The Ultimate Guide to Skincare While Flying: Hydration, SPF, and Lip Care Tips
Travelling challenges your skin and flying is one of the most drying, dehydrating, and sensitising ways to travel. Our skin is at its happiest when the humidity levels are at around 40-50%. Unfortunately, the level in the aircraft cabins can be less than 20% (the busier the flight the lower the humidity will be). Low humidity will cause dehydration, dryness, tightness, an increase in oil and an increase in inflammation, which can lead to discomfort and sensitivity. To put the level of humidity into perspective, the Sahara Desert typically has a humidity level of 25%, so on a long-haul flight it’s like spending the day in the desert!
Luckily, there are some things you can do to care for your skin pre, during and post-flight to keep your skin as hydrated, happy and healthy as possible.
1. Boost your skin before you travel
Be smart before you travel; either the morning of travelling or the night before you fly, give your skin the TLC it needs with an exfoliation, and then drench the skin with hydration. You can either apply a hydrating sheet face mask or apply as many layers of essence to flood the skin, topping up your skin’s hydration is key. The next step is to lock in that hydration, so apply moisturising masks with ceramides and lots of beautiful oils loaded with fatty acids.
2. Travel with no make-up if your flight is longer than 2 hours
If you can travel makeup-free, you will be able to adapt to how your skin is coping. If that’s not an option, pack a little bottle of micellar water and some reusable makeup remover pads to cleanse the skin once on the plane. Plane seat tables are never the cleanest, so using micellar water makes it super easy and requires no water or rinsing. It’s also great for at the end of the flight when you do want to freshen up and apply some makeup.
3. Wear and reapply SPF
A report showed that pilots flying for 56 minutes at 30,000 feet received the same amount of UVA exposure as you would get in one session on a tanning bed. The UV light will penetrate through the windows, so be sure to apply a broad spectrum sunscreen before you travel not forgetting to reapply. The report did show that whilst the windows on the plane do reduce the UVA exposure to that of normal glass, it still can’t be ignored that it is penetrating through and is a hazard to your skin.
4. Prevent dehydration
Now that you’ve given your hydration levels a boost before you travel, your next objective is to keep this hydration in the skin. The challenge you have is that there is no moisture in the aircraft cabin as the humidity is so low. Use ceramides to help strengthen the skin barrier and limit water evaporation, plus they will bring instant comfort to the skin. Also, consider applying a sleep mask. After all, sleep creams and masks are aimed to support the skin during the night when the skin is known to be in danger of losing water.
5. Lips will feel it too
The low humidity will stress the lips out, so be sure to apply a lip balm regularly to keep your lips hydrated and protected throughout the flight.
6. Avoid hydrating mists and sheet masks
The humidity is so low in the cabin, that when using hydrating mists, the atmosphere will steal the hydration and you won’t be getting as much benefit as you had hoped. The droplets on the skin’s surface will evaporate into the atmosphere quicker than they can be absorbed into the skin. As for sheet masks, avoid them unless they have a felt material backing that will prevent the moisture in the mask from evaporating.
7. Now is not the time to experiment
Avoid trying new skincare products before you travel or during the flight, choose your skincare wisely and pick products that are going to hydrate, moisturise, soothe and bring comfort.
8. Don’t be tempted
While it's tempting to pamper yourself with a facial during the flight, it's best to save intensive treatments for another time. This means leaving your exfoliator and your micro-current lifting devices in your checked-in luggage.
9. Spots love to travel too
You can thank the low humidity for spots deciding to pay a visit towards the end of the flight, as the body reacts to dehydration by increasing oil production. If you are prone to breakouts, be sure to pack some zit stickers.
Thank You For Reading
I hope you have enjoyed this blog, please let me know if you need any help with your skin.
Stay tuned for more blogs and follow me on social media for latest launches and more skin school.
Bye for now,
Fiona x
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