Skin Care Tips: Flying and your skin

The holidays are a busy travel time of year with so many of us flying off for family visits or much needed vacations. More often than not our skin tends to be more of a Grinch during these trips, which wreak havoc even on the best of complexions. Many people come to us in need of some extra TLC after traveling, wondering what happened!

To start, aircraft cabins are an artificial environment that’s hostile to our skin. Our bodies undergo physical reactions to extreme conditions such as air pressure and humidity changes that happen while flying. The low pressure and low humidity combine to quickly dehydrate the skin. “Dry skin gets drier, oily skin gets more oily to compensate for the dehydration.” Jennifer Chioccariello, our medical aesthetician explains. Here are some of her tips and tricks for saving your skin:

• Apply a hydrating serum. This acts as a booster for your complexion. It delivers and enhances hydration to the deeper layers of your skin. This is an important step before applying your daily moisturizer.
• Moisturize.  Just like you do every morning. If you don’t already use moisturizer, start today!
• Don’t forget the SPF. Yes, even on a plane! UV rays are much more intense at 30,000 feet than they are on the ground, and they’re not blocked by airliner windows. Apply after your serum and moisturizer.

• Stay hydrated. Low air pressure means less air to carry moisture, and also causes the body to expand and draw moisture from your skin. This is why it’s so important to drink water while on a flight. And try to skip that cocktail on board since alcohol furthers your dehydration.
• Skip the hydration mists.  At least while in the air. Mists are a lovely thing to travel with, so spray prior to boarding your flight and right after you land. Don’t bother using it during a flight since the air is dry and will grab the water before it’s able to penetrate the skin. What a waste!

• Exfoliate. After your flight you need to slough off those dead skin cells that developed while in the air. An exfoliant stimulates cellular turnover to help your skin shed old skin cells and replace them with young and healthy ones. Additionally, this will detoxify, rejuvenate and oxygenate your skin in one step.  How great is that? We recommend January Labs “Glow and Go” Power Peel Exfoliant.

• Apply a mask. To really seal the deal on repairing your confused skin, a mask is a must. Jennifer loves the HydroPeptide “Mask” for post travel. “It exfoliates, brightens, pulls impurities from your skin while hydrating….it’s a mask that can multi-task,” she explains.

Have a question or would like to make an appointment for a skin consultation? Just call 617.262.1607 or email us at [email protected]. We love to hear your thoughts so share them in the comment section below!