Your travel skincare routine might not be the first thing on your mind when you’re zipping up your suitcase and trying to remember if you packed your phone charger.
But here’s why you might want to think about it a little more: Your skin is going to have a lot to deal with.
Even if the journey is exciting, traveling can put your skin in a whole new set of conditions almost overnight. The sky is different. Your sleep quality, meals and diet can all change. You may spend more time in the sun, wear more sunscreen or makeup, or try to wash your skin in a hotel sink with lights that make it difficult to see anything clearly
Moving to a different climate can be especially difficult for sensitive, reactive, or compromised skin. Higher temperatures, UV levels, humidity, pollution and other environmental aggressors alter the skin’s natural balance and cause dermatological conditions such as eczema flare-ups, acne, dehydration and more.
All this together can cause your skin to behave completely differently than normal. That’s why a good travel skincare routine is so important. Not only do you want to look your best wherever you go, but you also want to make sure your skin is as healthy and comfortable as possible.
Do you have what you need in your bag? Read on to find out.
Skin care routine for travel: how traveling stresses the skin
Dry air
Airplane cabins are notoriously dry. Hotel rooms can also be dry, especially if the heating or air conditioning is on all the time. Dry air draws moisture from the outer layer of the skin, which can make your skin feel tight, flaky or rough and wrinkles may be visible.
Your skin may look flat, tired and older, which usually means your moisture barrier needs help.
Inflammation
Travel days often bring more stress than we realize. There is rushing, packing, navigating, waiting, delays, missed or rushed meals, and often very little sleep.
When stress rises, cortisol also rises. Cortisol is part of the body’s stress response and the skin has receptors that can respond to it. Unfortunately, stress can increase inflammation, affect oil production, and make existing skin conditions like eczema or rosacea more reactive.
Climate changes
Your skin knows what to expect when you’re home. But traveling often takes you into a completely new world. Dry mountain air can draw moisture from your skin. Humid beach air can make you feel greasy or congested. In cold weather, the skin feels tight and chapped. Hot weather can cause sweat, sunscreen and clogged pores.
Sensitive skin is more vulnerable to these changes due to a thinner skin barrier or existing inflammatory conditions. The combination of heat stress, shifts in humidity and pollution can overwhelm the skin, causing flare-ups and worsening of eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis.
Sleep and jet lag
Just like the rest of you, your skin follows your daily rhythm. Sleep involves a lot of restorative work, and traveling can quickly interrupt that rhythm.
Early flights, time zone changes, unfamiliar beds and bright screens can all disrupt your sleep. When your circadian rhythm is disrupted, your skin can look puffy, duller, drier and older. Even if you manage to get a few hours of sleep, your skin can still look tired and dull because those hours are out of sync with your body’s natural rhythm.
Bacteria
Airports, trains, hotel rooms and shared surfaces: When traveling, your hands come into contact with many more bacteria and allergens than normal. And when you’re tired and stressed, you’re likely to touch your face more often. For sensitive or reactive skin, this increase in contact can cause breakouts, redness, and irritation in ways that feel mysterious until you trace them back to the travel itself.
7 routine skin care tips while traveling to keep skin healthy
1. Start your travel skincare routine before you leave.
The best time to protect your skin is before it starts to feel stressed.
The night before your trip, use a gentle cleanser, a hydrating serum if you prefer, and a nourishing moisturizer like our fragrance-free Calming Moisture. It will help strengthen the skin barrier to cope with temperature changes, irritation and dehydration. Skip harsh exfoliating acids or strong retinoids right before a long travel day. You don’t want to weaken your barrier right before you step into the dry cabin air.
2. Keep your travel skincare routine simple.
Traveling is not the best time to test new products. Your skin already has enough changes to process.
Pack the basics: a gentle cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen, lip balm, and a soothing treatment product if your skin needs extra support. If you wear makeup, bring something that’s easy to remove so you don’t have to scrub your face at the end of a long day.
These are my must-haves for maintaining healthy and glowing skin on the go, especially during seasonal changes, air travel and those with sensitive or reactive skin.
- Rescue and relief spray — My go-to for too much sun. This award-winning after-sun mist hydrates, soothes inflammation and redness, and restores a healthy, radiant appearance to both face and body and lasts wherever you travel.
- Restorative skin balm — Protects the skin barrier and soothes dry, chapped or chafed skin. It even helps support healing when the skin is affected.
- Soothing moisture — A lightweight, breathable moisturizer that keeps the skin nourished and balanced. I mix it with foundation for an instant, sun-kissed glow.
- Body repair lotion — Fast-absorbing hydration that leaves skin silky soft, smooth and naturally radiant.
3. Make moisture the center of your routine.
Moisturizer is your travel friend. Apply it before your flight, after cleansing and whenever your skin feels dry.
Look for barrier-supporting ingredients like aloe, glycerin, plant oils, ceramides, and other soothing moisturizers (all of which are found in CV Skinlabs products). For very dry areas, use a richer balm on the cheeks, around the nose or anywhere you tend to flake.
Take our Rescue + Relief Spray travel size with you and spray whenever your skin needs a little refresh. It works great under or over makeup.
4. Use sunscreen every morning.
Even if you spend the day in airports, in the car, or in cloudy weather, sunscreen still belongs in your morning routine.
Traveling often means more incidental sun than usual. You may find yourself walking outside, sitting near airplane or car windows, eating on a patio, hiking, skiing, swimming, or sightseeing all day.
Apply broad-spectrum sunscreen in the morning and reapply if you will be outside for extended periods of time.
5. Help your skincare routine travel to treat sweat and buildup.
In hot destinations, the skin may be covered in sunscreen, sweat, salt, sand and pollution. That buildup can clog pores and irritate sensitive skin.
Cleanse at night, even when you are tired. Use lukewarm water and a mild detergent. Avoid scrubbing, especially after sun exposure.
6. Customize your pre-travel skincare routine for your destination.
Think about your destination before you pack.
For dry or cold climates, bring a richer moisturizer such as our Restorative Skin Balm for lips, hands and dry areas. In hot or humid climates, opt for lightweight hydration (like our Rescue + Relief Spray) and be extra consistent with cleansing at night. For sunny trips, make sunscreen and after-sun care the most important elements of your bag.
7. Have a recovery routine that you can use after you get home.
The skin after a trip often needs a reset.
Take it easy for a few days after your trip. Cleanse and moisturize, but avoid aggressive exfoliation right away if your skin feels dry or reactive. Give your barrier time to settle down.
If your skin looks dull, focus on hydration first. If it breaks out, don’t panic and attack it with every active ingredient you own. Go back to basics and gradually let your skin tell you what it needs.
The best skincare routine for travel feels like a familiar place
Traveling requires your skin to adapt again and again.
A good travel skincare routine will give you something to go back to. Use products you’re used to and make sure your skin feels safe enough to stay healthy while you enjoy your trip.
What’s the one skincare product you never travel without?
Featured image by Gustavo Fring via Pexels.
