I've got a bunch of other holiday-ish posts in my head, so I figured I'd do one last catch-all, with the help of my friends from Cool Runnings. Without further ado, let's get started.
1. Get that sunscreen off your skin.
The best thing you can do for your holiday skin is wash your face thoroughly as soon as you come in from the sun, do a double cleanse with hot face washers (finally you can use those nicely rolled ones in your hotel bathroom) then cleanse again in the morning.
'But Nicola', you say, 'It's a holiday, I just want to relax and let my skin take care of itself'
Not gunna work unfortunately, if you're slipping-slopping and slapping sunscreen all over your face, you've got to be twice as contentious about taking it off. And if you don't want to look like a leather handbag, you best be slipping-slopping and slapping.
Which brings me to my next point... try not to bake, even with sunscreen on. If you're lying out like a rotisserie chicken your body will want to sweat, and if there's sunscreen clogging those sweat glands, it's going to panic, and possibly give you a lovely prickly heat rash.
For that reason, you should clean the sunscreen off your body as well, every day. I always pack a good scrub for this, such as this one, this one or this luxe but lovely one . As an added bonus, using a scrub will slough off dry skin to help you develop a nice even tan.
2. Vitamin B
Mosquitos, the worst the worst the worst. And repellant? Mad amounts of chemicals. Which is not to say you shouldn't use it, but I'd steer clear of the face. Somehow the mosquitos haven't got the memo about faces being delicate though, and there's nothing quite like a big old bite on the face.
Which means the only solution is this, right?
Not necessarily. If you start taking daily Vitamin B supplements about 2 weeks before your trip, you will emit an odour that naturally repels mosquitos. Sound unlikely? I thought so too, but it works!
Another hot tip is to avoid perfume, and cut down on fragranced products, essentially, the more delicious you smell, the more mosquitos will want to find you.
3. Change is not necessarily a good thing
It can be very tempting to grab sample sizes of random products before a big trip, and get caught up in the excitement of trying something new.
On behalf of your skin, I would like to ask you very very nicely not to.
In this case, afraid for good reason.
Learn from my mistakes, if you're changing one thing about your skin routine (ie introducing lashings of sunscreen and a bunch of UV) then keep the rest the same. If you have to, painstakingly decant your products into travel bottles. There's nothing worse than breaking out in a terrible rash, and not knowing what caused it.
4. Don't forget your hair!
The problem with flyaway holiday hair is that it tends to feel like straw after a few days, so I've got a few cheats to make sure you don't come home with an untameable mop.If you follow these steps you're not going to lose those beachy waves, they'll just look healthier and less frizzy.
- Rinse, rinse, rinse.
Those cute little outdoor showers next to the pool aren't just for show. As soon as you get out, try and throw as much fresh water in your hair as possible. That way, your hair releases the chlorine or salt in favour of fresh water, and you buy yourself some time between hairwashes.
- Cut the 'poo-
When I'm away, I tend to use a conditioner only, particularly if I'm swimming a lot. I'll comb conditioner into my wet hair after I've rinsed it, then leave it in while I get ready to shower, so it soaks in for a lovely long time. After I've rinsed it out in the shower, my hair is back to soft and manageable!
- BYO Oil
I've been tempted not to take my Moroccan Oil away with me, as it's so heavy, but it's one of the best things you can pack. I've now bought a smaller travel bottle, and I throw some in my hair first thing, to protect from UV rays, and then in the evening after rinsing to rehydrate.
So marks the end of Holiday Skin. Hopefully it's been a somewhat useful series, if only to remind myself of a happy time when winter was a distant memory.
1. Get that sunscreen off your skin.
The best thing you can do for your holiday skin is wash your face thoroughly as soon as you come in from the sun, do a double cleanse with hot face washers (finally you can use those nicely rolled ones in your hotel bathroom) then cleanse again in the morning.
'But Nicola', you say, 'It's a holiday, I just want to relax and let my skin take care of itself'
Not gunna work unfortunately, if you're slipping-slopping and slapping sunscreen all over your face, you've got to be twice as contentious about taking it off. And if you don't want to look like a leather handbag, you best be slipping-slopping and slapping.
Which brings me to my next point... try not to bake, even with sunscreen on. If you're lying out like a rotisserie chicken your body will want to sweat, and if there's sunscreen clogging those sweat glands, it's going to panic, and possibly give you a lovely prickly heat rash.
For that reason, you should clean the sunscreen off your body as well, every day. I always pack a good scrub for this, such as this one, this one or this luxe but lovely one . As an added bonus, using a scrub will slough off dry skin to help you develop a nice even tan.
2. Vitamin B
Mosquitos, the worst the worst the worst. And repellant? Mad amounts of chemicals. Which is not to say you shouldn't use it, but I'd steer clear of the face. Somehow the mosquitos haven't got the memo about faces being delicate though, and there's nothing quite like a big old bite on the face.
Which means the only solution is this, right?
Not necessarily. If you start taking daily Vitamin B supplements about 2 weeks before your trip, you will emit an odour that naturally repels mosquitos. Sound unlikely? I thought so too, but it works!
Another hot tip is to avoid perfume, and cut down on fragranced products, essentially, the more delicious you smell, the more mosquitos will want to find you.
3. Change is not necessarily a good thing
It can be very tempting to grab sample sizes of random products before a big trip, and get caught up in the excitement of trying something new.
On behalf of your skin, I would like to ask you very very nicely not to.
In this case, afraid for good reason.
Learn from my mistakes, if you're changing one thing about your skin routine (ie introducing lashings of sunscreen and a bunch of UV) then keep the rest the same. If you have to, painstakingly decant your products into travel bottles. There's nothing worse than breaking out in a terrible rash, and not knowing what caused it.
4. Don't forget your hair!
The problem with flyaway holiday hair is that it tends to feel like straw after a few days, so I've got a few cheats to make sure you don't come home with an untameable mop.If you follow these steps you're not going to lose those beachy waves, they'll just look healthier and less frizzy.
- Rinse, rinse, rinse.
Those cute little outdoor showers next to the pool aren't just for show. As soon as you get out, try and throw as much fresh water in your hair as possible. That way, your hair releases the chlorine or salt in favour of fresh water, and you buy yourself some time between hairwashes.
- Cut the 'poo-
When I'm away, I tend to use a conditioner only, particularly if I'm swimming a lot. I'll comb conditioner into my wet hair after I've rinsed it, then leave it in while I get ready to shower, so it soaks in for a lovely long time. After I've rinsed it out in the shower, my hair is back to soft and manageable!
- BYO Oil
I've been tempted not to take my Moroccan Oil away with me, as it's so heavy, but it's one of the best things you can pack. I've now bought a smaller travel bottle, and I throw some in my hair first thing, to protect from UV rays, and then in the evening after rinsing to rehydrate.
So marks the end of Holiday Skin. Hopefully it's been a somewhat useful series, if only to remind myself of a happy time when winter was a distant memory.
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