Traveling and Skin Health and Care! (Part 1)

Take care of the skin you are in!

No filter, but good lighting.  I just turned 53...yes 53..this weekend.  And I have no problem saying 

my age because I'm proud of how I've taken care of my skin.   

Before and after I had a birthday makeover yesterday.

This applies to everyone.  Skincare is unisex and you need to make it a priority.  My skincare routine is how I relax before bed and also giving my husband facials relaxes me.  It's not just moisturizer, it's also how you live your life.  Yearly trips to the dermatologist to make sure no skin problems, sunscreen alone or under makeup, hair sunscreen (yes..protect your hair and scalp), good dental health, balanced diet, lots and lots of loving and a ton of hydration! I keep a cup of green tea and a bottle of water with lemon on my nightstand.  I wake up a lot during the night, so sipping on these keeps my hydrated during the night.  I also take high quality vitamins.
I won't talk about smoking and skin health because everyone knows it affects skin elasticity, skin color, skin health, lines around your mouth, gum disease, heart disease and more.  

 Traveling can wreak havoc on your skin, not only from recirculated air on the planes, but change in climate and diet will also affect your skin.  Stress over traveling, whether by air, train, cruise or car, may cause breakouts, dry and scaly skin or even eczema type rashes. This would be me. And I sweat. A lot.  I'm a huge stress sweater. I have actually considered having my husband give me Botox injections to avoid this. (People have stopped and stared, pointed and commented because not only do I sweat like crazy, I turn a pomegranate shade of red.)   I carry a hand held fan and a small, compact portable battery operated fan to help but I've started to think of it as my personal detox time! Almost as good as an hour in a sauna. Without seeing a bunch of other nude women and their bits and bobs.

When traveling you need to take extra care of your skin.  Hours on a flight with recirculated air, different foods, bottled water, lack of sleep and climate change can really take a toll on your skin. As does makeup.  If you are comfortable going without, or using just a touch of moisturizer, mascara and tinted lip balm, you will feel so much better during the flight.

Shameless Product Placement:  I am doing a preliminary debut of  my new "First Class Kits" in the next week and one is a "Sexy Sleepover~Girl's Weekend Away*" kit! but it's meant to be used by busy women who want convenience and quality. They will contain everything for a weekend away.  From BB cream, moisturizer, cucumber eye patches, face masks for international flights to 100% natural small, reusable, bamboo washcloths clean your face and neck.  I dampen mine and put in the freezer in a baggie and it actually stays fairly cold which is really refreshing at the end of a long flight.  Everything is separated into little baggies and will easily fit into your carry on.   
*Kit shown is the Hygiene kit which contains bleach wipes, portable toilet paper roll, Vionex wipes (strongest wipes, medical grade), Lysol spray, Purell, face mask with essential oil, gloves and more. 

When I use my miles to travel in business or first class, I LOVE the amenity kits the airlines give you.  They have amazing scented creams, hand and body lotions and wonderful lip balms!  But unless it's a brand I know my skin can handle, I save these for when I arrive or take them home, unless it happens to be Elemis or Kiehl's.   Nothing is more uncomfortable than using a lovely scented lotion only to have a skin reaction of red burning skin!   This is why I save sample sizes of my favorite brands to use during the flights.

My 'go to' for flights is La Mer face cream (travel size at Nordstrom and Sephora for approx $85.00), La Mer eye cream and a small container of pure Argon oil.  I wash my face several times during the flight and reapply my moisturizer thru-out the flight.   It doesn't matter what moisturizer brand you use as long as you use it.  I've even done face masks after the lights go down to soothe my skin and help me relax.

On the outbound flights I bring a 32oz bottle of frozen water and drink it constantly as it melts.  Make sure it's only water and frozen solid before TSA.  If there is even 1/2 oz thawed it will be considered a liquid.  So drink the excess and put in a tray by itself.  This is not allowed in the majority of international flights and connections, but the most important is the long haul!  I generally fill a Fiji bottle from my fridge tap so it tastes like home.   (Fiji bottles are great because they're square and if you drop them they won't roll under the seat or down the aisle!)   I allow myself 2 glasses of wine or gin and tonic during the meal service to enjoy while watching a movie, then back to water.  My goal is to drink 8oz per hour.  The great part of that?  It will create the "urge" to get up frequently and get you to walk and get your blood flowing .  Ideally a minimum of 5-10 minutes every hour is what my doctor recommends.  Even if it's just to stand in the bulkhead section and stretch.  Don't worry about what people think or if they stare,  your health is so much more important.

(Freeze water with some fruit for your outbound flights.  Allowed in the US, but check with each 

international airport as many won't allow even if frozen solid.  Drink at least a litre before flying!!) 

Because I had a very bad hematoma (blood pooling under the skin from an injury) on my left shin (a trauma to the veins and nerves from a bad fall) I take baby aspirin 3 days prior to the flight, one during and then 3 days after.  This helps with the swelling and helps as I have to watch for DVT symptoms.  DVT is the abbreviation for deep vein thrombosis.  It's common when people sit for long periods of time and a blood clot forms in your artery in your legs and breaks off and travels to your lungs and can cause a pulmonary embolism   Because of the damage to the nerves and blood vessels in my shin, I am more at risk.

Again:
Get up an walk. Keep your circulation moving.

My husband and I enjoying face masks at The Blue Lagoon

in Iceland.  (Note: bring swim cap or coat your hair in conditioner and put 

it up in a bun.  The silicone in the water is amazing for your skin, but it is extremely harsh 

on your hair.  If you don't have conditioner, just use lotion. Especially if you have color treated hair.)

Lots of healthy food (I bring with me), face masks, face cleanser,

eye pads to soothe from recirculated air, trail mix for healthy fats and make sure to 

buy unsalted to keep bloating to a minimum.  

Use sunscreen faithfully!

Quick face scrub on arrival:  olive oil, raw sugar and honey.  

As soon as I land, one of the first things I do is jump in a warm shower and exfoliate to get the "airplane air/smell" off my skin.  Condition my hair and before I get out of the shower, from head to toes, I use a lot of lotion on my wet skin and then pat dry.  It's amazing how good it will make you feel!!    

To keep my skin looking dewy and fresh, I use argon oil mixed with my moisturizer and for the first 24 hours (unless I'm at a formal/business event) use only mascara and lip balm.  If I want to be a bit fancier, I will add false eyelashes and eyeliner and tinted lip balm. (I like Burt's Bees tinted lip balm).   

Remember, it doesn't have to be expensive to work.  Just use it every single day and use a good amount.  Women tend to use only a tiny amount of the $450 jar of expensive cream and I like to use a huge glob of whatever I have.  If I run out, olive oil or avocado oil and coconut oil is a great go to! Coconut oil in a small container is great because it solidifies (put in fridge for a little bit to expedite this).  Use under eyes and around your mouth.

Another problem I see a lot of is what I call "sippy cup lips".  Women who drink coffee out of cups with small openings (where you have to purse your lips to drink) and using straws and water bottles.  Keep these to a minimum.  The more you use these, the more lines will form.  Buy a coffee mug with a larger opening, take the lid off of water bottles (you aren't a baby) and only use straws when the chance of spilling is greater than using without.  But note that zoos and Disney do not offer straws and they make it work.  It's better for the environment anyway.   There are many articles from reputable dermatologists about this online and give in-depth information.  

I will be adding reviews about products I've used and are using as I go on.  Because I have so many brands, it would be a book if I started now!  

Thank you for joining me and feel free to send me your tips and hints to add!  We ladies need to stick together!!

Cheers!

xo

Karen