Traveling for business, to visit family, or for vacation has many benefits–a change of scenery, a break from your regular routine, exploring fun new foods and places, to name a few. However traveling also has some drawbacks–long lines and waiting times, traffic, jet lag, stomach issues from unfamiliar foods or water, uncomfortable beds, and so on.
Traveling can also be disruptive to your skincare regimen due to different water in the shower, dirty air vents in hotels, dehydrating pressurized air in airplanes, and harsh chemicals like bleach and detergents on hotel sheets, towels, and pillowcases. Fortunately, there are easy travel skincare tips you can try?to keep your skin happy when traveling, and prevent breakouts, dehydration, and irritation.
Here are my top 5 travel skincare tips to keep your skin happy on the go:
Bring your own pillow cases, wash cloths, and hand towels. Hotel linens are cleaned with bleach and other harsh chemicals, many of which are known skin and eye irritants. You might not be able to pack a full set of sheets and towels due to space constraints in your suitcase, but you can likely fit a pillow case, wash cloth, and hand towel. Washing your face with towels and sleeping on a pillow case washed in detergents you’re used to is a great way to avoid direct exposure to the eye area and sensitive facial skin to bleach and industrial strength detergents.
Avoid hotel and travel-sized shampoos and skincare products and bring your own. As cute as hotel and travel-sized skincare and haircare products are, it’s hard to find ones that don’t contain sulfates, synthetic fragrances, and other toxic chemicals. Instead, buy empty travel-sized containers and fill them using your own products. I personally only pack my cleansing oil ?and sometimes one of my handmade toners?for my skin when traveling, because it removes makeup effectively, cleanses my skin, and also seals in moisture.
Bring your skin-healthy supplements-to-go. Whether you travel with a pill box filled with your favorite supplements, or purchase pre-measured supplement packs (I recommend Body Ecology’s Digestive Care Multi-Packs*), I do recommend bringing your supplements on your trip with you. While traveling, you might not always have as many healthy eating options as you do at home, and supplements can help keep your systems functioning optimally. I like to travel with my whole foods-based multivitamin, my Omega 3 fish oil supplement, a probiotic, and a digestive enzyme. Digestive issues are common while traveling, and poor digestion often leads to skin issues. Probiotics and digestive enzymes are particularly helpful to keep digestion on track while on-the-go.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! When traveling, it’s easier to become dehydrated than it is at home since we’re outside of our usual routine. Drink water more than you normally would, especially on the plane (yes you might have to deal with more climbing over people to use the bathroom). Also eat lots of fresh raw vegetables, herbal teas, and soups whenever you can, because they have a naturally high water content. Avoid dehydrating salty and greasy foods, as well as drinking too much coffee. Even some teas can be dehydrating.
Sleep, sleep, sleep. Lack of sleep is also common while traveling due to jet lag, late nights, and unfamiliar beds. Lack of sleep is also one of the top causes of skin issues like dark under-eye circles and puffiness, lackluster skin tone, and breakouts. Now I know that sometimes late nights are a part of travel and can’t be avoided. If that’s the case, be sure to catch extra zzzs whenever you can–take naps on the plane, and?during breaks or before going out at night.
Try these 5 tips, and when you return home, your skin will thank you even more as it adjusts back to your normal routine.
What’s your favorite way to keep your skin happy when you travel?
Share your best travel skincare tips in the comments below.
*Affiliate disclaimer
**Image 2 by Praynito,
