Human facial temperatures in natural and laboratory cold.

Asian, European, and American Indian men were subjected to craniofacial cooling to determine relative ranking and temperature curves for various facial skin sites. Moving and still air 0 degrees C to -35 degrees C in both laboratory and subarctic outdoor settings were used. The objective was to examine resistance to facial frostbite. Facial temperatures stabilize well above freezing even under quite cold conditions and this conclusion is congruent with low incidences of facial frostbite. Racial differences in face temperatures were clearly shown at only the malar eminence, and there was some evidence that exercise can be used to enhance facial circulation. These results and those of other studies reviewed demonstrate that facial sites cooled by convection are usually ranked from forehead (warmest) through malar, cheek, and chin, to nose (coldest). When cooled by still air, the sites tend to retain that same ranking, but there is more variation in ranking.