What makes Olympic bobsledder Aja Evans feel like she ‘can take on the world’

(Photo: Getty Images; Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Lifestyle)
(Photo: Getty Images; Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Lifestyle)

Maintaining soft, supple, luminous hair and skin during the winter isn’t quite as simple as just slathering on conditioners and moisturizers. Just ask Olympic bobsledder Aja Evans.

Evans is one of the nine female bobsled members for Team USA competing in PyeongChang, South Korea. The winter sport requires serious skill and agility to maneuver a gravity-power sled along narrow and twisting ice tracks. But the track and field star turned bobsledder has not only mastered this (she earned a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia), but she has somehow figured out how to always look good while training and competing in sub-zero temps. How? Being from Chicago certainly helps.

It also helps to have a consistent skin care routine. “One of the first things I do every day to keep my confidence high is I kind of just make sure I’m feeling and looking my best,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “You don’t always feel good, but for some reason when I start doing my grooming and daily routine, it helps me to feel better when I wake and attack these days.”

Evans may not sport a full face of makeup, however, making sure she’s “moisturized and hydrated” from head to toe and throwing on “a little concealer” to brighten her under-eyes makes her feel like she “can take on the world.”

As an ambassador for P&G’s #LoveOverBias campaign, the 29-year-old has full access to some of the best and affordable beauty products on the market. Her no-fail cold-weather go-to: Olay Cleansing Infusions Hydrating Glow Body Wash with Deep Sea Kelp. She explains, “After working out, competing, and conditioning, you want to be able to cleanse your body. But you don’t want to strip it of its hydration and moisture. So using that body wash really helps me, and then I just lather up like crazy with the natural oils.” She’s also a big fan of shea butter (us too!).

Jamie Greuberl Poser and Aja Evans of USA compete at Deutsche Post Eisarena Koenigssee during the BMW IBSF World Cup Women`s Bobsleigh World Cup on January 19, 2018 in Koenigssee, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images For IBSF)
Jamie Greuberl Poser and Aja Evans of USA compete at Deutsche Post Eisarena Koenigssee during the BMW IBSF World Cup Women`s Bobsleigh World Cup on January 19, 2018 in Koenigssee, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images For IBSF)
Bobsledder Aja Evans poses for a portrait during the Team USA Media Summit ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games on September 25, 2017 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Bobsledder Aja Evans poses for a portrait during the Team USA Media Summit ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games on September 25, 2017 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

When asked how she keeps her hair extensions from turning into a matted mess underneath her helmet, she revealed that she follows the same moisturizing philosophy with her hair as she does her skin. “We’re putting on that helmet, on and off, and it’s completely drying out our hair from the materials inside of the helmet. It protects my head but it does nothing good for my hair,” she says. “When I’m competing, I want to be as aerodynamic as possible, so it’s not like I get to have it all flowy in the back … it’s kind of tucked away. But I tuck it away in styles that can transition into something really cute when I don’t have my helmet on.

Because 10 degrees is perfect sprint weather ‍♀️ #getitdone #noexcuses

A post shared by Aja Evans (@ajalevans) on Feb 12, 2018 at 7:04pm PST

These styles may include two pigtail or French braids, so that Evans can achieve a “little crimp or wave pattern” without heat styling. Or, she’ll use a ponytail holder to tie it up into a Bantu knot or bun in the back. She adds, “Sometimes I’ll curl it the night before so when I wrap it up in that bun it’ll still hold the curl. It’s my little secret.” And it’s too good of a secret not to share!

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