Post-Travel Skin Recovery

I’ve been driving and flying all over lately. I bounced from Memphis, to St. Louis, to Colorado (all driving), then back to Memphis (flying). Whew. Crazy.

I had an amazing trip. And I love traveling. I’m really comfortable traveling. What, with all that stuff in my lap, who couldn’t be comfortable? [Let’s see here, I have a Lululemon scarf just in case I get cold or need a “pillow”, a new book to read, a snack of celery and red bell peppers and my iPod with Beats headphones. Can we also point out the crazy leg room I had because I requested to sit in the emergency exit row?? And my adorable green Tieks too.]

I think the only thing that truly frustrates me about traveling (ok, besides my butt being so numb from hours of sitting) is my skin freaking out. After hours of stale, dry air blasting on my skin and hair and my oil glands working in overdrive trying to reverse it (which is why you feel so dirty after traveling), I have developed a Post-Travel Skin Recovery routine.

When I get home, or to my hotel room, I immediately go into my Post-Travel Skin Recovery routine, trying to undo the damage before I breakout too much.  

1. I rinse my face with a cleanser the Sephora rep told me was the best for my skin. I use Perricone MD Nutritive Cleanser. It has no harsh chemicals and doesn’t strip my skin, but it cleanses beautifully. I use my Clarisonic face brush with my cleanser. 

2. I then apply a pore cleansing mask. I use GlamGlow (the black label), which deep cleanses my pores and acts as an exfoliater when you wash it off. Normally I wouldn’t use this right after my face brush but after traveling, I like to really cover my bases. I let the mask sit for 15 minutes or until dry before using a circular motion to buff it off with warm water.

3. I then quickly exfoliate my lips. I use Fresh’s Sugar Lip Polish.

4. Then, I apply the GlamGlow (blue label) moisturizing mask. This stuff is crazy wonderful. It smells like vanilla frosting and it really helps moisturize and tone-correct my skin. I love love love it. I leave it on for 20 minutes (face and neck), then I wet my fingers and rub as much as it into my skin as possible and pat my skin dry with a towel. 

5. Finally, I apply a face oil and lip moisturizer. I love face oils and have been using Josie Maran for two years now. I apply it to my face and neck in a thin layer so it’ll absorb quickly. I use good ol’ Vaseline for my lips. 

Of course, in addition to this, I drink a gazillion gallons of water while traveling and after I’ve hit my destination. I also double up on my probiotics. Healthy inside and out. I try to choose snacks that are lower in sugar too on travel days, because I tend to only want peanut butter cups and gummies when I’m traveling and that is never good for my skin. So, I just make sure I don’t even have those in my purse those days (because I usually have treats otherwise). 

Note: none of the links in this post are affiliate links. They are only linked so you can see what the product details are. I am not sponsored by any of these products. All opinions and tips are my own and I am not a Dermatologist, clearly. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! And thank you mommy for a wonderful trip this past week!