Hydrate and protect is the name of the game~
By Lauren O’Connell
On my recent trip to Bali, my beauty kit was loaded with all my must-haves. It’s imperative to keep skin and hair moisturized and protected when traveling. There is no way I’m going to take such great care of my skin in my normal day to day life and let it all go out the window when I take a trip.
Here are some of my must-haves when traveling:
I always say that EVERYONE over the age of 25 should include Squalene in their skincare routine. It really is the fountain of youth.
Squalene (with an “e”) is a lubricant produced by our bodies to keep our skin moisturized. In our mid-20s, our bodies slow down the production of squalene. Hello, maturity.
We CAN apply this substance topically onto our skin to reap the youth-inducing benefits. Squalene on its own is unstable, so this substance goes through a few chemical reactions and becomes squalene.
Squalene has SO MANY benefits for the skin. It’s a hydrating emollient that provides antioxidant, skin-firming, and anti-inflammatory benefits. It also works as a skin penetration enhancer and helps other ingredients reach deeper into the skin. No preservatives are necessary with squalene. It is naturally resistant to degradation.
Squalane works for all skin types (including acne, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis). It’s non-comedogenic, meaning it won’t clog your pores. It’s also light weight and easily absorbed.
Make sure your squalene is plant derived, like Salt by Hendrix Babe town Squalene Oil and Biossance Squalene Oil. Some brands are still harvesting their oil from shark liver.
It doesn’t matter if I’m under an umbrella and wearing a big floppy hat, indoors all day long, or going for a 4pm swim, you have a 100% chance of finding me covered in a broad-spectrum SPF. I choose to use a chemical sunscreen because I sweat in the sun, and I love to hop in and out of the pools during my vacation days.
Chemical sunblock sinks into the skin. As the skin absorbs the UVA (the silent agers) and UVB (the burning) rays, sunblock converts these rays into heat and then they dissipate from the skin.
Mineral sunblock sits on top of the skin and reflect the rays. The rays bounce off the skin rather than be absorbed. Once they are washed off (sweat/swimming) they no longer offer sun protection.
3. Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream
This miracle cream by Drunk Elephant is almost too good to be true. It’s packed the moisturizing trifecta- humectants, emollients, and occlusive to keep skin soft and supple with its barrier intact. I use this cream both morning and night so of course it came with me on my trip.
4. Fable & Mane Hair Mask
Hair needs love too when traveling. Between dipping in and out of the pool, spending (a lot) of time in the sun, and even bundled under a straw hat, my locks easily get dried, stressed, and unmanageable. I recently met the founders of Fable & Mane. The love they’ve infused into their haircare brand combined with its science and tradition-backed ingredients and high-performance products makes this one of my favorite new beauty brands of 2022. I am obsessed with the strengthening and smoothing hair mask. It makes my strands smell incredible too.
5. Rodial Lip Oil
This is one of those products I will buy again and again. If it’s ever discontinued, I will be beside myself. It’s SO good! Even though the name of the product is “Lip Oil” it’s more like a buttery, creamy gloss. It’s not sticky, it has a pale pink shade, and a slight vanilla scent. All the ingredients in the lip oil are great and I even wear it to bed too.
You can shop all my travel favorites plus a few more that I didn’t include in my blog here.
What products do you love to take when traveling?
Leave a comment and tell me your must-haves!