Don’t Want ‘Airplane Skin’ Ruining Your Vacay? Avoid It With These Simple Tricks
Jetting off somewhere fun but don’t want to hit arrivals with dry, dehydrated, AC-screwed skin? Here’s what we know about looking after in-flight skin.
Sure, the summer vacation period is nearly over but we still have the holiday weekend coming up and heck, time off to decompress and explore new places is always a good idea, any time of the year.
Flying, however, can really take its toll on your skin. Just ask any cabin crew member and they will attest to frequently having to deal with excess oil, dehydration, dullness and pesky breakouts.
So what’s the deal and why does airplane air affect the skin so much?
Well, firstly, there’s a huge amount of intense UV radiation high up in those skies above the clouds, so if you’re a big fan of nabbing the window seat you could be subjecting your skin to a whole lotta sun damage.
Also, airplanes contain pressurized cabins to protect us from the low air pressure that’s a given at such high altitudes. This is vital because it maintains an adequate amount of oxygen so you can breathe properly and not get altitude sickness, fatigue or worse. It’s kind of a big deal and crucial for keeping you alive.
Pressurized air, however, contains very little humidity – around 10-20 percent. And your skin prefers the humidity levels to sit around the 50-60 percent mark in order for it to remain hydrated and supple. So, you can imagine how angry it gets when it doesn’t get this vital moisture. Your barrier function becomes compromised, swiftly causing your skin to become dry, flaky, red and dehydrated. It can also cause your sebaceous glands to get extremely trigger happy, leading to excess oiliness and breakouts at the drop of a hat.
But that’s not all. Low air pressure also slows down lymphatic drainage and reduces the levels of oxygen in your blood which starves your skin of the essential nutrients it needs to remain bright and healthy-looking.
Getting the drift yet? Ha, we still haven’t finished because flying for long hours and travelling through different time zones can also mess with your body’s natural circadian rhythm. This upsets your sleep like nobody’s business, encouraging dark circles around your eyes and accelerating dullness and sad-looking skin.
Now that you understand why airplane skin is such a big deal, let’s see what you can do about combating the effects of flying on your skin…
Action Point #1. Cleanse Well & Layer Up With Moisture
Maintaining clean, moisturized skin while you’re at altitude is crucial. So, whether you cleanse and moisturize at home, whilst in departures or just after take off, make sure you do it thoroughly, but gently. Skin that’s stuck for hours with sweat, sebum, dirt and pollution on its surface will feel horrible when you land... and it'll look even worse. You have been warned.
Our favorite pre-flight cleanser is our Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser which helps to truly detox and purify your skin without drying it out completely. You could also try our fabulous Tea Tree Super Cleanser which is super refreshing and ideal if you’re worried about in-flight breakouts.
After cleansing with lukewarm, never hot, water, gently pat dry and then layer up with hydration. Layering serum under moisturizer will give your skin the best start on its travels, helping to reduce dehydration and therefore maintaining its soft, glowy edge.
Try our brand new Caffeine Facial Serum after cleansing to energize your skin and boost its moisture content, then apply your favorite moisturizer. Which one do we prefer for traveling? That depends. For long-haul flights, we love the richness and intensity of Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream but for shorter hops across the country, try Firming Collagen Day Lotion.
Either way, expect happy skin when you touch down.
Action Point #2. Don’t Apply Heavy Makeup
Don’t get us wrong, we love makeup and literally could not live without our mascara-lip-gloss combo on a daily basis. But caking your skin in makeup, for a long-haul flight in particular, could clog up your pores and encourage breakouts. You’re way better off sticking with clean, moisturized skin as above.
If you really can’t bear the thought of walking around the departures lounge foundation-free, carry your favorite cleanser and moisturizer in your hand luggage and make sure you remove your makeup properly, just after take-off.
Action Point #3. Smother Exposed Skin With SPF
Sunscreen might not be front of mind when you’re sitting on a plane for x number of hours, but it’s probably undoubtedly your most important in-flight skin-savior. As previously mentioned, UV radiation is way stronger when you’re up in the air and, while windows block most UVB rays (they're the ones that burn your skin) UVA rays pass right through them. Reminder: UVA rays are the ones that age you up lightning fast.
Always apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen before your flight to combat photo damage. Our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C shields your skin from both UVA and UVB harm, plus it contains vitamin C to help improve radiance and further protect you from sun damage.
That’s what’s called a beauty no-brainer, btw.
Action Point #4. Keep A Moisturizing Mist Handy
Does your skin often feel parched when you’re mid-air, yet you still have four hours to go? We hear you. This is why we love to keep a small bottle of Rose Water Refreshing Facial Toner in our hand luggage.
This gem is the absolute nuts for balancing, hydrating, calming and soothing the skin, and it never overloads it with unnecessary ingredients since its made only from pure Moroccan rose water. It also feels super refreshing and smells darn fine, too. It’s right up there with Colleen Hoover’s latest novel as a traveling must-have.
Action Point #5. Avoid Anything That’ll Further Dehydrate Your Skin
Staying hydrated on the inside is going to do your skin all kinds of favors. So, limit alcohol, caffeine and foods that are high in salt (bye-bye free packets of mini pretzels) because all of these are super dehydrating.
Instead, knock back plenty of water and load up on fresh fruit, veggies and healthy snacks like nuts, seeds and unsalted popcorn.
Now, fare thee well, flight face!
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![5 Unusual Things That Can Trigger Breakouts]()
No idea why you’re getting an influx of acne right now? Many lifestyle habits can trigger your breakouts – and sometimes they’re found in the most unsuspecting places.
As you know, acne is caused by one thing and one thing alone: an excess of sebum that causes your pores to become blocked with oil, dead skin cells, bacteria and other impurities. Eating too much chocolate doesn’t give you pimples. Neither does moisturizer. Sure, they can trigger breakouts if you’re genetically susceptible to them, but acne isn’t caused by uncleanliness, a poor diet or crummy skincare routine. It’s caused by blocked pores. End of.
OK, so this begs the question: why bother trying to cure them if your breakouts are totally out of your control? Well, here’s the thing. You can’t change your genes, that’s for certain. However, what you can do is keep acne-triggering factors under control to help lessen the blow. Sleeping well, reducing emotional stress and eating a healthy, well-balanced diet; all these things are important for maintaining balanced sebum and therefore reducing the likelihood of you breaking out week after week.
But there are also some less obvious reasons why you face might be suffering with regular breakouts. So if you’ve already dispensed with things like smoking, poor cleansing and too much exfoliation, but you’re still getting pimples on the reg, it might be time to look at some of the more unexpected areas of your life.
On that note, read on for five slightly more unusual causes for your breakouts.
1. Your Pillowcase
Getting enough beauty sleep is crucial for the health of your skin, but if you’re sleeping on a dirty pillowcase for a solid eight hours every night dirt and bacteria is inevitably going to build up and irritate your pores. This is especially true if you sleep on a synthetic pillowcase because man-made fibers don’t absorb sweat as effectively as natural fibres like cotton or linen.
The answer? Go natural all the way, for starters. Also, cleanse and moisturize your skin before bed to reduce the amount of grime getting on your pillowcase. Tea Tree Super Cleanser+ is a great acne-fighting cleanser that balances and clarifies your pores. Follow this with Retinol Moisturizer to lightly hydrate and moisturize your skin while boosting cellular turnover to keep your pores free of dead skin cells.
Finally, wash your pillowcase every three or four days. And ditto, your face towel. Old, dirty towels that are used by the whole family for drying their hands and who-knows-what-else are another breeding ground for germs and bacteria. Do you really want to be swiping this all over your freshly cleansed skin? Thought not. So, invest in a couple of cotton face towels for you and you alone and wash them every other day.
2. Your Makeup & Hair Products
Your skincare routine might be spot on, but what about your makeup and hair products? Rich hair conditioners, for example, are notorious for containing heavy ingredients like cocoa butter and coconut oil which, granted, are incredible for moisturizing your precious locks, but are not so great for acne-prone skin. Of course, we know you’re not smothering your face with conditioner but still, it can settle on your face when you rinse your hair so always cleanse your skin after, never before conditioning.
Makeup can similarly clog up your pores, especially if you use formulations that contain oil. So don’t do that. Instead, look out for noncomedogenic products (this means they’re less likely to block pores) and use powder rather than liquid formulations whenever possible.
3. Your Workout Routine
Do you love to get a good sweat on when you’re working out? High fives to you. However, allow all that sweat and grime to sit on your skin and your pores are going to clog up quicker than your instructor can say ‘hit the floor for ten push-ups.’
Cleanse your skin thoroughly and swiftly after exercising (the longer you leave your skin doused in sweat and grimy workout gear, the more bacteria is likely to breed), and always use a mild but effective cleanser that helps to detoxify your skin without drying it out. Our Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser is a goodie as it harnesses the powers of coconut-derived activated charcoal which destroys skin-smothering impurities to offer a deep, gently purifying clean every time.
4. Your Winter Cover-Ups
Any fabric that rubs against your skin can lead to unwanted issues in the long-term. Remember how face masks were causing ‘maskne’ back in the pandemic? This was all due to friction from the mask combining with the obvious culprits of sweat, dirt, oil, bacteria and humidity which caused dryness, irritation and pimples.
Thankfully, for most of us, the days of having to wear a mask 24/7 are over. However, if you spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter and like to wrap yourself up in woollen hats and thick, heavy scarves, these can cause similar problems, trapping sweat and increasing friction around your chin, jaw, neck and forehead.
To help reduce breakouts caused by beanies, scarves (and even turtleneck sweaters), avoid synthetic fabrics and launder your winter cover-ups regularly. Weekly, at least.
5. Your Laundry Detergent
Speaking of laundry, your choice of detergent is also imperative. Just like your beauty routine, certain ingredients in your laundry detergent can be super irritating – especially if you have extremely sensitive or acne-prone skin. Fragrance, for example, can be a real Debbie Downer, as can harsh dyes, essentials oils, strong surfactants and preservatives.
To reduce the likelihood of your laundry detergent triggering those pesky breakouts, first up, choose liquid over powder detergents. Why? Because these leave behind less residue on your clothes and fabrics (who knew?!). Also, never use more detergent than is recommended on the label, avoid fabric softeners and try double rinsing your laundry after washing to remove as much residue as possible.
5 Unusual Things That Can Trigger Breakouts
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