Ah, airplanes. We love them because they help us explore and arrive to our favorite destinations. We hate them because they’re airborne vestibules of bacteria, polluted air, and questionable ‘chicken’ entrees. And let’s not get into unruly children or overly chatty neighbors –a major beauty sleep killer. However, one of the worst parts of flying is the havoc it wreaks on your skin. Ever notice how everyone looks less than fresh by the end of the flight? Dry, dull, or oily skin, puffiness, paleness, red eyes. It’s all caused by the recycled air and high elevation. While advancements in filtration help, the oxygen-thin air will always be hard on your skin and body. This is especially annoying if you have to go directly to an event or meeting upon landing. Fending off the effects of flying only takes a little preparation and a few handy products. Here are our tips for getting gorgeous fast, so you don’t arrive looking like you came off the set of The Walking Dead.
First and Foremost: Try to Get Some Beauty Rest
Few products can restore the genuine glow of beauty sleep. If at all possible get some rest! We know it’s pretty difficult to sleep on planes so you’ll need a couple of key items. A set of comfortable sound isolating ear buds, a “sleep music” app on your phone/tablet, a travel pillow, and if you need it, a calming sleep herb. Skip the ear plugs and sleep masks. Ear plugs are weak and sleep masks will leave weird creases all over your face. Not a good look! Also, dress in leggings, socks, and layers so that you are comfortable and aren’t freezing. Planes can be a bit overzealous with the air conditioning. Pop in your headphones, turn on your “sleep music” to drown out the noise. Download the free app “Relax Melodies.” It’s compatible with most phone operating systems and it’s highly customizable with tons of sounds to choose from. If you need extra relaxation try a sleeping supplement such as Calm’s Forte.
Next, you’ll need to pack a beauty kit in your carry on with the following:
Step 1: Cleansing Towelettes
Pack two kinds of wipes. An anti-bacterial wipe to clean your hands and your surrounding area and one exfoliating wipe to clean your face. You can buy these pre-packaged or you can just put them in zip lock bags. (Make sure to put the face cloth in its’ own bag.) Upon boarding, wipe down your tray table, arm rests, window shade etc. You may look like you have a case of OCD, but better safe than sorry! Catching a cold is never beautifying! These areas on a plane are crawling with bacteria. At the end of the flight clean your entire face with the exfoliating wipe to remove excess oil, grime, and to help rehydrate your skin. Be sure to get a cloth that has a textured, exfoliating surface so that you get maximum circulation, a key factor in depuffing and adding a healthy appearance back to your skin. We like Yes to Grapefruits Brightening Cleansing Cloths.
Step 3: Stay Hydrated + Rehydrate
First hydrate your body throughout the flight. Drink plenty of water. Avoid coffee and soda like the plague. At the end of the flight after cleansing your face with a towelette, you’ll want to apply a depuffing, hydrating eye cream and moisturizer. Try Bliss’ Triple Oxygen Radiance Kit. It includes TSA friendly sizes of everything you need to rehydrate your skin including an amazing re-oxygenating, depuffing eye gel and vitamin c brightening moisturizer. It also includes an oxygenating mask and cleanser.
Rehydrate Your Eyes: Your eyes may be dry or irritated from the plane, so you’ll want to soothe them with a rewetting eye drop. We like Visine’s Tired Eye Relief drops. If you also have redness try Bausch & Lomb’s Opcon-A eye drops. They’ll instantly banish redness and get rid of that dry, itchy feeling.
Step 4: Invest in a good all-in-one Makeup Palette
The last thing you’ll want to do on a plane or in an airport is dig through your luggage for your makeup bag. Luckily, many brands offer flight-friendly all in one makeup kits. Most come with lipstick, eyeshadow, concealer, eyeliner, mascara, blush etc. These handy little kits make it easy to stay gorgeous on the go. They’re a little tough to find in-store but luckily Amazon has a great selection. They’re amazing and will save your face during travel!
Try: Christian Dior Travel Studio Palette, Victoria’s Secret Supermodel on the Go Kit, Estee Lauder’s Ingenious Color Palette
Another great product to have on hand is YSL’s renowned Touch Eclat brightening concealer. You can use this amazing product all over to instantly brighten your face and undereye area.
Step 5: Hair + Dry Shampoo
Dry shampoo is one of the greatest beauty inventions ever. Especially if you have oily hair or didn’t have time to shower. Instantly perk up your locks and banish oily roots with a great dry shampoo. They’re a huge time saver! Our favorite is Kenra’s Dry Shampoo. Conveniently available in a perfect little 1.5 oz travel size that can easily fit in your purse.
Make sure to pack some bobby pins, hair ties and/or headbands to style your hair. Our favorite way to keep our hair untangled and get soft loose waves is to either twist it into a low bun or put it in a french braid. Once you release it at the end of the flight you’ll get nice beachy waves that will be easier to style. Using a comb, tease the roots and try a tousled ponytail or half up, half down look to quickly camouflage oily and/or flat hair.
Step 5: Fresh Breath
Don’t feel bad, many people have, well, questionable breath upon landing. Due to the dry air, it’s totally normal. Make sure to pack a travel toothbrush, toothpaste, gum and travel size mouthwash to freshen up. This step is essential and will absolutely make you feel much cleaner and refreshed! Listerine Pocket packs are also amazing for instant freshness.
Beauty Travel Checklist
- Comfortable earbuds
- Sleep Music app
- Phone/Tablet
- Travel Pillow
- Socks
- Sleep herb (optional)
- Sanitizing Wipes
- Exfoliating Cleansing Cloths
- Depuffing Eye Cream
- Brightening Moisturizer
- Eye drops
- Makeup Travel Palette
- Travel Size Dry Shampoo
- Bobby pins, hair elastics
- Comb
- Mouthwash, travel toothbrush & toothpaste, gum and/or Listerine Pocket Packs
That’s it! We hope you enjoyed these tips. Happy, Safe Travels!
