keep an eye out for the second installment next Monday morning.

Sportique Brands doesn’t want you to just take our word for it. They want you to try their products. For Bikeworldnews.com readers, use code BWN at check out to save 10% on your order.

Century Riding Anti-Chafing Cream – $19.95
Elements Skin Protection Cream – $24.95
Soothing & Protecting Lip Balm – $5.95
LipGuard UV Lip Balm – $3.95

https://www.sportiquebrands.com/