Vacation Skin Care – Travel Tips

You have booked a trip and have started planning your getaway. Before getting away, you need to pack your vacation skin care! While finding the right travel-sized products and space in a suitcase is not always a breeze, it is a worthwhile endeavor if you want to keep your skin healthy and happy on holidays!

No matter what the climate or the location on the globe, you want to make sure your skin is protected all the way through. Here are a few tips to keep your skin looking and feeling its best on holiday.

Simplify Your Vacation Skin Care Routine

Don’t try to pack your whole bathroom! Narrow your packing list to just the essentials. For instance, our deserted island list includes a cleanser, hydrating/antioxidant serum, moisturizer, and SPF – that’s it.

If you normally use a specialty product to treat skin conditions such as acne, clogged pores, redness, rosacea or severe dryness, include these items in order to maintain your skin’s health.

When selecting other products to pack, consider your planned activities and how long you’ll be away. Skin often experiences small changes during trips due to temperature and climate, pollution, lodging, and quality of drinking and tap water. Pack accordingly. Sunny beach vacations require a replenishing body oil while traveling anywhere for longer than a week might dictate that you include an exfoliating product.

What to Leave Behind

Products that should stay at home include potentially messy items such as liquid toners or unnecessary extras like clay masks or AHA exfoliants. These are items that you can typically live without for a week or two. Additionally, leave behind bulky items like facial cleansing tools or delicate items such as jade massage rollers.

Travel-Size Your Options

Once you’ve selected your items to pack, it’s a good idea to downsize the containers themselves. Most must-have skin care products come in travel sizes, perfect for keeping skin care on track during a vacation. Alternatively, create your own travel-smart toiletries by dispensing your usual skin care products into small, reusable containers.

Pro tip: Pack a few cotton washcloths for makeup removal that also results in some gentle exfoliation.

Plane Tips & Tricks

Airplane travel is very skin-depleting. The closed environment and constantly recirculated dry air create havoc with the skin, stealing essential moisture and leaving skin feeling parched.

• Apply a hydrating serum and rich, protective moisturizer before flying to lock and retain moisture as much as possible.
• A hydrating spritz can be reapplied throughout a flight to freshen the skin. However, to protect against immediate evaporation, a moisturizer or creamy sleep mask should be applied over the top, especially before nodding off for an in-flight snooze.

Post-Flight Skin Care

Skin needs extra TLC after an airline flight. Hydrate, brighten and replenish skin reserves with a nourishing self-care ritual once you’ve arrived at your destination.

After cleansing travel-grime away, restore antioxidant protection with an aloe vera or vitamin-rich serum or mask. Vitamin C provides brightening, firming and replenishing benefits. A hydrating gel mask or leave-on creamy sleep mask soothes and helps your skin recover from any post-flight dehydration.

Resist exfoliating for at least a day or two, until your moisture has recovered. Contrary to popular belief, exfoliation does not help dry skin – in fact, it usually makes it worse!

Pro tip: Manual facial massage at this time encourages circulation and brings life-giving oxygen and nutrients through internal blood flow to your depleted skin tissues.

Antioxidants + Sunscreen = Sun Smarts

It should go without saying that sun protection is mandatory when traveling. When selecting a formula, look for broad-spectrum coverage that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Choose an SPF of 30 or more for longer-lasting wear. And for hot or humid vacation destinations, consider opting for a water-resistant formula that can hold up to water and sweat.

Look for a sunscreen formula that contains added antioxidant protection, or apply an antioxidant-containing serum or lotion underneath. Antioxidants are the bodyguards of our cells, detecting and neutralizing oxidative stress caused by pollution, stress, alcohol consumption, poor diet, etc., and are rapidly depleted by travel and sun exposure. Take extra precautions by applying a daily, topical antioxidant serum.

Be Informed: Antioxidants are not an alternative to SPF, but do work to proves some protection against free radical damage when paired with appropriate sunscreen filters.

Hydration, Hydration, Hydration

Stay hydrated! This is an easy yet often forgotten method of keeping your skin hydrated. To feel your best while traveling, be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Increase your water intake beyond your usual amount and always keep a water bottle with you.

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy your holiday!

Bonus: Vacation Skin Care Top Picks

Prior to your holiday, be sure to speak with your Skin Therapist to inquire about travel sizes of your essential skin care products. Should you want some inspiration, here are a few of our favorite vacation skin care items:

• Rhonda Allison Citrus Gel Cleanser
• Rhonda Allison Cucumber Spritz
• Rhonda Allison Papaya Tangerine Enzyme
• ElaSpa Hyaluronic Acid 2 in 1
• ElaSpa Soothing Treatment Mask
• Environ Antioxidant Gel