We may earn commission from links on this page. Each product featured has been vetted and chosen by our editors.
Somehow, it’s already mid-July. By now, your flights are booked, your itinerary is set, and your luggage is filled to the brim with your vacation outfits. Be it for TSA requirements, limited real estate, or the pursuit of a more simplified routine, everyday beauty staples aren’t always practical for on-the-go use, but traveling is no time to skimp out on your self-care routine.
In fact, when you’re traveling, your skin can need more TLC than usual, so it’s important to be prepared: an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, after all. In lieu of day-to-day favorites but without sacrificing your skin health, NewBeauty senior editor-at-large Sarah Eggenberger rounded up all travel beauty essentials you need to know, whether you’re headed to a conference or the coast.
Why does your skin freak out when you’re traveling?
Between the plane, the stress and the change of environment, travel can easily make your skin act up, as changes in air quality, humidity levels, water quality, and deviation from a normal routine can all trigger skin woes. The skin is an organ, and like all organs, it functions best when it’s in a state of equilibrium. Our home environment is like a little microbiome, a mini world, and when we disrupt the natural conditions of that world, we’re giving our environment a little earthquake. The aftershocks of that earthquake can show up as irritation, dermatitis and acne.
Skin trouble can start as soon as you board the plane to your destination or as soon as any tension in the trip-planning process begins. The solution? Edit your skin-care routine to include products that keep your skin in the harmonious state it knows and loves.
Must-Have Travel Beauty Products
1 / 6
Red light therapy and near-infrared light therapy reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and visibly improves skin firmness, elasticity and radiance, while the therapeutic warmth soothes, depuffs and revives tired skin for a refreshed look, making it a travel beauty essential. Compact, collapsible and rechargeable, the Mini fits easily into your bag or pocket, making it the ultimate glow-on-the-go treatment.
2 / 6
It can be difficult for many to doze off on plane rides, so you’ll want make sure to save these Self-Heating Warm Eye Compresses for every flight. Eggenberger got introduced to them because they soothed her eyes and sensitivity to light when she had migraine flare ups, but now, migraine or not, bringing them with her on plane rides is a total game-changer. The compress is more of an eye mask that comfortably goes over your ears and stays in place during a nap. They also heat up quickly and stay warm for around 30 minutes, which is more than enough time for to be lulled to sleep.
3 / 6
If you’re strapping in for a long travel day, consider these biodegradable underarm deodorant wipes from Pacifica to keep you feeling and smelling fresh. With a blend of coconut milk and essential oils to combat odor, these on-the-go wipes are easily thrown away once you’re done freshening up, so you can say goodbye to BO quickly and easily. These quick, long-lasting cloths are easy solutions to feeling clean within seconds—all you have to do is swipe a wipe under your arms, or other areas of your body.
4 / 6
From pool to lake swimming, or wind blown hair to quick hairdos, Ouai’s Leave In Conditioner will be your travel savior, helping to tackle the toughest knots pre-shower and protecting hair from heat post-wash. If you don’t have time for heat styling, use it to slick back your hair into a flyaway-free low bun.
5 / 6
For many of us, our favorite foundation is tragically packaged in a delicate glass bottle, so a switch to a more travel-friendly foundation is necessary. On that no-tools, no-problems note, the Fenty Beauty Stick Foundation is a perfect on-the-go base. This crease-proof formula delivers a blurred, smooth, second-skin finish that resists fading and transferring, as it sits at the intersection of a lightweight foundation and a skin tint. The twist-up stick packaging makes the product super easy to apply, so whether you are doing a touch-up in the airport bathroom or the back of an Uber you can simply uncap the tube, rub it over your face where you want to blur and conceal, and buff in with a sponge, a brush or your hands.
6 / 6
Now that you know just what beauty switches you need to make to make your travel beauty routine smooth sailing, you’ll need somewhere to keep all your new tools! Toiletries can easily be jostled en route to a destination, whether that’s on an international flight or a walk from the linen closet to the bathroom. Dagne Dover rises to the challenge of keeping everything—from bottles to brushes—in place. With enough height to stow bottles upright, it also has elastic straps that keep small products secure, and also makes it easy to organize products into tidy collections.
