Recently updated on January 17th, 2020 at 11:29 pm
After two decades as a make-up artist and beauty editor, globetrotting Patricia Corentijn is now a consultant for an international Paris-based skincare and cosmetics manufacturer. She shares some of her tips on keeping your skin in shape while travelling.
Most of us know that the skin is the body’s largest organ. But unlike our other vital organs, a fair bit of it is on view for most of our lives. Taking care of our skin isn’t just about health. It’s also about how we are perceived and how we feel about ourselves.
Travelling is invigorating and inspiring. But nonetheless, travel does put our skin through its paces. Abrupt change can place our skin under pressure. And we haven’t even got onto the risks of the sun yet.
I’m a great believer in routine. Nothing beats the confidence our own private ritual creates and keeping to your skins has one less shock to the system.
CLEAN UP YOUR ACT
At the risk of contradicting myself, there are some slight adjustments anyone – man or woman, young or old – might want to make to their routine that can really help. Cleanliness is at the heart of skin health. And that’s science.
At the risk of contradicting myself, there are some slight adjustments anyone – man or woman, young or old – might want to make to their routine that can really help. Cleanliness is at the heart of skin health. And that’s science.
When travelling, we inevitably expose ourselves to far more airborne particles and agents than we might during our regular daily routine. Conditions that encourage perspiration, such as heat and humidity, can block your pores. It’s not really a matter of changing or increasing your cleansing routine, but just making sure you take the time to thoroughly clean your skin regularly. Avoid rushing and spend a little longer than usual gently ridding your pores of those unwanted travel souvenirs.
The way we travel today generally has a drying effect on the skin. The necessary realities of climate control – in planes, vehicles, hotels – all conspire to dry out the skin. If we’re lucky enough to be somewhere bright and sunny, that too can have a drying effect. This can be particularly notable in the mature traveller or those generally prone to dry skin.
Make sure you have your trusted moisturiser with you and don’t hesitate to use it. A good women’s all-round moisturiser like Estee Lauder’s DayWear will put that moisture back with the bonus of a sunscreen. And the most macho of men could hardly complain about applying a little Bulldog.
Bulldog’s manly-sounding range of natural products includes an excellent moisturiser that wise wives may well pilfer when they’re not looking.
FAKE IT DON’T BREAK IT
A dermatologist once told me, that if her profession has their way, we’d all spend our lives shut away in darkened rooms. Naturally, she was joking. Yet the fact is that UV rays have one of the most damaging –and ageing – effects on our skin.
If you are a fan of the tan for aesthetic reasons, fake it and save your skin. We’ve come a long way from streaky orange and these days there are many excellent products out there that give the impression of a real, natural tan. One I recommend is Clarins’ Instant Smooth Self Tanning. It’s reliable, rapid and even.
Much healthier to nurture your tan in this way on your shaded balcony and then cover up with a high protection factor when heading into the direct sunlight.
If you’re soaking up glorious rays while exploring some ancient Mediterranean citadel or taking in the splendours of a Latin American skyline from a relaxing terrace, remember to cover up with a sunscreen factor appropriate to your skin type – go higher if uncertain – and to reapply it regularly.
I always recommend Lancaster’s Sun For Kids. It was developed for children – ideal if you’re travelling as a family – but it’s a gentle spray-on product suited to all ages. It’s meant for easy application on wet skin; it copes in even high-humidity conditions, when many other products fail to stay where they should.
Providing specific repair and moisture for your skin after exposure is just as important as covering up with sunscreen. Different skin types require different products but I swear by Secuvie’s After Sun Repair Cream. This range of natural Swedish products is particularly good for those with sensitive skin, because their expertise extends to manufacturing medical creams for skin conditions.
LOCAL WISDOM
It comes with the job, but I always enjoy discovering local age-old secrets to enduring beauty and healthy skin when travelling. In Bangkok or Marrakech, I head for the markets to find where local women buy their beauty products or, better still, the raw ingredients to make their own.
Gesticulating wildly and hoping I’m getting it right, I inevitably come away with some new tip. If you’re the kind of traveller who likes finding something new nothing says “I know a local secret” like discovering what combination of herbs and oil Thai ladies use to revitalise their hair, or what brings that silky glow to the cheekbones of Berber women whose age is as much of a mystery as the ingredients of their handmade cosmetics.