PACKING FOR YOUR SKIN: Make It Personal

Imagine being halfway down the north rim of the Grand Canyon when it becomes painfully clear that your new hiking boots are pinching your toes.  Your choices are to endure the pain for the rest of your trip or spend some of your valuable recreation time wandering through local stores for replacement boots.  Either way, your well-deserved vacation will be less than it might have been if you’d brought along those old, slightly shabby but entirely broken in hiking boots sitting at home in the back of the closet.

It is just as important to pack for your skin as it is to pack for your feet or any other part of your body.  Sure, you can pick up sunscreen at the resort gift store and your hotel will undoubtedly provide a little bottle of moisturizer, but if your skin is accustomed to the sunscreen and moisturizer you use at home or is the least bit sensitive, it is possible for the chemicals in the unfamiliar products to cause an allergic reaction.  This is especially true if you are traveling to a foreign country where the products may not be made with the same guidelines that regulate their manufacture here at home.  Moreover, if you have been using exclusive luxury skin care products, you will likely be disappointed with the less-than exceptional (and probably over-priced) products available at your destination.  And honestly, who wants to worry about troubled skin while on vacation?

Don’t kid yourself into thinking that it’s only a short trip and it won’t matter one way or the other.  In fact, the skin products you use while traveling matter even more than if you were to make some changes at home.  This is because you are changing your environment, which always effects the skin, and you will want to nurture yourself as much as possible against harsh transitions.

For instance, if you are going from sea level in San Francisco Bay Area to almost 6500 feet above in San Miguel De Allende, Mexico, you can be sure that you are going to need your moisturizer more than ever—as well as your sunscreen!  High altitudes provide less in the way of moisture, humidity, air pressure and oxygen.  You risk sunburn and even melanoma because the UV rays and free radicals in a thin atmosphere are stronger.  Likewise, if you are traveling from the New Mexican high desert to the Amazon basin for some jungle canoeing, you will want to have the very best non-toxic insect spray available.  And an exfoliating body wash will feel like heaven at the end of the day.

If you plan to set foot on a plane, even if it’s only a short flight, it is essential to keep your skin hydrated with products it’s used to.  You’ve probably noticed that your skin and eyes feel dry whenever your fly.  This is because in-flight humidity is usually below 15% or even 10%, resulting in rapid dehydration.  Drinking water will help to keep your body hydrated.  And as soon as you complete a long flight, treat your skin to a good exfoliation to get rid of grime.  Eye masks and medically-tested pressure-reducing ear plugs may help the fight against jet lag if you are flying through time zones.

Of course you can buy travel kits that contain all the basic products you might need for your trip, but your best bet is to create your own travel kit with the products you already know work for you.  If you stick to the tried and true skin care system you use at home, you avoid the potential problems you might experience with unknown skin care products.

Your custom travel kit should contain the following skin care items:

• facial cleanser
• rejuvenative toner
• daily moisturizer (dermatologists recommend at least SPF 30 for faces)
• sunscreen
• shampoo and conditioner
• lip balm

Ladies, you might want to include oil absorbing cleansing sheets and oil free makeup removing wipes too.  And don’t forget sunhats and visors.

Once you’ve assembled your personal travel kit, you can forget about breakouts, sunburns, and itchy, irritated skin during your next vacation and enjoy the good times!