Borders are opening up and travel bans are slowly getting lifted, just in time for the holidays!

While it may be exciting to travel again, it still comes with the same stressors it used to, if not more so, and this can affect your skin. Unfortunately, getting caught up in preparations with what to bring, what to do and packing, sometimes skin care tends to take a backseat.

But fret not, adjusting your skin care routine for travel can be easy-peasy. Making sure that you pack the essentials and follow these simple tips should keep your skin healthy and destination ready. 

But first, let’s check out how moving from one place to the next can affect your skin.

How Traveling Affects Your Skin

Traveling exposes you to different weather and environmental conditions, as well as unhealthy pollutants that can influence your skin’s reaction and health. It’s also probable that you’ll be veering away from your normal diet and binge on a variety of food. Because why not? It’s the holidays!

While you may think that you’re on vacation, your skin is working overtime to compensate for all these changes. Breakouts tend to happen when your skin lacks moisture, which is what happens when you travel to cold or dry places. 

This is particularly true for airplane travel. Cabin pressure makes air humidity drop by as much as 20 percent, making your skin produce more oil to compensate for the dryness. This leads to oily skin, dullness and breakouts. Plus, you may experience some dry patches and puffy eyes.  

Your skin care routine may also be disrupted while traveling. In the hustle of flying, train rides and road trips, you may not even have the chance to simply wash your face, much less apply your intricate skin care products. When this happens, dead skin cells accumulate on your face leading to breakouts and uneven skin tones.

10 Skin Care Tips When Traveling

Fortunately, there are ways to keep your skin healthy and look its best when on the move. Here are 10 ways to give your skin some TLC while traveling during the holidays.

1. Stay Hydrated

To have moisture on your skin, you have to replenish your body with water. It’s essential especially when you’re constantly exposed to dry air while traveling. Prep your skin before your trip and start increasing your water intake leading up to and during your travel period. 

A good amount is 64 ounces, though experts say that increasing your water intake by 2 liters a month before traveling leads to better skin hydration, making your skin look healthier and less dull.

2. Keep Nutritious Food In Your Diet

The holidays come with feasts filled with different kinds of delicious food and treats! While its great to indulge in the goodies on the table, don’t forget to balance it out with greens and fruits. Your stomach may love you, but your skin might not appreciate it as much. Too much alcohol, sodium and oil may result in puffiness and less radiant skin.

Having some healthy snacks on the road can help too. Load up on trail mix, fruits and some cut up veggies to keep your skin healthy and glowing.  

3. Apply Sunscreen

Sunscreen should already be an everyday staple, but more so while traveling. While on the road or in the air, you’re more exposed to the sun’s UV rays. Applying sunscreen or moisturizer with the right SPF can help protect your skin from the damaging effects of sun exposure. 

What’s good about sunscreen is that you don’t have to be thrifty about it. Slather it on and make sure that you cover all the spots that will be exposed to the sun. Don’t forget to reapply also every 2 hours! 

4. Use Multipurpose Products

Bringing your whole skincare regimen can be stressful and bulky. It’s hard enough to decide the right clothes for the trip, but to bring all your skin care items just seems counter-productive especially when trying to pack smart. 

Bringing multi-purpose products significantly lessens the woes of what to bring on your travels. Consider products like the BirchTech Hybrid serum/cream that infuses the skin with full-spectrum ingredients with just a few drops. Skin care while traveling doesn’t have to be complicated. Lessen the process and stick to the essentials! 

5. Avoid Hotel Products

At the cost of saving space and leaving behind your usual skin care products, you may be tempted to compensate for them by using the creams and lotions provided by the place you’re staying in. 

The danger in this is that these products are far from customized to suit your skin. What’s more, they may contain fragrances, colorants and other irritants that may do more harm than good for your skin. It’s best to stick to what your skin already knows and is comfortable with.

If you worry about bringing soap or liquid bath cleansers being too bulky for your carry on, consider the Konjac Sponge from NOOMI. It cleanses your skin without needing any soap or liquid cleanser and effectively removes dead cells, excess oil and unclogs your pores. In one product, you can save on space while keeping your skin clean as you travel.

6. Don’t Forget Your Beauty Sleep

Sleep routines tend to become erratic while traveling for the holidays. This is especially true when crossing time zones or getting used to different climates. Unfortunately, not getting your beauty sleep can affect your skin’s healing process. 

Not getting enough sleep or irregular sleep schedules are often linked to dark under eyes, puffiness and dull looking skin. This is probably because your body and skin aren’t getting enough recovery time from all the stressors of traveling. Try some calming tea or meditation to help set your mind to a restful and relaxed state as a step towards getting the right amount of sleep.

7. Take Care Of Your Skin While Sleeping

You’ve heard of skin care BEFORE you sleep. But what about WHILE you’re sleeping? Yup, that’s totally possible with the right sheets and pillows. Rough sheets and pillowcases may not only disrupt your sleep but irritate your skin as well.

Having a good pillowcase to rest your head on can help you get your beauty sleep, literally. Products like the Skin Cloud Vegan Pillowcase benefit your skin while you sleep. It helps preserve your moisture levels while minimizing friction-related lines and wrinkles. Imagine waking up with your skin moisture intact, ready to face the day!

8. Apply Oil When Flying

While it may seem counter-intuitive, applying the right oil on your face can protect your skin while traveling. The dry air and prolonged exposure to the sun can accelerate the dryness on your skin, leading to more visible lines and wrinkles. Applying oil can help lock in moisture and can also be a good primer for your makeup. 

Oils are different from moisturizers in the sense that you don’t have to apply them generously on your face. Just pat a few drops onto your skin to make sure that the oil is pushed in your pores. This helps your skin absorb the oil and make use of its benefits quicker.  

9. Skip Or Apply Minimal Makeup

It can be tempting to fully glow up on your trip especially if you’re excited to take selfies and inspo photos along the way. But the changing humidity in the air makes your skin prone to breakouts. Putting makeup will only add to the stress that your skin is enduring while traveling.  Instead, opt for the minimum amount or no makeup at all.

10. Avoid Stress When You Can

Did you ever notice that when you’re stressed it immediately shows on your skin? That’s why its important to manage your stress levels when you can. Traveling can bring about all kinds of stress, from long flights to sudden changes in itinerary. Because of that, your skin can be affected making it irritated and looking dull.

Try to catch yourself when you’re getting stressed. Stay hydrated and take a breather when things are getting a little bit dicey. Play some calming music on the road or in the air to help keep your mind relaxed. Being stress-free can keep your skin from breaking out and stay glowing.

Bonus: How To Pack Skincare For Travel

What to pack is always a major concern when traveling. Sometimes its tempting to just grab all your skin care products and stuff them in your check in luggage. But skin care on the go doesn’t have to be an ordeal. 

It’s important to remember that most airlines permit liquids, creams and gels in 3.4 ounce containers in your carry-on luggage and should fit in one quart clear zip locked bag. Fortunately, its entirely possible to have an effective skin care kit in this space. All you have to do is bring the essentials.

Go for multi-functional products that cover all the basics of skin care. The BirchTech Hybrid serum/cream is a good alternative for your skin care needs. With a minimal amount, you can protect your skin from harmful pollution or blue screen damage, hydrate and smoothen your skin for less effort than an entire regimen. 

At all costs, keep your skin clean. Traveling exposes you to all kinds of irritants that can affect your skin. So its good to have skin protection and a gentle cleanser like the konjac sponge that suit your skin’s needs. Then support that protection with a good cream at night so you can keep your skin healthy and clear wherever you’re headed. 

You’re now ready to travel with bright glowing skin. Safe journeys!

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