Traveling is the second most common time for my clients to fall off of the clear skin wagon.  Even my graduates who have been clear for years tend to come back with a few more zits post-vacay than they left with.  Regardless of what stage you are at in the clearing process, here is a list of travel essentials you should bring with you if you are acne-prone and traveling.

Skincare products: This is #1. Duh. Your product plan is what is facilitating the clearing process so even just a short period of time not following your product plan can allow seeds to form deep inside the skin that might not show up for months later. So bring your skincare products and follow your product plan everyday, twice a day.

Pillowcases and face towel (a body towel too if you are prone to body-acne): When hotels use dryer sheets, fabric softener, and detergents containing fragrance or other pore-clogging ingredients, just sleeping on their pillows and using their towels can lead to new breakouts.  If you haven't yet cut out the dryer sheets and switched over to a non-cloggy detergent, choose an AES approved product from our Acne Safe Household Products Pinterest board and do a load of laundry before you leave.

Popsicle molds: Whether or not icing is a part of your daily product plan, pack a silicone popsicle mold so you can freeze ice and have it ready in case you get an inflamed pimples. Inflammation usually spikes while traveling due to the stress on our bodies from jet lag, increased busyness, etc so it’s a good idea to pack one even if you don’t normally get inflamed pimples. If you do start noticing signs of inflammation (redness, swelling, itching, soreness), whip out the ice and apply it directly to your skin after cleansing for 2-30 minutes (the longer, the better). Make sure to use gentle pressure when icing because too much pressure can cause inflammation to worsen.

Toiletries: Unless you want to risk breaking out around your hairline and mouth while vacationing, bring your own hair products and toothpaste. If pimples around the mouth and forehead is the look you are going for then by all means, use the random toothpaste and shampoo at the hotel. And no, if doesn't matter that you are only traveling for a few days, it only takes ONE usage to breakout from a cloggy product.  If you forget any of your toiletries, take a screenshot of our list of comedogenic ingredients and scout a non-cloggy ingredient at a nearby store (a lot of countries have ingredient lists in English).

Hand Soap: This is one that most people don’t consider but we tend to wash our hands a lot when we travel and if there are cloggy ingredients in whatever hand soap the hotel or Airbnb is providing then it is likely going to get on your face, especially if you wash your hands right before applying your skincare products. So get a travel size container and pack a little acne-friendly hand soap next time you travel to prevent any cloggy residue from making contact with your face and breaking you out.

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