With vacation season just round the corner, everybody's mind is on travelling. All of us – or at least most of us – are busy planning our little retreat where we can relax and enjoy ourselves by breaking away from the monotony of daily routine.
But while you are happy, your skin is not.
When you are at home, you have all your bottles and brushes and jars and cloths and whatever else you need within your reach. You are free to take care of your skin the way you want, and with all sorts of products at your disposal.
But when you decide to travel, it's bad news for your skin. All of your schedules go for a toss, and your assortment of skincare products and gadgets suddenly get reduced to a small bag of miniature items. You no longer have that TLC which makes your skin look decades younger.
All of a sudden, your skin begins to change – you begin to suffer from excessive oiliness, or maybe it dries up uncharacteristically, bringing out every single fine line and wrinkle you never knew existed. As a result, instead of looking fresh, youthful, and vibrant like you intended to, you end up looking dull, tired, and old.
But not anymore.
Believe it or not, there is a way to let your skin look fresh and vibrant – even when you're on the go…all you need is a bit of extra understanding on your part.
Luckily for you, we have compiled this detailed guide that will allow you to maintain your skin while traveling. Read on to know more.
The Challenges Your Skin Faces When You Travel
Come to think of it, it is not all that unnatural for your skin to act up, given the fact that practically EVERYTHING your skin is adjusted to changes when you travel:
Your Schedule
Quite naturally, your “normal” schedule (and therefore, your skin care routine) goes for a toss when you travel, since you go to sleep and wake up at different times.
The Climate
Regardless of where you go, the climate at your destination will always be different (even if mildly) to whatever you are used to back at home. Which means your skin has to adjust to different levels of sunlight and temperatures, higher or lower humidity levels, etc.
Your Living Arrangements
Thanks to different heating and air-conditioning systems, your skin is vulnerable to increased dryness.
Your Products
Given the fact that you have to travel economically, you will have to cut back on many of the products that you are used to, which means your skin has to make-do without something it is used to receiving.
Your Stress Levels
Any travel journey involves some level of stress, which directly affects your physiology, and is bound to show up on your skin.
Your Diet
When you travel, you lose out on your usual, healthy diet that your skin is adjusted to and eat whatever you can get, which basically forces your skin to adjust to whatever it is that you’re eating.
No matter where you go and how you get there, your skin is bound to bear the brunt of it. So, how can you cope with all of this?
Tips To Take Care Of Your Skin When Traveling
The main thing about taking care of your skin when you're on the road is this – travel skin care is VERY different to home skin care. Given the fact that your environmental conditions change when you travel, your skincare regimen will need to change accordingly.
Keeping that in mind, here are eleven key tips to maintain your skin and keep it looking fresh, happy and skin-friendly:
1. Prepare Yourself Beforehand
Plan a skincare regimen according to how your trip will pan out. Are you driving or going by plane? Is your destination a sunny beach or a cool hill station? Prepare your skin a few days beforehand. Exfoliate your skin with a gentle scrub and put a hydrating mask on your face – even if your skin is oily.
This is because when you travel, your skin tends to overreact. After that, apply your moisturizer, and you're ready to go. All-in-all, you must make sure that your skin stays in great condition in the days before your departure.
2. Pack Carefully
When you travel, your skin – due to the suddenly different conditions – will be under stress. Therefore, you need to pack small and smart. You need to keep all those hydroxy acids, harsh cleansers, resurface treatments, and peels at home.
Also, ditch those beauty gadgets such as your light therapy and your skin scrubber. Stick to the basics and pack a bag that contains a gentle cleanser, your moisturizer, a hydrating serum, a gentle scrub, a hydrating mask, and an under-eye cream.
3. Keep Yourself As Makeup-Free As Possible
When it comes to putting makeup on during travel, less is more. This is because makeup tends to settle into pores, which in turn leads to growth of unwanted microorganisms. Therefore, the best way to maintain healthy skin is to remain as barefaced as possible.
That said, if you do need to wear makeup for some reason (such as if you need to attend a meeting right after you reach your destination), then take along a small bag that contains foundation, cleanser, lip color, and moisturizer, and apply the makeup in bathroom of the airplane right before landing.
4. Counteract Travel Dryness
Before you leave, apply some regular moisturizer on your face (this helps to penetrate deep into your pores), and use a freshening mist on your journey. Following this simple routine will help you keep the skin hydrated under drier circumstances and lead to you looking fresh and vibrant when you have finally reached your destination.
If your flight is a very long one, you should bring a travel-sized moisturizer along with you and apply it every few hours.
5. Make Sure To Protect Your Skin
ALWAYS make sure to pack sunscreen! Even if you plan to stay indoors all day – be it on the plane or in your hotel, you still need to dab that sunscreen to prevent your skin from getting damaged from the UV rays that enter through the windows.
6. Always Make Sure To Pack Blotting Cloths
Especially applicable for those with oily skin, blotting cloths are very helpful in wiping off all that accumulated oil on your skin when you are traveling. Better still, you can also use oil-blotting papers, which help reduce oil and leave no residue on your skin.
7. Keep Your Hands Away From Your Face
Believe it or not, that is the biggest mistake we make when it comes to taking care of our skin when traveling. When we are on planes or in public spaces, our hands get exposed to a variety of germs, and by touching our faces, we end up transferring those germs to our skin, where they remain and later cause problems (such as pimples).
When you have to touch your face, you should use an oil blotter or a tissue that will create a barrier between your skin and your bare hands, and will prevent germs from transferring.
8. Make Sure To Drink Enough Water
Switch those alcoholic and sugar-laden juices and sodas with water, which will help your skin stay hydrated naturally.
9. Take Special Care Of Your Skin The First Night
Make taking care of your skin your biggest priority when you reach your destination. Remember, when you reach your destination and check into your hotel, your skin is laden with several environmental elements.
Wash your skin with care and then gently exfoliate to wash off all the dirt you would have accumulated while traveling. Thereafter, gently apply some good moisturizer. Also, make sure to apply eye cream!
10. Put Ice Under Your Eyes
One of the many common problems that travelers face is under-eye circles. If you find yourself having trouble with these when you are on the plane, ask the airline attendant to get you a towel and some crushed ice. Use these to make an impromptu ice pack and apply it under your eyes.
Doing this before bed (especially on the first night) will help you wake up with a much more refreshed look on your face. Also, make sure to apply eye cream on the under-eye area to prevent dryness and developing fine lines there.
11. Eat Foods That Will Keep You Hydrated
As already mentioned, dehydration is one of the biggest challenges faced by your skin when you are on the go. Therefore, besides drinking lots of water, you must also make sure to consume foods that have a lot of water content in them that will allow you to stay hydrated.
Such foods include (but are certainly not limited to) soups, juicy vegetables and fruits, and green vegetables, among others. Some of the best and most easily available foods are watermelon, cucumbers, pineapple, radishes, celery, tomatoes, strawberries, green peppers, grapefruit, oranges, cantaloupe, lettuce, cabbage, and zucchinis.
Travel Skincare Tips Conclusion
All of us (or at least most of us) love to travel – it makes us feel relaxed and refreshed. But that's not the case with our skin. Traveling – be it by train, bus, or plane – takes a toll on our skin. During spring and summer especially, many people go on their (mostly much-needed) retreats to relax and energize, but end up returning with darker complexions and frustrating marks on their skin. Regardless of your destination, in the middle of all the fun and enjoyment, your skin often ends up getting neglected.
When you are traveling, your skin gets exposed to many adverse and harmful circumstances such as sun, dust, saltwater, and humidity (at beach travel destinations), and dry winds and dehydration (at colder areas such as hill stations). While it is impossible to escape the harsh conditions your skin may face when you are traveling to a foreign land, it is possible to protect your skin from most – if not all – the elements that it gets exposed to and protect it from long-lasting damage.
