Hold on to That Glow!

By Chrissy Thomas, RN, Anti-Aging Specialist, Master Cosmetic Injector

I had a perfect trip once. A week alone with my husband in a beautiful spot. I shopped for a few new outfits, bought travel sizes of my hair supplies and packed my usual skin care products. After all, I am a skin professional. I study skin, skin care, skin volumizing, skin aging, skin cell turnover, and the latest skin research on a daily basis. I’m a total anti-aging nerd. So, why was I feeling like a dehydrated strawberry? And why would my usual awesome products and routine not help my skin pop right back into balance? Even though I have traveled a lot over my adult life, I had a big realization on this perfect trip. My healthy, well cared for, aging skin was going to need a little extra help when traveling.

Thus, I have had to become more diligent with pampering my skin when I travel. Here are some great tips to “pack away” for your future travels.

Pre-Flight Prep: Long flying times are not conducive to pretty skin. Relative humidity on planes is around ten percent. This means that in a 10-hour flight, a woman can lose up to one and a half liters of fluid. Combine this with a celebratory glass of wine mid-flight and the skin really takes a beating. It is important to prepare before heading to the airport. Drink ahead the days before flying to ensure there is extra fluid to lose. Try a hydrating mask the night before take-off. Apply extra moisturizer to the skin before flight and pack a small misting spray to spritz skin if flying time exceeds four hours.

Post-Flight Recoup: Try to make time to wash your face and re-apply moisturizer after flying. Eye creams are a must because the eyes have few oil glands and dehydrate first. Pick up a bottle of water to down before leaving the airport.

Keep Skin on Routine: It may be tempting to leave products at home and opt for lesser quality, smaller products for travel, but your face may find this a disgrace. Stress from travel can create dullness or cause breakouts. Try to stay as consistent as possible on your usual routine.

Don’t Let Unwanted Hair Make a Hairy Situation: Remember to care for shaved skin a little more carefully when traveling. Exposing underarms and bikini lines may require more frequent than usual shaving and skin might revolt. Keep a high-quality shave cream in your travel kit to soften hair before shaving. A topical cortisone cream or aloe gel may calm post shave inflammation. Better yet, look into laser hair removal to permanently get rid of the need to worry about unwanted hair.

Don’t Let that Sun Glow Become a Sun UH-OH!!: We all know we should avoid the sun, but many still enjoy a natural sun-kissed glow. Skin that is not used to sun exposure will be more likely to burn or even develop a “sun rash.” Make sure to pack a sun protective lotion and an SPF product that will protect your face. Apply under makeup daily and throw the tube in your travel bag to make sure you aren’t caught unprepared.

Pucker Punishment: Lips take a beating with travel. Dehydration from flying, dry climates that lips are not used to, sun exposure on unprotected lips…..it is no wonder that this delicate area needs extra attention. It is important to apply moisture to lips that will actually hydrate and repair them. My favorite is Skinceuticals Lip Repair Cream. Waxy balms will help lock in these moisturizers, but when used alone do little to repair dehydration and damage.

Remove Retinols: I have always advised my clients to hold off on retinols and other harsh ingredients when traveling. Skin surfaces that tolerate these things with no issues at home may be too harsh when visiting sunny or cooler climates.

Although traveling skin will take a little extra attention, following these tips will help keep you glowing in all of those vacay photos.