I’d like to welcome Trisha Murray, our female writer in residence! She’ll be writing about travel for women, travel beauty tips, and more!
Well, now it is time for me to enjoy the sun. For six months I have been busting it at work, to save for my vacation time until September. I am that person now – the island hopping, wine sipping, sunset snapping Instagram pest – acne included.
Earlier this year there was a time when I was so confused with how I should deal with the condition of my skin, that I really couldn’t imagine snapping a complete facial vacation selfie. And although I still don’t have a completely carefree attitude about my skin (and I’m not sure that I ever will), the progress that I have made with my treatment allows me to enjoy my vacation without having to worry about my acne all the time. It’s something that worries me for a long time, but with the tips below and the help of Dore Aesthetics my skin is a lot better.
As you might have gathered by now, this entire process has definitely been a learning curve, and since I have some time to reflect on this now, I thought I would share with your five things that I have learned about enjoying my vacation while having skin problems:
Traveling with liquids
It is surprising the number of liquids you can take in your carry on luggage on a plane. It’s not that I am testing national security, I’m just attempting to carry a small pharmacy with me since it is necessary now for maintaining my healthy skin. Fortunately, all of the creams that I need are very powerful and still available in airport-friendly, small containers. And unlike my massive bottle of generic shower gel or sun cream, I felt my best skin products really couldn’t risk the baggage carousel – I needed them to be traveling right there with me and kept in my carry on luggage. Aside from the fact that I feel a bit embarrassed about how I push that small plastic freezer bag that they provide you with to its absolute limits, it was surprising to me how smooth the process went. It’s too bad there is always something in my innocent-looking sandals that seem to always set the alarms off.
Time to get ready
Compared to about 90% of all of the other people you will be vacationing with, you are going to need more time for getting ready. Whenever I am on vacation with my friends, we always run out of time to get ready for dinner. There is something about that gap of time between sunset and wanting to have a pre-dinner cocktail not being quite large enough. I was fine when all I needed to do was put some mascara on. However, now I need more time for applying my foundation and cream. I would recommend that you just concede this point from the very first day and skipping the cocktail. Anyway, you will be able to make a better entrance this way.
Skin protection from the sun
Apply your skin-friendly suncream new rule to your body in addition to your face. Over the past ten years, I have spent endless vacations getting frustrated about chest getting a “heat rash” – pimply, small spots after bathing in the sun. I decided this year to try out a new sun care product called Bioderma Photoderm AKN Matifying Fluid. It worked like magic. Now I don’t have “heat rash,” just a nice bronzed healthy look. I can wear my beautiful sundresses again!
Find a nice hat!
A hat is definitely your best friend. It is true that many people don’t like wearing a hat. However, I think if you wear it with confidence, that the right hat will do wonders for whatever outfit you are wearing it with. And let’s be honest, it is very functional as well as being a rare quality for a majority of our travel accessories. A nice wide-brimmed hat will not only add some Riveria glamor to your beach style (which otherwise can deteriorate quickly into a salty, hot suncream mess), but it also provides your sensitive face with that portable shade that it really needs. Yes, I know this isn’t a terribly original discover that I have made. For centuries now, humans have been wearing hats. However, it was still a pleasant thing for me to discover.
This is important: having any kind of vacation, and being happy and relaxed, does amazing things for your skin. There are things that tend to aggravate my skin, such as dairy, that doesn’t appear to have the same effect when I am getting my eight hours of sleep every night and having that fresh sea air to breathe every day. That is very handy since I really love ice cream. There is a saying that you should never come home from vacation without having your next one already books. I think your skin – and overall health – will thank you when you follow that piece of advice.
This post was published by female writer in residence, Trisha Murray. Watch for more of her upcoming series on Canadian travel for women, travel beauty tips, and more!