Holiday Travel Tips: How to Prevent Dry Skin on Flights

With holiday travel plans heating up fast, it’s essential to know how to properly prep your skin for airplane mode. After all, nothing kills a festive glow quite like a fresh breakout, dry patches, chapped lips, or the like.

WHY AIRPLANE SKIN CARE TIPS ARE ESSENTIAL

According to the Aerospace Medical Association (ASMA), humidity in airplane cabins is usually very low, “in the range of 20%.” For context, the average relative humidity on land is 60%, which varies, of course, depending on location, climate, time of day, et cetera. Regardless, in-flight humidity is low — and while there’s no specific health risk of it, it can “cause mild discomfort, particularly dry skin and eye irritation for sensitive people.”

Since we know for sure that dehydration can affect skin in a variety of unfavorable ways, here’s how to prevent new skin woes from ruining your seasonal vacation time.

BEFORE TAKE-OFF: HOW TO PREVENT DRY SKIN ON FLIGHTS

• Skip the makeup or wash it off before you board

Combine these less-than-ideal factors with makeup and you have a recipe for dried-out skin, clogged pores and breakouts. This is, in short, because your skin will produce oil to compensate for the dryness. Said oil, especially when combined with makeup, can accumulate in your pores, clog them and become the culprit of breakouts.

• Prioritize an ultra-hydrating pre-flight skincare routine

It’s crucial to do a full skincare regimen at home or at the airport before take-off on thoroughly cleansed skin. This will help keep your skin fresh in flight and beyond.

STEP 1: Cold Plasma Plus+ The Essence

This lightweight treatment is the perfect way to prep the skin with a layer of essential hydration to get it ready to effectively absorb your subsequent treatment and moisturizer. Featuring fermented rice water, it helps promote a balanced pH, which is essential since your pH can be thrown out of whack while in the air.

STEP 2: High Potency Hyaluronic Intensive Hydrating Serum

Since the benefits of hyaluronic acid (HA) for skin are countless, incorporating it in your airplane skincare routine (before, during and after) is non-negotiable. This particular High Potency serum is especially nourishing as it’s designed with a unique hyaluronic technology that helps support the skin’s moisture barrier and its natural ability to retain moisture. It’s the ideal pre-flight boost for instant and long-lasting hydration.

STEP 3: Vitamin C Ester Photo-Brightening Moisturizer SPF 30

UV rays are much stronger at higher altitudes given your proximity to the sun. Since window shades do not block the damaging rays out entirely, sunscreen is especially critical. This oil-free moisturizer not only provides advanced, mineral-based SPF protection to deflect aging UVA and burning UVB rays, but it also blocks out additional environmental aggressors you encounter while flying high.

STEP 4: Cold Plasma Plus+ Advanced Eye Cream

Perricone MD’s Director of Education, Rosalba Martone, notes that the skin around the eyes does not naturally produce oil, so it is much more susceptible to dryness and dehydration. Because flying is one such activity that comes with drier conditions, treating this delicate area with extra care is key. This Cold Plasma Plus+ eye cream is powered, in part, by omegas 3, 6 and 9, which provide essential moisture barrier support to help improve water retention. Meanwhile, copper tripeptide replenishes dry skin to dramatically refresh and rejuvenate.

STEP 5: Cold Plasma Plus+ Lip Therapy

Like the eye area, lips are covered with fragile skin that needs extra care. Swipe on this intensely nourishing lip treatment as needed to maintain plump, hydrated lips throughout your vacation. It’s rich in HA, peptides and omegas.

STEP 6:  Essential Fx Acyl-Glutathione Chia Body Oil

The skin on the body also becomes very dehydrated on a flight, so it's important to remember to moisturize your body before you board, too. This super-lightweight dry oil is rich in omega fatty acids to help restore hydration and radiance while softening the skin and protecting it from environmental aggressors. You won't feel like you have a rich oil on your skin, but it will give you all the benefits of one — the best of both worlds.

• Drink plenty of water

Though it’s tempting to avoid water pre-flight as a service to your bladder, doing so is a disservice to your skin, hair and rest of your body. Instead, up your water intake at least a few days before your departure (if you’re not diligent already, that is). That way, come time for your flight, you’ll be fully hydrated for your travel day ahead.

WHILE IN FLIGHT: HOW TO KEEP SKIN HYDRATED ON A FLIGHT

• Continue hydrating

Equally as important as drinking water before your flight is doing so during it. The ASMA recommends consuming about 8 ounces of water every hour to help counteract the change in humidity. Plus, you’ll want to limit consumption of alcohol, tea, coffee and other caffeinated or sugary beverages, which can contribute to dehydration.

• Moisturize your skin during your flight

Now, you didn’t think we’d forget about a skincare routine on the plane, did you? With clean hands (emphasis on clean), apply some additional moisturizer to your skin while in flight. Our recommendation for this is Essential Fx Acyl-Glutathione Chia Oil. Loaded with ultra-nourishing and hydrating lipids, this occlusive will create a barrier over the skin (and any existing moisturizer) locking in essential hydration all flight long. To take it a step further, Martone recommends pairing this oil with a self-facial massage (with your hands or favorite skin tool like a gua sha) to help drain lymphatic fluid, which can collect under the skin during flight.

• Opt for long sleeves and pants

The reason behind this one is two-fold. First, long sleeves and pants help prevent your skin from touching as many bacteria-harboring surfaces on the plane. Second, skin-covering clothing creates an additional barrier between you and the sun, helping to further shield your skin from damaging UV rays.

AFTER YOU LAND: HOW TO CARE FOR SKIN POST-FLIGHT

• Cleanse skin with a gentle face wash

Skin priority #1 upon arrival at your destination: wash your skin, especially your face. Even though you (hopefully) did your full skincare routine before departure, the recirculated air throughout your flight is likely to have built up bacteria and pollutants on your skin. Cleanse it all away to help prevent breakouts and skin irritation for a clear, balanced complexion throughout your trip.

Our Cold Plasma Plus+ Daily Detox Clay Cleanser will help you rid your skin of the in-flight grime by pulling out any impurities, dirt and excess oil build-up. As encapsulated charcoal and bentonite clay purify, a copper tripeptide simultaneously moisturizes to leave skin feeling refreshed and revitalized.

• Replenish moisture with a face mask

Now that you’ve cleansed away the impurities, it’s time to replenish the essential moisture that was zapped away in flight. We love a mask for a concentrated dose of nourishing ingredients to instantly rehydrate skin post-flight. Our High Potency Hyaluronic Intensive Hydrating Mask is a travel essential for exactly that reason. Rich and nourishing, this cream mask is formulated with our exclusive Hyaluronic 4 + 2 Complex, which includes 4 forms and 2 natural building blocks of HA for instant and long-lasting hydration. Combined with shea butter for added moisturization and DMAE for intensive firming, it’s a mask we won’t fly without.

• Seal it all in with a rich moisturizer

Once you’ve finished masking, you’ll want to lock in all the dewy benefits to keep them around for the long-haul. Cold Plasma Plus+ The Intensive Hydrating Complex is a frontrunner for this thanks to its lipid-rich formula. This ultra-rich, multi-tasking moisturizer helps ensure moisture stays locked in all day while keeping environmental aggressors out. A win-win. Plus, with fortifying peptides, brightening Vitamin C Ester and a hydrating vegetable triglyceride complex, it’ll help restore skin’s moisture and support its barrier for a healthy and balanced complexion.

There you have it. Practice the above airplane skin care tips and pack the aforementioned best skincare for flights to maintain a complexion that’s merry and bright as your holidays.