In this article:
Travel’s impact on skin
Skin care tips for traveling
Stick to your routine
In-flight skin care
Post-flight skin care
More travel skin care tips
You’ve probably seen all kinds of skin care tips for traveling; including what you should pack, skin care liquid limit hacks and in-flight skin care routines. With all the conflicting information out there, it can be hard to determine what to pack and what your skin needs to maintain its health while withstanding travel-stressors, environment changes and jetlag.
Check out our science-backed tips for traveling lighter and smarter, without compromising your skin’s appearance below.
Travel’s impact on skin
The new locations, time zones and environments that we encounter while traveling can throw skin for a loop.
Skin runs into a myriad of environmental aggressors daily: think pollution and UV rays. Although your skin care routine might be well suited to protect skin from the aggressors that exist within your usual environment, it might not be curated to help protect skin from new environments and climates you experience while traveling.
Travel can also be stressful (long flights, long lines, lost baggage, navigating a new place) and, if venturing to a new time zone, can mess with your circadian rhythm. These sleepless days and added stressors can prompt breakouts as well as dull skin (1).
On top of all of this, the notoriously dry air on planes can promote water loss, leaving skin dry and lips chapped.
So, how do you combat travel skin care concerns and still pack your tried-and-true products? Let’s get into it!
Skin care tips for traveling
Packing your products, prioritising your skin care routine and post-flight skin TLC can seem overwhelming, but our tips below show you it can be a breeze!
Stick to your routine
Buying new skin care products just because they’re travel-sized isn’t the best approach to packing. Don’t let your skin suffer for a little extra room in your bag; risking a reaction to new products just isn’t worth it. Besides, unless they’re brilliant products, why would you even want to stray from your tried-and-trues?
To maintain your skin health and routine consistency while still leaving room in your luggage, pare down your skin care routine to only the most important products you use. If they don’t come in travel sizes, transfer them to a travel sized container but be careful about which products you transfer. Most of the important and beneficial ingredients you use begin to degrade when exposed to air or light, so transferring them into a smaller jar or transparent container will compromise the formula’s effectiveness. Products with antioxidants (like retinol and vitamin C) should be in air-tight and light-resistant containers.
While packing, also keep in mind treatments for redness, clogged pores, and blemishes, as well as those that promote hydration and brightening, shouldn’t be left at home because you must use them consistently to maintain results.
Sunnier, warm-weather destinations might require a large amount of body sunscreen, which will probably take up way too much space in your luggage. It’s best to buy this when you get to your destination.
Some other skin care packing reminders:
- If you’re packing your skin care in a carry-on, all your skin care goodies must be housed in containers 3.4 ounces or less and then placed in a clear plastic quart-sized bag (2). You get one quart-sized bag per person.
- Skin care packed in a checked bag can be full sized and doesn’t need to be stored in a clear bag.
- Can you bring sunscreen on a plane? The answer is yes, if you abide by the above packing guidelines (3). You can even bring your aerosol SPF on a plane if it’s 3.4 ounces or less and fits into the one quart-sized bag of liquids you’re allotted.
- Scrubs, cleansing brushes or other cleansing devices can stay at home; a soft washcloth with your face cleanser works perfectly.
In-flight skin care
If you’ve ever taken a flight, you know that depressurised cabin air is dry, with average cabin humidity levels hovering between 10-20%. For context, skin and health thrive in humidity levels between 40-60% (3). Plane air sure leaves a lot (mainly moisture) to be desired!
This arid, depressurised environment can lead to low skin moisture levels, resulting in dryness, flaking and itching. On the other hand, for combination or oily skin types, this moisture-deficient environment can also increase skin’s oil production leading to a more noticeable shine. Thought that was all? Arid airplane air can also result in breakouts, both due to dehydrated, dead skin accumulating in pores and, depending on your skin type, increases in oil production. Phew!
UV rays are also stronger at higher altitudes. In fact, clouds can worsen UV exposure as rays reflect off them. If you’re flying during the day and you can see sunlight peeping through your window, your skin’s exposed to UV rays.
Combat in-flight skin effects with:
- Antioxidant rich sunscreens. Combat chances of in-flight sun damage and UV exposure with a broad-spectrum SPF.
- A multi-purpose emollient balm that prevents trans epidermal water loss and dryness on the lips and body.
- A moisture-attracting hyaluronic acid lip booster, peptide-infused hydrating, plumping lip treatment or a sunscreen lip gloss.
- Hydrating and barrier-supporting moisturisers that can also be used around the eyes to lock in hydration.
- Oil blotting sheets for combination to oily skin. Absorbing excess oil can reduce the likelihood of breakouts resulting from excess production and overall reduces the look of in-flight greasiness. A brush-on SPF-laced powder does double duty to combat shine and up your sun protection.
- Nourishing and hydrating face mists stacked with humectants and soothing ingredients can supply skin with the boost it needs to combat arid conditions.
- Whichever you decide on to combat the in-flight skin blues, make sure they’re travel-sized and accessible in your carry-on.
Post-flight skin care
Once you’ve landed at your destination and grabbed your luggage, make sure you stay consistent with your skin care to help level-set your skin.
Reduce the havoc that plane air can wreak and cleanse, then exfoliate your skin with a leave-on exfoliant once you arrive at your accommodation. This will help reduce travel-induced dullness (or oiliness) and slough off dead skin cells that could go on to cause clogs. After, apply whichever treatments you’ve packed and a moisturising SPF if it’s daytime or a nighttime moisturiser if the sun has set or you’re headed to bed.
If you’re in a warm, tropical location with lots of humidity, experiment with adding thinner layers of moisturiser to your skin. Higher humidity levels mean skin receives more moisture from the environment! Over moisturising can lead to oiliness and clogs.
Spending time in a drier or colder environment? Make sure to moisturise efficiently and utilise any hydrating serums you’ve managed to pack in your carry-on. There’s less moisture hanging out in the air, so you need to make up for this.
No matter where you land, always remember to apply (and every two hours outdoors, reapply) broad-spectrum SPF. Pay special attention to suncare when visiting higher altitudes (mountains) or snowy environments (UV rays reflect off light surfaces) and when on the beach or closer to the equator. If you’re wading in rivers or catching waves, pick up a water-resistant sunscreen at your destination. And of course- UV-protective clothing and hats are a must, especially for the sunburn-prone among us.
More travel skin care tips
Skin health goes far beyond what you put on your face. During periods of travel, be mindful of the below to maintain skin health and avoid irritation:
- Hydrate before take-off, in-flight and upon landing. A 2015 study demonstrated drinking two liters of water a day might positively impact skin physiology (5). Although topical application of a moisturiser is more impactful for skin health, plane air is dry, and any bit helps!
- Try to reduce travel-related stress. Stress levels can negatively impact skin health. Deferring worry and tension can mean anything from avoiding last-minute packing to making sure you get to the airport on time. Carve out some time at the gate to relax and pop on a podcast or meditative playlist.
- Pay attention to hotel detergents and in-suite cleansers and lotions. Harsh, fragrant ingredients in products that skin’s exposed to can cause irritation, dryness and flaking. Who wants that on vacation?
- Pack hand sanitiser in your carry-on or personal item and avoid touching your face at the airport and in-flight. Of course, routine handwashing is also advised since hand sanitisers aren’t as effective as good old soap and water, including for norovirus (aka stomach flu) (6).
- Indulge in a nap or catch-up on rest. Our skin knows when we’re tired, it doesn’t have any exceptions for jetlag!
Learn more skin care tips.
References for this information:
- Acta Dermatovenerologica Croatica, July 2017, pages 1133–1141
- USA Transportation Security Administration, “Travel Checklist,” Webpage Accessed January 2024
- USA Transportation Security Administration, “Sunscreen,” Webpage Accessed January 2024
- International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, April 2021, ePublication
- Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigative Dermatology, August 2015, pages 413-421
- Frontiers in Microbiology, April 2022, ePublication
