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The Skincare Tips Our Editors Swear By

These packable, TSA-friendly products keep us feeling refreshed wherever we go.
The Skincare Tips Our Editors Swear By

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Travel frequently enough and your skincare routine becomes just as important as your plane outfit or boarding ritual. After all, a dehydrating airplane cabin combined with a dose of jet lag can do a number on even the clearest of skin types. Everyone takes care of their skin in different ways, of course: For some of us, it means a strict regime of moisturizers and serums slathered onto clean skin, while for others the focus is more about keeping hands hydrated after being dried out by sanitizer or cold weather. Then, of course, there are those of us who feel no shame in applying an under-eye mask once the plane reaches cruising altitude. We asked our editors for their best travel skincare tips—and which products they use just as much at home as they do on the road.

This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

Tinted moisturizers and micellar wipes

Being much more homebound during the pandemic has really changed my relationship with makeup, in that I don’t wear it anymore unless I really have to. When I do pack a Dopp kit, my travel-size products are a lot more dedicated to keeping my face clean and moisturized these days: A tinted moisturizer is all I will put on for the dry plane, and before going to bed I want to make sure every drop of makeup is off with a good micellar wipe (the only time I’ll use wasteful wipes is on the go and for this purpose). A night time routine I’ll sometimes squeeze in on a plane if my skin is feeling dry: a really cool-feeling face moisturizer like Tatcha’s The Water Cream, plus a concentrated eye cream or gel, like this one from Clinique that has lasted me so long now–a tiny dab goes a long way for tired, dry eyes. —Shannon McMahon, destinations editor

Tarte Maracuja tinted moisturizer

Tatcha Mini The Water Cream

Clinique Take The Day Off micellar cleansing towelettes

Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate

Gua Sha and cleansers

Nothing dries out my skin quite like traveling, so I call in my A-team of products to give my skin the extra boost of hydration it needs. I always pack a mini Clinique Moisture Surge 100 Hour Hydrator—it’s made for locking in extra moisture and perfect before a long flight. I love using my favorite lip mask every morning and night on any trip. I find that when I’m eating a lot of salty food on vacation, I wake up looking extra puffy; to combat that, I keep my jade roller and Gua Sha in the mini fridge (if it’s available) to de-puff after my skincare routine. If any blemishes pop while I’m on a trip, I place a tiny dot of the Clinique Acne Solutions Clearing Gel directly on the spot right before bed. A little bit goes a long way—this Clearing Gel is my secret weapon for clearing pimples overnight and the bottle is small enough to fit in any makeup bag. When I get back from a vacation, I use the Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Cooling Mask to reset my skin with extra hydration. —Meaghan Kenny, editorial assistant

Clinique Moisture Surge 100H moisturizer

Clinique Acne Solutions clinical clearing gel

Baimei Jade Roller and Gua Sha

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

Sunday Riley treatments

I have become a die-hard supporter of Sunday Riley's ICE ceramide moisturizer—it works very, very hard and absorbs very deeply. Your skin feels super nice to touch and has a bit of shine, too. I also use the brand’s all-in-one lactic acid treatment once a night: It supports elasticity and retextures skin, which is good news for frequent fliers who are exposed to various degrees of dry, recycled air, and all types of temperatures in a single journey. —Erin Florio, executive editor

Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One AHA lactic acid treatment

Sunday Riley ICE ceramide moisturizer

Facial spray and the Jet Lag Mask

Pre-pandemic, I foolishly chose to take a lot of red eyes, but the one silver lining was that it helped me master my in-flight skin routine. (Getting off a plane at 6 a.m. with a full face of slept-in makeup is a unique brand of gross.) Before boarding, I like to clean my face with a TSA-friendly face wipe, then apply a blob of Summer Fridays’ Jet Lag Mask for the duration of the flight. It’s incredibly hydrating and works overtime on long journeys to keep skin looking plump and dewy—better still, it works as a great night mask at home if your skin is feeling tired from travel or whatever else the world has thrown at you that week. I also love spritzing myself with Mario Badescu’s travel-size facial spray—it gives you a refreshing little pick me up whenever you need one. —Lale Arikoglu, articles director

Mario Badescu Facial Spray two-pack

Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask

Hydration and blemish control

I have two main skincare priorities when traveling: hydration and blemish control. I have a slew of products for keeping my face and body hydrated, and on the way to my destination, that starts with eye masks, like the brightening and wrinkle-minimizing patches from Loops. Packed with niacinamide and a light retinol, they’re the perfect thing to de-puff after a long day of travel. Once I’m at my destination, it’s all about Weleda Skin Food lotion, an incredibly thick paste-like formula that really hydrates your skin, whether that's on your face, elbows, or knees. I also love packing Aesop's hand balm; it the same lush scent as the brand's most popular hand soap, with notes of mandarin orange, lavender, and rosemary leaf, and is packed with cocoa butter, shea butter, and sweet almond and coconut oils for maximum hand hydration. Plus, it doesn't leave that slippery residue that most hand lotions do, so you won’t have to worry about your phone slipping out of your hands after applying. 

Finally, my skin always, always breaks out on vacation, especially after flights, so I pack a sheaf of CosRx’s acne patches, which not only serve as a hydrocolloid spot treatment to draw out impurities, but also as a mostly sheer protector, to ensure I’m not touching my face or blemishes throughout the day. They’re almost invisible enough to wear out and about—but if I’m in a mask, I usually pop them on as needed underneath. —Meredith Carey, travel bookings editor

Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm

Weleda Skin Food ultra-rich cream

Loops Weekly Reset rejuvenating eye mask set

CosRx Master Patch Set

Eye balms and de-puffing serums

After every red-eye, I say I'll never fly overnight again, but then it comes time to fly cross-country and the late-night trip just makes the most sense. As such, I'm always on the lookout for products to de-puff and soothe my tired eyes. An absolute staple that I've used for a decade-plus: Clinique’s All About Eyes serum, which feels so soothing post-flight, when I have a headache, or when I'm in need of an afternoon pick me up back at home. A newer favorite that I've incorporated into my daily routine is Tula's Glow and Get It brightening eye balm; a few swipes of the stick after my moisturizer and I'm good to go. (At night, I'll sometimes switch to the Rose Glow and Get It for a slight rosy shimmer.) 

Before bed, I've been slathering on Nuria's Revitalizing Jelly Night Treatment, which is super hydrating and feels just like the name suggests. Another key skincare tip: Cadence's reusable capsules, which have made traveling with my usual products, from face wash to body soap, so much easier. 

My all-time favorite product, though, is Smith's Rosebud Salve. I always have a tin of this in my purse or carry-on—it’s the best chapstick I’ve found for dry lips, but can also be used on small cuts or burns, dry spots on your hands or face, and dry cuticles. I’ve used it for years and it never disappoints. —Madison Flager, commerce editor

Cadence Weekender capsules

Tula Glow and Get It eye balm

Nuria Hydrate Revitalizing Jelly Night Treatment

Clinique All About Eyes serum

Sunscreen, serums, and lip scrub

My travel skincare routine has changed a bit with the incorporation of face masks. Now, I fly with scrubbed-clean skin that only has a rich moisturizer and airy sunscreen on top—usually, Eve Lom moisturizer and Supergoop Unseen sunscreen—and a pack of disposable masks to ensure whatever is pressed against my skin for hours on end is totally germ-free. I always pack my jar of Hanalei lip scrub, for smoothing out dry lips, and the juicy tube of “lip treatment” that comes with it. 

I do my best to keep up my regular skincare routine up wherever I go, thanks to travel-friendly bottles of Lesse face wash and a Lesse serum that acts like a moisturizer, but I save my best stuff for when I return home: a spa night with Drunk Elephant Babyfacial followed by the brand’s Virgin Marula oil, which cleans out my pores and leaves me feeling totally renewed after all my skin has been through. Just make sure you don’t use the oil immediately before or after time in the sun; it’s strong and can leave your skin extra vulnerable to UV rays for a few days, I’m told. —Megan Spurrell, senior editor

Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial mask

Hanalei Sugar Lip Scrub

Moisturizers and eye cream

I obsessively hoard beauty and skincare samples anywhere I can get them, and I love using them up while traveling because my packing strategy is to try and return with less than I brought. That also means that I get to try a bunch of different things on the road, from new eye creams to makeup-removing oils. My travel skincare routine is actually much more rigorous than my regular routine—because if I've brought all the things, I have to use them. I'll layer on Olay moisturizer, Glossier serum, and Neutrogena eye cream before bed. In the morning, I'll wash it all off, then add serum, sunscreen, and do my daily makeup, which is really just eyeshadow and eyeliner. I'm fanatic about making sure I always remove my makeup before the end of the day—or even earlier, if I know I'll be traveling for a long amount of time. —Stephanie Wu, former articles director

Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair eye cream

Glossier Super Bounce serum

Multi-purpose salves

I've become a little obsessed with salves for a few reasons. They're so multi-purpose: You can use them as lip balm, or hand moisturizer, or to moisturize any sad, bone-dry body part, really, like dry elbows and knees. They're also incredibly lightweight and portable, and are perfectly within grounds, weight-wise, to bring with you on the plane. The two that I'm loving right now are C.O. Bigelow's time-tested Rose Salve, which is a little thicker than most, but smells absolutely divine, and Phoenicia Honey's Lavender and Calendula blend, which I snagged from my guest room during a stay at the Urban Cowboy Lodge. Both come in beautifully packaged little tins, and are ideal, low-maintenance quick fixes for when I'm on the road—or even at home at my couch. —Betsy Blumenthal, features and franchises editor

Phoenicia Honey lavender and calendula salve

Deep cleansing masks

I have this thing about showering as soon as I get home from a trip. No matter what time it is—midnight, 5 a.m.—I'm jumping in the shower and washing all that airplane yuckiness off me. Then I started incorporating this mask into my post-flight regimen for next-level deep cleaning. I'm still using it twice a week at home, too. It makes my pores nearly invisible and gives this incredibly fresh glow (it's the little things these days). And because I've used it so much after traveling, it tricks my mind into thinking I'm just back from a trip, which makes me feel less anxiety and stress. —Lauren DeCarlo, former strategic projects director

Herbivore Blue Tansy Invisible Pores resurfacing clarity mask