A customer wrote in asking me what I do for skin care when I travel and I do travel, over 100,000 miles every year, sometimes more. From Australia to Korea, Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, and throughout the United States too, over a 12 month period it is exhausting and wonderful.
When on a plane there really isn’t anything all that special to do in flight. Most of what you read in fashion and travel magazines about this topic doesn’t make sense (I’ll explain why). In the long run you have to experiment with what works for you but here are some basics that can help you the next time you have to go somewhere in the friendly skies:
It is indeed drier at 35,000 feet, but if you don’t have dry skin it doesn’t really matter. If you have dry skin and you are taking a long flight somewhere you may need to reapply moisturizer or a really good toner (loaded with state of the art ingredients not just water and slip agents), of course that assumes you are not wearing makeup. If you are wearing makeup, spraying water over your face is useless, it won’t get to the skin cells through the foundation. If you aren’t wearing makeup spraying your face with water is useless unless you apply a moisturizer over it very quickly as it will just be evaporated by the air.
In terms of expensive water, your skin cells can’t tell the difference between what kind of water you put on it (assuming it is potable water). The only cells water can really affect are the skin cells on the surface (the corneocytes of the epidermis) and they’re dead. The healthy ingredients for skin (skin identical ingredients, antioxidants, and cell communicating ingredients) applied on a daily basis will make skin far less dry, or eliminate it all together (but you have to use it every day!).
Because of airport security I always have my travel packets with me. In the years following security screenings my flat travel packets have always gotten through every airport around the world in my carry on luggage. They get by all on their own without taking up precious room in that little quart container you have to use for other liquids and creams. Not every company offers samples of all their products, or even some of their products, so in this case I’m making a shameless plug for my line Paula’s Choice (www.paulaschoice.com).
For long flights over 6 hours I travel without makeup. It is better for my skin and I hate having to wash up twice in those tiny little bathrooms. Just before I land, if I have an appointment I have to get to, I do wash up in the bathroom, apply my skin care routine and then apply my makeup. It looks a lot better that way.
For shorter flights I just wear my makeup as usual only I don’t powder until just before I land when I touch up my makeup. That way I don’t have anything drying on my face during the flight.
A higher altitude in the outdoors does require a higher rated SPF, but in an airplane up in the sky not much UV light is getting through those tiny windows. What you normally wear for sun protection, meaning an SPF 15 or greater will do just fine.
Happy trails!
