Laura Elizabeth Taking care of your skin and hair while you’re travelling can definitely be a challenge. It’s not too difficult if you’re in a comfortable hotel, but it can be harder to handle if you’re backpacking or spending a lot of time outdoors. You need to be prepared to look after your skin and hair wherever you go, especially if the climate is very different compared to what you’re used to. You might be having fun on your travels, but it’s also important not to have it at the expense of a healthy beauty routine. If you want to care for your skin and hair while travelling, try these tips.
Take Some Essential Products
Packing for your travels can always be tricky. If you’re trying to travel light, you have to decide what’s worth taking and what isn’t. When it comes to haircare and skincare products, it’s not always easy to know what to bring and what to leave behind. But if you want to avoid taking everything you own, start with some essentials. Your usual shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and moisturiser are good to start with. You probably want to avoid taking products you’ve never used before. If you want to save space, see if you can get travel-sized bottles of your normal products.
Check the Weather and Climate
The weather and general climate can have a big impact on the condition of your skin and hair. This can be especially true if you’re not used to a certain environment. If it’s going to be drier, more humid, hotter, or colder than back home, some extra considerations might be necessary. You need to pack for the right weather and also consider whether you need to adjust your routine. You might find yourself showering more in a particularly hot or humid country, for example. To compensate, it might be smart to moisturise more to prevent your skin from drying out.
Know How to Rescue Neglected Hair
Sometimes there isn’t time to do everything you should when you’re travelling. You might not even have the right facilities. If your hair has been neglected for a while, a rescue remedy could be necessary. When your hair has been ravaged by the sun or dry air, a dry hair remedy can help to get it healthy again. If you can’t wash your hair for a while, dry shampoo can really come in handy. Sometimes it’s smart to find somewhere you can get a haircut too. If you’re struggling to care for longer hair while travelling, cutting it shorter will make it more manageable.
Keep Up a Routine
If you have a good routine for skincare or haircare at home, don’t drop it when you go travelling. You might need to adjust it slightly, but it’s still smart to maintain a routine that will help you care for your skin and hair. Devise a routine that you know you’ll be able to keep up, even if you don’t have access to modern facilities throughout your travels. It might be a shortened version of your usual routine that you do in the morning and evening. As well as protecting your skin and hair, it can be relaxing and therapeutic.
Stay Hydrated
Hydration is key when you’re travelling. By staying hydrated, you can avoid a huge range of problems. If you’re travelling somewhere hot or being very active, it’s even more important to drink lots of water. And if you’re aiming to take good care of your skin and hair, hydrating will definitely help. Both your skin and hair need plenty of hydration to stay healthy. While you can moisturise them from the outside, it’s also essential to hydrate from the inside by drinking water and eating a diet with high-hydration foods too.
Cover Up
Protecting your skin and hair is a big part of preventing any problems. Covering up helps to protect you from the sun and is also a smart idea when it’s windy, raining, snowing, and more. When it comes to protecting your hair, hats and scarves are really handy. Covering your hair will help to prevent it being whipped around by the wind. It will also protect both your scalp and hair from the harsh sun. Of course, it’s important to prevent sunburn, and covering up with your clothes will help. Some clothes are designed to be UV-proof, although they’re not necessarily essential.
Don’t Forget Sunscreen
Covering up is smart, but don’t forget about sunscreen if you want to protect your skin from the sun. This is important even when it’s not that hot or sunny. A lot of people get caught out on overcast days, or even when they go skiing and the strong sun is reflected off the snow. Applying sunscreen daily will help you prevent sunburn and also reduce your risk of skin cancer. You can also use products that pull double duty with an extra SPF quality. For example, some moisturisers have an SPF rating so you can moisturise and protect your skin at the same time.
Take Items for a Quick Cleanup
It’s handy to have a few items in your bags that you can use when you need a quick cleanup. Whether you’re dripping with sweat or you’ve touched something sticky, being able to quickly clean yourself up can be a godsend. Consider packing some disposable wipes or, for a more eco-friendly option, a cloth, flannel, or even a handkerchief. They can come in handy when you really need them.
Skip the Hotel Toiletries
Free hotel toiletries might seem like a perk of travelling, but they’re not always the best idea. Everyone’s skin and hair are different, so there’s a good chance that the generic items in your hotel bathroom aren’t really going to be good for you. That’s doubly true if you’re planning a long-term stay. While the soap might be acceptable for washing your hands, you probably don’t want to change your shampoo or shower gel.
Continue taking care of your skin and hair when you travel if you want to keep it healthy and in good condition. It doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time.
