You know those people who look impossible fresh at baggage claim after a 7+ hour international flight? You can be one of those! ;) More seriously, other than wanting to look fab during that fab vacation, travel can really age the skin. Everything from the super dry airplane air to the new climate and being unprepared for it skincare-wise to jetlag-induced sleepless nights decreasing the time the skin has to renew itself can be damaging on the skin.
The good news is that just a little bit of travel savvy can go a very long way.
Here are our top 3 tips for keeping that face flawless during those fun summer trips:
1) Beat the flight dryness: Planes are dry. No way around that. The issue is that not only does the skin suffer during that plane ride, but sometimes the skin begins to kick into excess sebum production mode to compensate for the dryness. This could then lead to increased oiliness and acne that can persist for even 1-2 weeks after the flight. Making sure your skin’s balance isn’t thrown off on the plane can help prevent this so you can bathe at St. Barths without that unwanted pimple on the chin. Here’s a foolproof way to ensure your skin stays hydrated: for that flight, go about your morning or evening skincare ritual but double down on the serums and moisturizers. Then, SKIP that powder or matte finish as that will suck moisture out of your skin. In a travel-size tub or bottle, pack some moisturizer. On the plane, with clean hands (hand sanitizer or washing hands in that dreaded plane bathroom works) dab on extra moisturizer (not too much) at least once every 2-3 hours, once after every movie you watch. If you need to sleep and can’t be bothered, check to see how hydrated you are and double down before sleeping. Essentially, the skin should look dewey and not matte to ensure the plane doesn’t dry you out. If you have oilier skin, you may not need to apply every 2-3 hours. As long as the skin is looking dewey and doesn’t have that matte finish, you’re good. The matte finish is precariously close to being dry, so just watch out for that. If you want to be extra good about this, use a paper facial mask (this is an example of paper facial mask, although there are single pack ones for much, much cheaper…coming soon on Peach and Lily actually) and pamper yourself with an extra boost of hydration while you fly. Look, the celebrities are doing this, too!
Jessica Alba and Lauren Anderson on a flight indulging in paper facial masks (we know, it’s a bit horrifying/hilarious, but hey the point is to look fabulous AFTER the flight not during the flight) en route to the Dior couture show in Paris. Picture from Glamour. com
2) Beat that jetlag: I’ll keep this one short. Your body goes through a lot during travel as it adjusts new time zones, new water, new food, being tired, etc. Your body’s energies focus first on the essentials and skin renewal is usually a second priority. I mean, this is a smart and good thing about our bodies - if we’re fighting off a cold, we want our body focused on that, not on creating an inner glow on your face. Let’s help our bodies and get enough rest to give it plenty of energy to work on the skin, too. A couple favorite ways to beat jetlag around here (and we do tons of travel to Asia) is to massage the temples lightly with lavendar essential oils and also put a couple drops on the corners of our pillows. Combine this with a hot cup of chamomile tea, and the discipline to actually curl up into bed at a decent hour that first night in a new city despite the desire to explore, and usually we’re out cold and back on track by the next day. We try to avoid sleeping pills, if possible, and try the aromatherapy + tea route first.
3) Beat the lazies: Short of this part sounding like a lecture, we’ll go ahead and say that often when we travel, the AM and PM skincare regimen either falls to the wayside entirely or gets cut in half. On top of that, the sunscreen is usually applied in the morning and then never reapplied with the incorrect assumption that the fab wide-brimmed hat will provide enough sun protection. Not only will this altered skincare regimen throw your skin off balance especially with all the other new variables in the picture, the exposure to sun will age the skin rapidly, but add to throwing off your skin’s balance. ESPECIALLY on travel, keep at your skincare regimen and please do take your sunscreen with you and apply liberally at least once every hour. It sounds excessive, but having dark spots that you later spend years trying to lighten up isn’t worth it. It’s these subtle changes on our faces that add the years to our look in a drastic way. Not worth it after all that time you spend taking care of yourself when you’re not traveling. (ok, stepping off my soapbox now)
Cheers to many fun summer travels!
x-Alicia
