You want to maintain good skin while you travel—I’m an esthetician, I totally get it. But I also know that the few hours you spend in a germ-filled metal tube 30,000 feet above the earth isn’t the place for a 10-step skincare routine.
Granted, TikTok and Instagram are full of tutorials for lengthy in-flight skincare routines. However, providing you’ve sufficiently prepped your skin before your flight, there really is no need to commit to an extensive series of cleansing and moisturising steps while you’re in the air. Good news, your carry-on baggage just got a whole lot lighter.
While it’s true that planes are an incredibly dehydrating environment, the best thing you can do for your skin is pack in the moisture before you travel. Spend the 24 hours before your flight focussing on layering multiple hydrating products to ensure your skin is quenched with moisture—hyaluronic acid-based serums, moisturisers, and sheet masks are a great way to prep your skin ahead of a long day of travelling. Likewise, maintaining a focus on hydration once you’ve arrived at your destination will help your skin to quickly recover from any dehydration it may have experienced.
If you want to keep your skin healthy and hydrated while you travel, trust me when I say that less is more when it comes to your actual in-flight skincare routine. When I fly, you’ll find just five products in my TSA-approved toiletry bag—keep scrolling for my travel skincare essentials.
1. Hand Sanitiser
Of course, the obvious issue with in-flight skincare issue is hygiene. Tray tables, arm rests, seat pockets, and buttons are all likely to have germs living on them (not all planes are sanitised between flights), and germs can easily spread on planes via the ventilation systems, too. In addition, studies have shown that people are far more likely to catch colds on planes than they are in any other form of public transport. I don’t know about you, but that’s not the kind of environment I want to start massaging my face in.
All of the products below are pretty much hands-free, but if you are going to be touching your face (and even if you’re not), liberal and frequent application of hand sanitiser is highly recommended.
Aesop
Resurrection Rinse-Free Hand Mist
Not only does this deeply cleanse your hands, it also (in typical Aesop fashion) smells amazing.
Jo Loves
A Hand Sanitiser & Hand Lotion Duo
Got dry hands? This hand sanitiser/hand cream duo simultaneously cleanses and moisturises to prevent dryness.
Good Hands
No Rinse Hand Cleansing Gel
Affordable, effective, and under 100ml, the perfect travel companion.
2. SPF
If you only take one skincare product on your flight, let it be SPF. UV exposure (especially UVA) is much higher when we fly. In fact, at 30,000 feet, UV radiation is twice as strong as it is on the ground. My recommendation is always to apply a good layer of SPF50 before you fly, then use an SPF mist or stick applicator to top it up every two hours during your flight.
Ultra Violette
Preen Screen Spf 50+ Reapplication Mist
This lightweight sunscreen mist is totally invisible, but still provides broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection and ensures that everywhere (including neglected areas like the lips, brows, and ears) is protected.
Bondi Sands
Spf 50+ Fragrance Free Face Mist
In addition to protecting skin, this formula is both cooling and hydrating—perfect for refreshing skin mid-flight.
Lips need sun protection too, especially at 30,000 feet. This lightweight, glossy balm provides SPF30 coverage while also nourishing and repairing lips.
3. Hypochlorous Acid Spray
I like to think of hypochlorous acid as being like a hand sanitiser for your face. As an anti-microbial substance, it helps to kill bacteria, speed up healing, and repair damaged skin. It’s perfect for giving skin a quick cleansing refresh after working out, if you’re breakout-prone, or during a long-haul flight.
Clinisoothe
Skin Purifier
The next best thing to cleansing your skin—but hands-free, and super refreshing to boot.
The Light Salon
Cleanse and Recovery Spray
Skin will feel clean and fresh, but not tight or stripped after a quick mist with this hypochlorous acid-based spray.
Tower 28
SOS Facial Spray
The spray that took over TikTok and put hypochlorous acid on the map really is 100% worth the hype. Plus, it’s available in a mini size if you want to keep your luggage light.
4. Lip Balm
Our lips are usually one of the first areas of our face to show and feel signs of dryness, so if you tend to experience dry lips during or after flying, a lip balm is an essential product to pack.
The INKEY List
Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm
This multitasking lip balm works by packing moisture into skin then sealing it in. The result? Lips are not only better hydrated but plumped and smoothed in the process.
rhode
Peptide Lip Treatment
If you’re not a fan of heavy, sticky lip balms, you’ll love the silky smooth serum-like texture of this one. It really is as good as the internet says it is.
NATURIUM
Phyto-Glow Lip Balm
Packed with nourishing ingredients like shea butter, cupuacu bitter, and squalane, this one is a real treat for sore, chapped lips.
5. Eye Masks
As the skin near our eyes is thin and lacking in oil glands, it’s also especially prone to quickly showing signs of dryness and dehydration. When flying, skip the eye cream and opt for a hydrating eye mask instead. Gel-based ones will quickly and effectively infuse skin with moisture and will provide a welcome refreshment to tired eyes after a mid-flight nap.
Patchology
Serve Chilled on Ice Firming Eye Gels
Soaked in a cocktail of hardworking ingredients like peptides, bakuchiol, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid, these masks improve moisture levels in just five minutes.
111SKIN
Cryo De-Puffing Eye Mask
No matter what the temperature, these cult eye masks somehow manage to stay ice cold, which makes them an ideal in-flight option.
If you didn’t manage to catch any sleep on your red eye, these depuffing eye masks will hide all evidence of the fact thanks to a combination of hyaluronic acid, caffeine, and niacinamide.
