Air Travel Essentials - Part 1 of 3

I like to joke around with everyone that I've spent half of my life in the clouds.  I grew up in an expat family, so that meant that we moved every couple of years, which is something that I wouldn't trade for the world.  I've seen many places, experienced many cultures, met many people... and sat in many airplanes.  Luckily, my husband shares my passion for travel, so my travel experiences haven't stopped with marriage, and in fact, I'd actually venture to say that they have only increased.

Anyhow, seeing as how I've traveled pretty extensively, I'd like to think that I'm decently knowledgeable when it comes to air travel.  I'm not talking about actually flying a plane of course, or the physics allowing a 5 ton hunk of metal to soar through the air without crashing, but the art of sitting on an airplane for hours on end without going insane.  My biggest goal when I was younger was to make sure that I didn't get bored in the air; now, my biggest goal is to not get sick and to keep my body from turning on itself.

Everyone knows that being on an airplane is not a healthy environment.  The high altitude, coupled with the low humidity and the recycled air, can wreak havoc on your body - especially on your skin.  Luckily, through some trial and error, I think I've perfected a beauty regime for flying.  This will be a three part blog series: Pre-Flight, In-Flight and Post-Flight.

Pre-Flight: Prepare Yourself

Step 1: Cleanse Your Skin

I have very temperamental skin.  My face tends to break out at the slightest bit of change in my routine, whether it be in my diet, my hormones or my environment.  When I know that I'm about to get on an airplane, especially if it's a long-haul flight, I try to prep my skin as best as I can.  This means that I try to extract all the bacteria and gunk out of my pores before it gets further irritated by my surroundings while in-flight.  I have a few favorite masks for this:

From Left to Right: GlamGlow Powermud, Proactiv Skin Purifying Mask,
GlamGlow Supermud and Proactiv Refining Mask

GlamGlow's POWERMUD Dual-Cleanse Treatment is my absolute favorite mask to use on a weekly basis.  It acts like a regular mud mask and is super deep cleansing, but it turns into an oil after you rinse it off to moisturize your face.  Basically, it leaves your skin super clean and feeling velvety smooth.  You can pick it up here or here.

Proactiv's Skin Purifying Mask is also a great medicated clay mask for use on acne-prone skin.  I do, however, prefer to use it as an overnight spot treatment as I don't like the tightening effect that it has on my face.  When I dab it on a problem area at night, I wake up the next day, and it's gone... miracle!  Buy it here.

GlamGlow's SUPERMUD Clearing Treatment is multiple award-winning and by far the most intense mud mask I've ever used.  I can actually see the gunk coming out of my pores (so gross!).  The only problem is that it's pretty drying, so I only use this one when my skin is behaving especially badly.  Grab it here or here.

Proactiv's Refining Mask works a lot like their skin purifying mask, but I feel like it's a bit more potent.  The only problem is that the sulfur smell is also more potent, so for those who don't mind the smell, this one works amazingly well.  Otherwise, I would refer you to the SUPERMUD.  Anyhow, you can try it out for yourself here!

Step 2: Moisturize

After I thoroughly cleanse my skin, I make sure that I completely moisturize my skin to prepare my face for the climate of the plane.  Seeing as though I usually use masks at night, I prefer to use a face oil afterwards.  I feel like my skin absorbs it better and more quickly than a lotion, so it ends up on my skin, as opposed to my pillow.  I only need 3 or 4 drops of this stuff for my face to feel completely nourished!

Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil: My favorite face oil ever!  You can buy it here!

Step 3: Boost Your Immune System

I'm not really a germaphobe per se, but when I'm flying, I do want to do my part to ensure that I don't get sick from all the germs in the air.  Usually, an adventure is waiting for me at the other end of my plane ride, and adventure isn't as fun when you're sick.  Enter my favorite germ-fighting duo: Vitamin C and hand sanitizer (I haven't added a picture of these since I'm not really partial to any one particular brand.)  I also take a vitamin before I head out to the airport and make sure to keep my hand sanitizer handy (pun intended) in my purse or carry-on at all times.

Now that you're cleansed, moisturized and boosted, you're ready to board!  Look out for Part 2 in this series tomorrow: In-Flight Essentials.

Glammie Love!

~Jaz