New adventures, visiting friends and family, relaxing self-care, retreats. Vacations are healing for our soul, bring us joy, and lift our spirits. While we all love to get away and indulge, travel can be harsh on skin because we often eat different foods, exercise less, or let other healthy routines slip. Give your skin an extra boost this summer with these travel tips. Here’s what you need to know for healthy skin head-to-toe, wherever you go.
There are many different aspects of vacationing that can cause skin issues. Knowing the causes and understanding why they are taxing for skin will help you solve and prevent problems and keep your skin glowing. Let’s break down the most common causes of travel-related skin issues.
Just as we need to acclimate to a new time zone, our skin needs to acclimate to a new climate zone. Humidity may help keep skin hydrated, but it can also aggravate acne and yeast rashes. Also, because the combination of humidity and heat opens pores up, they become more susceptible to congestion due to dirt, pollen, or other particles in the air. Dry climates can cause skin to become extremely dehydrated and can also trigger and exacerbate other skin ailments such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne. Dry climates can also make it more difficult to keep pores clean, leading to congestion and build up.
One of the best parts of vacation is letting go of rules, routines, and of course, diet restrictions. But what you eat shows up in the health of your skin – as they say, “You are what you eat.” Even if you aren’t purposely splurging, just trying new foods, eating out often, and increased snacking and/or drinking can be stressful for our skin. When alcohol is overdone on vacations not only does your skin suffer, but you might also have less energy to enjoy the day and weight gain is more common.
Even vacays can bring physical and mental stress. The planning, airports, missed flights, getting lost, family, and more. Traveling alone is stressful on our bodies, even if everything goes perfectly.
Jet lag, excitement, packed schedules, a new bed, trying to sleep on planes, trains, or cars. Vacation sleep can be difficult. The lack of sleep shows in your skin – you need your beauty sleep!
Traveling to, or through, a large city? Increased pollution can wreak havoc on skin! Particulates in the air mix with your skin’s own oils and dirt and clog your pores. Clean, properly functioning pores are key to healthy skin so when pores are congested, it can cause many different skin issues.
We all know that we need sunscreen when we are in the sun, but we often forget about the increased exposure that is typical during vacation. Not to mention that when we are in the sun, it is important to stay hydrated. Accessibility can be an issue while traveling.
Here are some travel tips to prevent skin issues from dampening your vacay:
Bring your own reusable water bottle so you can refill it often and take it with you when you’re out and about.
Pack these travel essentials in your suitcase:
This will help you keep the splurging down and decrease the drastic swing in eating habits. But be realistic! There’s no way I’m going to Italy and not eating gelato so saying I won’t splurge at all is just not gonna happen.
And have drinking days and non-drinking days, too. Also, make sure you are drinking 2 glasses of water for every 1 alcoholic drink.
Minimize the effects that staying in a hotel can have on your skin.
If your hotel has a restaurant or you have a kitchen, use it as a beauty pantry.
Don’t let stress & lack of sleep wear you down. The more self-care and prep you do, the better you will be able to manage your stress.
Here’s a list of skin essentials you should bring with you on your trip.
