Essential Beauty Tips Before You Travel
Without a doubt, for women, sometimes our last thought before our relaxing vacation is to take care of ourselves. We’re too busy making sure that the luggage is packed, the house is cleaned, and that the rest of our family is ready to take time off. For the last three years now, I have settled into a pre-travel health and beauty routine that ensures that my body is as ready for vacation as my mind. This is no secret or special treatment that costs you those precious dollars you saved for your vacation. These are things that we do for ourselves daily but often forget to do when we’re too busy to take care of everything else. They’re so simple, yet we’re willing to sacrifice them regularly in our day-to-day routines.
Have your hair cut before you take off.
Changes in the environment will only exacerbate hair issues. At least a week and no more than a month before you leave on your trip, get your hair cut to take care of split ends, too long bangs, or other unruly problems that you might be more lenient about at home. Whether you are staying with a friend, in a hotel, or renting an apartment abroad, you are not going to have the same time or space to do your entire hair routine like you would at home. Double check with your stylist that you are using a proper shampoo or conditioner for your hair type. Also ask your stylist for tips on low-maintenance ideas for your hair style that still allow you to look fabulous! If you have your hair colored, this also gives your hair time to relax and the color to settle before the stress of your trip. Finally, you get a week to practice some simple techniques rather than fighting with your style out on the road.
Make water your drink of choice.
We all know it and every beauty magazine promotes it, when we drink more water our body is able to clean out impurities faster and more efficiently. While we may be able to relax on our vacation, our bodies go through the stress of a changed environment. Start at least a week before your vacation and make water your drink of choice. Also, cut back on alcohol and caffeinated beverages — both are culprits for tired, bloodshot eyes along with other stress factors.
Go ‘au natural’ with your manicure.
Ditch the colored nail polish before your trip or you’ll regret those photos with your bright chipped polish. Nail polish takes up room in your bags and the risk of a leaked or cracked bottle in our luggage is just not worth it. For your manicure, exfoliate your hands and feet, trim up the cuticles, file down your nails, and buff them to a high shine. With a good hand lotion in your travel bag, you’ll look neat, trimmed, and elegant when you reach for your drink at dinner.
Reduce salt & fat in your diet.
High sodium levels and using table salt on everything leads to water retention and discomfort. Greasy foods lead to oily skin and indigestion. When you lower the amount of salt and fat in your diet, your complexion will be tight and glowing rather than greasy and sallow. A low sodium, low fat diet is a way of life for me every day but when I know I’m about to spend hours on a plane, I become extra cautious. The last thing I want is to feel run down or ill at the beginning of a vacation.
Supplement for balance.
If you don’t already, consider adding a multivitamin supplement to your daily routine. While we may try to keep a balanced diet that gets us all of the vitamins, minerals, and oils that our bodies need, sometimes we just don’t get it all done. At the very least, vitamin C on a regular basis keeps you from needing to hit the super-C remedies when you feel the sniffles coming on and vitamin B keeps your energy levels even.
Get strict about your beauty routine.
Life happens and we’ll skip washing our face if we didn’t wear makeup (or even if we did!) before going to bed. Or, we’ll decide that we’ll skip cleanser or lotion to save a few minutes. When you know your beauty routine, you know exactly what you’re going to need to pack and how long it takes you to get ready. If you’re only going to wash your face once a day, make sure that it is at night. During the day we actively work to cleanse our face and our body sweats to clear pores. At night, our face is snuggled against a pillow and all that dirt gets trapped on our skin resulting in overnight breakouts. Makeup and oil covered pillowcases also reinfect our skin night after night. Cleanse, tone, and moisturize at least once (preferably twice!) a day at least two weeks before your trip and you’ll look as refreshed as you deserve to be for your vacation.
Fall in love with your moisturizer.
Changes in weather, spending time in air conditioned or recirculated air, and just the stress of travel distresses our skin. I have combination skin depending on the season. I get very dried out in the winter and very oily in the summer. Knowing your skin type is key to using the right moisturizer to prevent breakouts. If you have combination or oily skin, use a water-based moisturizer to minimize extra oils and clogging pores. If you have dry skin that needs deep care, choose an oil based moisturizer to provide longer deep treatment. Even though my day-to-day moisturizer is water-based, if I know I am going to be on a train or plane flight for longer than an hour, I use an oil-based moisturizer to combat the drier conditions.
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