Post flight skincare. It feels as if every time I travel, all I wind up doing is battling my skin. For the duration of my trip (or most of it), it’s kind of blotchy, I get breakouts and I seem to look tired and old. None of this bodes well for the memorable photographs that I’m supposed to be in. This is the first time in a long time that I arrived at my destination after a long haul flight where my skin has re-balanced itself fairly quickly after landing.
Now, there are a ton of posts on how to deal with air travel, read: Beauty Travel Survival Guide but what happens when you land? To be perfectly honest, I don’t look my very best after an 8 hour flight, but I look okay and even better than many of my fellow passengers. I hydrate on the plane, I apply extra moisturizer, I don’t put on a lot of foundation, I use eye drops as necessary, so really, it’s not that bad.
Where I start to notice a difference is about a day or two after I’ve arrived somewhere. Suddenly, the air is all different (there may be more or less pollution), the water is different, the food is different and my schedule has done a back flip and it seems that it’s at that exact moment that my skin decides it’s not going to play nice anymore and that whatever I’m using is no longer working for it. So I’ve devised a skincare routine that I start to follow immediately upon landing.
POST FLIGHT SKINCARE
If you are anything like me then it’s tempting to dump your luggage at the nearest hotel and just jump out and start exploring (or find a place to buy a local sim card so you don’t miss a thing on Instagram, not even joking). Before you go, give yourself 5 minutes in the bathroom. Trust me, your skin will thank you.
Cleanse. The first thing you’ll want to do is properly cleanse your face. Get rid of all that grime and germs that you picked up on your flight. Read: How To Properly Wash Your Face
Exfoliate. You don’t want any harsh products on your face right now because they can cause you to breakout and might aggravate an already dry complexion. Your skin has been through a lot, so look for a very gentle natural exfoliant.
Apply a masque. If you are itching to jump out and start exploring then leave this step until right before bedtime. I’ve actually applied face masks before hopping in the shower. This is a completely unproven theory, but I figure that the steam from my shower is extra beneficial to my skin when I have a mask on my face. At night apply a clay based, pore cleansing face masque for just a few minutes. Don’t leave it on for too long because you don’t want to dry out your skin. Think of it as an additional step to the exfoliant.
Extra hydrating night cream. This is the time to pile on the moisture and you have two options, depending on how much of a beating your skin took. If you don’t already use a serum then pick up a sample of one that you can apply for the first few days. This is the time when you want a product that will penetrate deep into your skin. Then use an extra hydrating night cream or the other option is to apply an overnight hydrating masque. The goal is to wake up the following morning looking refreshed with healthy, plump appearance to your complexion.
Eat carefully. I have a sensitive stomach and some food difficulties, but even without taking that into account I’m always very careful about throwing myself into all the new flavours. For the first few days, it’s much easier to stick with foods I know and to gradually adapt to a new way of eating.
Hydrate constantly. Even though the water may be different, this tip should go without saying, Keep hydrating. It’s easy to forget to drink water especially when you are sightseeing (I have a fear of public toilets) but I say this to everyone and myself, get over it and keep drinking water. I have a fun trick that I use. You see, I have a mild obsession with interesting waters. It can be that they are in a beautiful bottle or that they are infused with some fruit or herbs (I recently discovered one that had a few raspberries, a slice of lemon and some rosemary in it) so I buy those.
Do you have any skincare tricks for after you’ve landed?
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feature image courtesy of Dollarphotoclub
