Travelling is one of the best things you can do for your mind but it’s not always the best thing for keeping your skin, face and hair, looking and feeling fresh. Of course, adventures are your first priority, but if you want to look good too, then stock-up on products that will help keep you refreshed throughout your travels. There are hundreds of travel beauty essentials that you can tote along with you on your next trip and we’re here to help you find some of the very best and most practical products to keep your beauty routine in check.
Several beauty essentials have multiple uses, and that can be extremely useful for the avid traveller and backpackers that have little space in their packs.
Makeup
1. Under-Eye Concealer
Finding an under-eye concealer that matches your skin tone is a challenge within itself, but once you find one, it will be one of the most important travel beauty essentials out there! Travel involves restless nights, long flights, and sometimes sleeping in the most unconventional of places… all of which can take a toll on your face and give you bags under your eyes. With the right under eye concealer, you can give the illusion that you actually slept in a comfortable hostel and not on the cold floor of an airport somewhere.
2. Wooden Cotton Buds
Wooden, or even paper, cotton buds are one of the most useful and versatile beauty products out there. You can use them for their intended use in your ears, or you can use them to help you clean up after applying makeup on buses, painting your nails in a place with bad lighting, or even to apply ointments or products to your skin.
3. Lip Balm
Ever-changing climates can take a toll on your skin and especially on your lips. Moisturising lip balms can help stop the dry and cold weather from cracking your lips. Lip balm is also great for situations where you have neglected drinking and hydrating properly. Be sure to seek out a lip balm that is natural and does not contain alcohol as that will dry your lips out even more causing you to use it more often (therefore purchasing it more often!)
4. Bronzer or Blush
A good bronzer or blush can be a huge help to give your skin instant life and colour after facing the unexpected from a long travel day. Be sure to find the right colour for your skin before heading out on the road and bring along the right brushes (or use a tissue if you are trying to save space).
5. Makeup Remover Wipes
If you’re packing only a carry-on, lugging around liquid makeup remover can be nothing short of a pain but you still need to remove your makeup before falling asleep every night. Makeup remover wipes will be your saviour in keeping your pores open and free of makeup, ensuring that you get a good night’s sleep in your hostel bed.
6. Metal Spoon
Metal spoons can be used for eating on the road, but they can also aid the reduction of the size of the bags under your eyes. Just place the spoon in the fridge, or a cold area, overnight and press it against your eyes in the morning. This will reduce the swelling there and help you feel a lot fresher in the morning.
Skincare
7. Aloe Vera
Travelling with natural Aloe Vera is definitely recommended for travellers. Aloe Vera has countless uses from burn remedy to skin moisturiser and beyond. The soothing gel or liquid is perfect for tropical destinations from Southeast Asia to Central America and it is not always easy to find it once you’re in the destination itself.
8. Exfoliator
Spas are expensive and dead skin is not something you want to endure while on the road. A good exfoliator is a travel beauty essential that can rejuvenate your skin and make you feel like you spent your hard-earned money on a spa day when you merely just scrubbed up with a little bit of an exfoliant.
9. Tea Tree Oil
If you suffer from blemishes, acne, or dry skin, tea tree oil is no foreign product to you. This natural oil can come into handy when travelling and can also double as an aid to burns, cuts, and salvaging open skin that is prone to infections. Do be careful if you’re a first time user as it can irritate sensitive skin if not diluted properly.
10. Moisturiser
Whether you have oily, dry, or normal skin, it is imperative that you travel with a moisturiser. A good moisturiser will be your best travel companion whether you’re travelling to the Sahara or the Arctic and it will keep your skin smooth and vibrant. Be sure to research all ingredients beforehand to ensure that you are picking out the best formula and product for your skin.
11. Pumice Stone
If you’re an active traveller and spend a lot of time walking around, especially in sandals, your feet will be your worst enemy at the end of a long day. While there is very little you can do to get your muscles to refresh, you can absolutely keep your feet feeling fresh by travelling with a pumice stone. The pumice stone will help remove callouses and dead skin on your feet, which are often found after a long day perusing the city in sandals. Pumice is also extremely light and won’t weigh down your backpack.
12. Stainless Steel Water Bottle
The most underrated thing you can do for your skin is to keep hydrated! By carrying around a stainless steel water bottle on your travels, you can be eco-friendly and your skin will thank you for keeping it hydrated and quenched at all times. Always be sure to check the drinkability of the water wherever you go.
Haircare
13. Shampoo and Conditioner Bar
One of the newest and latest crazes in travel beauty products is the invention of shampoo and conditioner bars. These solid bars, almost like a bar of soap, make travel easy, environmentally friendly, and carry-on approved. Shampoo and conditioner bars can last for months at a time and are one of the latest conveniences available to travellers that should be taken advantage of.
14. Coconut Oil
Split ends? Stained teeth? Healthy eater? Coconut oil is calling your name! Packing a small container of cold-pressed coconut oil can go far for travellers and can help mend broken hair (especially in colder climates), take stains off teeth with oil-pulling techniques, and can also be used in coffee, cooking, and other methods in the kitchen. The uses for coconut oil are endless, but dry hair will be transformed with a small touch of the stuff.
15. Hairspray
Untamed hair is a problem on the road and can be easily aided by travelling with a good hairspray. Hairspray does exactly as the name suggests, but it is also useful for curing static, setting makeup, and getting ink stains out of clothing. If you’re travelling with a carry-on, ensure that the size of hairspray you purchase will be small enough to get through security.
16. Straightening Iron
Hairdryers can be found in most hostels whether it is borrowed from another traveller or from the hostel’s front desk… but finding a straightening iron can be a bit more difficult. Bringing one along for the road can help you fix your hair before going out for a nice night and it can also be used to iron clothing that may get wrinkled in a backpack.
17. Dry Shampoo
If you ask any female what their favourite beauty product of the last decade is, you will undoubtedly hear ‘dry shampoo’ over and over. Dry shampoo has revolutionised travel and everyday life for so many that it is simply hard to imagine living without it these days. Incessant travel can limit travellers’ shower days, but dry shampoo allows travellers to give the impression that hair should never suffer as a result. You can easily find large bottles of dry shampoo or carry-on sized ones.
No matter where you’re heading in the world, keeping a variety of travel beauty essentials at your disposal will help you maintain healthy skin, lively hair, and an effective makeup routine without a lot of stress or having to purchase too many items on the road.
Author Bio: Megan Starr is a travel blogger and digital marketer from Richmond, Virginia but currently based in Frankfurt, Germany. Her travels focus on post-Soviet countries and the Nordics. She has an affinity for good coffee and beer, cold climates, brutalist architecture, and all things animals. You can read more on her blog or Facebook.
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