Traveling can be an exciting yet tiring experience. Planning your trip schedule, packing, and long flights can often leave us feeling exhausted and stressed. However, this doesn’t just affect your energy levels, it can also impact your skin’s appearance.

If you want to make sure that you arrive at your destination looking refreshed and glowing, this post is for you. Today, we’ve gathered some essential airplane skincare tips to help you maintain your skin’s health and radiance before, during, and after your flight. Plus, we’ll also address some frequently asked questions, such as:

• How does flying affect your skin?
• Can you bring skincare on a plane?

Without further ado, let’s get started!

How Does Flying Affect Your Skin?

For starters, airplanes have a notably dry environment, with only 10%-20% humidity compared to the US’s average 80% humidity. As a result of breathing this air, your body loses moisture and causes your skin to look dull. This is especially the case for those with dry skin, as they may develop itchy, cracked, or flaky skin. Alternatively, other people may get breakouts.

Travel-related stress, such as delayed flights and misplaced passports, can also wreak havoc on your skin. And the reason is quite simple: These situations might increase cortisol levels, leading to skin flare-ups.
If you want to keep your skin glowing after a flight, as a general guideline, we suggest you keep a skin-replenishing kit in your carry-on for flights exceeding three hours.

Can You Bring Skincare on a Plane?

Yes! You can bring skincare products on a plane. However, be mindful of size restrictions. Each item must meet TSA requirements of 3.4 oz or 100ml. You should carry them in a transparent bag for security screening unless you have TSA Precheck or Global Entry.

If your skincare bottles exceed 3.4 oz, no worries! Transfer the contents into travel-size bottles. You can easily get travel-size traveling kits at most drugstores.

Airplane Skincare

Now that you know how flying affects your skin, let’s take a look at how to take care of it before and after your flight.

Before Your Flight

Before you get on your flight, we suggest you use a gentle cleanser to clean your skin and apply moisturizer. However, avoid using a thick cream. It’s better to apply a small amount frequently than to overload your skin with heavy products. If your skin is dry, use a little eye cream around the orbital bone to prevent dehydration lines.

In addition, it’s fair to mention that wearing full makeup on a plane isn’t ideal. Why? Well, when your skin dries out, it can look powdery. If possible, wear no makeup or choose lighter, hydrating products.

Nevertheless, if you need to wear makeup to the airport, we suggest you find a restroom to wash your face and reapply moisturizer before your flight.

Last but not least, be mindful of your pre-flight meal. Heavy, fatty, or spicy foods may disrupt your sleep during a flight, which can negatively impact your skin health. Also, avoid alcohol and caffeine for better rest.

During Your Flight

Now, let’s take a look at some key skincare tips for your flight. We suggest you:

• Stick to what you know
• Keep your travel skincare routine simple
• Stay hydrated

Stick to What You Know

Traveling can bring stress on its own. Therefore, it’s important to avoid introducing new products to your skin. Ultimately, you don’t know how your skin may react to them.

Keep Your Travel Skincare Routine Simple

Each person has different preferences when it comes to their skincare routine. Some may prefer an 8-step routine, whereas others might prefer a 3-step routine. When traveling, the best you can do is keep your routine to the minimum steps.

A good travel skincare routine consists of:

• A gentle cleanser
• Moisturizer
• Lip balm
• SPF

Using these four items can prevent dry skin and help you wake up looking refreshed. It’s important to note that you shouldn’t skip wearing SPF during your flight. And the reason is simple: You’re closer to the sun than you normally are. So, make sure to reapply it every two hours, especially if you’re sitting in the window seat.

Moreover, if those skincare steps seem too little to you, or your skin needs a bit of extra help, you may want to add:

• A moisturizing serum
• A mist
• An occlusive facial oil (to hold moisture)

Many people suggest using sheet masks. However, the truth is that sheet masks work well in humid environments but poorly in dry cabins. In fact, they can make your skin more dehydrated. How? Well, the cabin air can absorb the mask’s moisture and dry your skin as well. Hence, we recommend using a humectant-based mist instead.

Stay Hydrated

Skincare is more than applying products to your skin. It’s also about what you put in your body. Therefore, we suggest you drink water regularly during your flights to combat dehydration. According to the experts, you should drink eight ounces of water per flight hour.

Moreover, airplane bathroom water isn’t as clean as you might think. So, we suggest you use drinking water to wash your face. The easiest way to avoid making a mess is to pour it onto a cotton pad and gently wipe it on your skin. That way, you can make sure to avoid breakouts.

After Your Flight

Upon reaching your destination, head back to the bathroom and cleanse again with your gentle cleanser. Next, you may want to exfoliate to fully replenish your skin. Lastly, don’t forget to apply moisturizer and your favorite SPF.

Key Takeaways

Traveling is a delightful and life-changing experience. Today, we learned how to take care of your skin during a flight. However, this is not the only way you should take care of yourself during a flight.

COVID, although less alarming than before, is still among us. So, taking the necessary precautions remains crucial. Remember to wear a mask during your flight and wash your hands frequently. Ultimately, who does want to miss days on vacations for being sick? It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Get tested for COVID before your next flight. No matter where you are, or what type of test you need, find testing locations near you with our global directory.