We all have our travel rituals. Some arrive at baggage drop just as it opens, all devices fully charged, travel documents diligently filed away in a leather pouch. Others refuse to spend a minute longer than necessary in the airport, getting there just as the gate opens. Whichever camp you fall in, there’s no doubt in the weeks before your trip, you’ll be running through a mental checklist of pre-holiday beauty prep – lash lifts, brow tints, lymphatic draining, fake tan and so on.
Summer Travel Skincare Tips for Every Flight
Words by
Clara Taylor
5th August 2026
Everything you should be doing pre-, during and post-flight to ensure travel this summer doesn’t impact your skincare.
The cabin air can be incredibly drying on the skin.
But no matter how many treatments you schedule, much of that work can be undone on the flight over. According to Dr Hazel, General Practitioner and Aesthetic Doctor: “Dry cabin air has a significant impact on the skin barrier. Humidity levels on long-haul flights can drop to around 10–20 per cent, which is far lower than what the skin is used to.” For reference, anything below per cent has the propensity to wreak havoc on the skin barrier, which Dr Hazel explains can lead to “dryness, tightness, increased sensitivity and sometimes flare-ups of conditions like eczema or rosacea.” Not exactly the desired result after sacrificing 90 minutes to a facialist's chair.
Before Take Off
Hydration before take-off is key.
As dryness is one of the primary issues when flying, then it’s simple maths that you’ll need to moisturise as much as possible beforehand. For Emma Wedgwood, Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Director of Emma Wedgwood Aesthetics, a pre-flight protocol should focus “on barrier strengthening using targeted hydration boosters and polynucleotides – next-generation treatments that support cellular repair at altitude.” Of course, you’ll get the best results in clinic, but for an at-home, no-needles alternative, there are plenty of PDRN creams and serums on the market. Rodial’s Salmon DNA Water Oil harnesses all the benefits of PDRN (signalling skin fibroblasts to make more collagen and elastin), giving visibly plumper skin, while strengthening the lipid barrier to lock in hydration. Alternatively, Medik8’s offering uses Prismatic PDRN, which penetrates deeper into the skin for longer-lasting and more immediate results.
Delo Rx Active Hydrator.
The danger with focusing so heavily on moisturising is that it’s easy to forget it might not actually be benefiting your specific skin type. Anyone who's breakout-prone – and it’s estimated that 40-50 per cent of women are – will be wary of creams that are too rich or occlusive. For this reason, Dr Stefanie Williams launched Delo Rx and a range of hydrating products with advanced anti-ageing cosmeceuticals that are totally suitable for oily, congested and breakout-prone skin. Before leaving for the airport, use the ultra-light Active Hydrator to keep your skin moisturised without sending it into overdrive.
In Flight
IMAGE DAILY Prevention.
Anyone who has spent any time in the company of a dermatologist will know just how much they harp on about SPF. It’s truly the skincare equivalent of vegetables or exercise – you know it’s good for you but it’s a little bit boring. Yet, it arguably remains one of the products in your bathroom cupboard doing most of the heavy lifting. Particularly when cruising at 30,000 feet. “UV radiation intensifies at altitude (thanks to a thinner atmosphere) at a rate of about 10% for every 1,000 meters. At cruising altitude (approx. 35,000 ft), you’re exposed to up to 60–80% more UV than on the ground,” consultant dermatologist and skin ageing researcher, Dr Sidra Khan, counsels.
There’s a huge chasm in quality in the products available to us. As skinfluencer Natalie O’Neil pointed out in a recent video: “you can buy lots of good, cheap cleansers, but sunscreen is hard to get right.” Translation: it’s worth investing in. Targeting epigenetic skin age and promising to reduce it up to 8 years in just 12 weeks, IMAGE DAILY Prevention is a great option to reach for. It contains a mineral sunscreen (always, always go for mineral over chemical), which acts as a physical barrier to UV and comes in a tinted formulation so you’ll be less tempted to layer on a foundation that could contribute to in-cabin drying.
Facemasks while flying have become somewhat of a social media phenomenon, with the Biodance Bio Collagen one keeping users in a chokehold with a jelly-like sheet that slowly becomes transparent over time. While it’s sort of an interactive experience – the colour change really makes it feel like you can see the benefits seeping into your pores – it does require 3-4 hours. For something quicker, only requiring 15 minutes to be precise, the Epicutis Lipid Recovery face and eye masks is the perfect pick. It’s particularly important you look after “the delicate eye area”, says Simone Shoffman, Education & Clinical Director at HealthXchange, which can appear puffier or more fatigued after long flights. The cooling bio-cellulose technology instantly soothes dryness, reduces puffiness and leaves skin feeling refreshed – precisely the look you’ll be after as you step off the plane.
After Landing
It's important to avoid actives after landing.
One thing about airports is that they are not clean. The general rule of thumb is, as expected, to keep hands as clean as possible, avoid touching your face and be sure to cleanse once you get home. Proceed with caution, however, when it comes to the latter as cleansers often contain actives like salicylic acid that can contribute to the drying you’re so desperately trying to avoid. In fact, Dr Hazel advises, “holding off on stronger actives for a few days until the skin feels more balanced again.” Instead, you can try something with mandelic acid, like the Medik8 Surface Radiance Cleanser, which is a larger molecule, so penetrates the dermis more slowly and is much gentler.
The same logic applies to retinols – i.e. allow your skin to calm for a few days before resuming regular usage. I can personally recommend signing up to the Renew + Me Nightly Active Treatment. It’s tailored to your specific skin concerns, arrives neatly by post every month, and has a really rich formula, so you feel protected from any irritation.
Et al Bronzer - for an instant post-flight pick me up.
Dry skin = dull skin, so you’ll likely want to reach for a brightening product after flying. Much like suncreams, there’s a lot of rubbish on the market. Never buy any vitamin C product from a clear bottle as it breaks down rapidly when exposed to light – by the time it hits your skin, it will have lost most of its efficacy. Miamo’s Superdose Radiance Activator has been specifically designed to stabilise the Vitamin C in its formula for maximum results. It also comes in a travel size so can fit in your carry-on. If you’re looking for instant results, then you can’t get anything more immediate than a good old-fashioned bronzer. Et Al’s Versatile Bronzer is created to mimic skin, for that effortless no-makeup makeup look we all strive for when on holiday.
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