When I first got into travel and the outdoors, I didn’t think that years down the line I’d be commenting on how my skin really seems to suffer. Skincare, or the need for taking it seriously, isn’t something I’d ever really connected to my time outdoors – but when I think of the portraits and expedition photographs I’d see of climbers, alpinists and explorers with badly sun damaged skin and desert floor chapped lips, it kind of made sense. In my early days in the outdoors, I’d often forget sun cream. Or I’d go from hot to cold temperatures without much notice and have itchy skin for days. My skin would feel dry, or too greasy and never really balanced. It would leave me feeling really uncomfortable and really impact my experience.
What I’ve come to realise over the last few years is that your skin is as important as the protection you wear on your body and feet – it’s with you for life. You wear winter boots and coats to prevent your body from freezing and to keep it moving, but we often neglect the skin that is on show pretty much all the time – our faces. So how can you help your skin feel better if you spend a lot of your time travelling or in the outdoors? Below are four tips to help you start to navigate:
Image description: A landscape image. Matt looks straight forward in this closer up portrait and is framed to the torso. He is smiling just looking off from the camera. He wears a blue coat, black bag and has sunglasses around his neck. The background is a brown, out of focus mountain scene.
Do What’s Right For You
Working out what is right for you is probably one of the most important factors when it comes to getting your skin feeling comfortable so you can focus on the things you love. This can be completely different and an entirely unique experience depending on so many factors within your lifestyle. Thinking about where you spend a lot of your time – or plan to spend a lot of your time is really important. It is also helpful to think about any areas that feel like problems to you right now – or that you notice to be problems when you spend time in a specific place. If you spend a lot of time travelling, you might find that you struggle to keep your skin feeling hydrated and experience dryness, for example. If you’re exposed to the elements a lot, you may struggle with redness. Having a clear idea on your own personal needs is the easiest way to become more familiar with what it is you require from a skincare solution. Looking at an individually tailored solution has been, for me, the key to helping my skin feel better. What really drew me to Skin + Me is that they create a customised treatment plan that can change as your lifestyle or skin changes. Personalised skin care in the past has been seen as something that is incredibly expensive or selective – but I love the fact that they’ve made access to skincare much more affordable – especially as you remove the need for a lot of products. Upon signing up, Skin + Me offer a simple but thorough consultation online in order to customize the formulation you need, and both myself and Matt found this incredibly easy and really quick.
Image description: A landscape image. Fay is framed from the torso up. Having just been for a wild swim, Fay is wearing a changing robe and hugs their arms around their body. In the background, low light lights up the loch behind Fay and creates a golden illumination and back lighting.
Make it Easy to Stick to
If it’s complicated, the chances are, it’ll be harder to stick to, especially when you’re travelling or are away on an adventure. It needs to be easy going. Working out an easy solution is key to sticking with something that will allow you to experience the full benefits of a product. What we’ve both loved about Skin +Me is that it’s really simplified down the product we need, with a detailed outline of when to use the product, with the exact amount we need dispensed each day. We’ve found this has made our skincare routine so easy that sticking to it has been no problem and we’ve really seen the benefits.
Image description: A portrait image. Matt is sat to the left of the frame wearing a green t-shirt and black trousers. In his right hand, he holds a blue wash bag, with the monogram ‘F&MD embroidered on the front. He holds a personalised Skin + Me product in his right hand side which is a white bottle. He is smiling and looking down. In the background are out of focus plants and light coming from a window behind him.
Be Selective and Downsize
When it comes to looking after your skin, it can feel like a minefield out there. There are so many products promising a hundred different things and you can end up feeling like you need several different products to look after all of the problems your skin might face. If you are someone who spends a lot of time travelling or experiencing different environments, you might also feel this is even more confusing. Simplifying down and working out how you can be as selective as possible can really help. This is also incredibly helpful when it comes to travelling or backpacking as it allows you to hone down on what you need without all the excess weight, baggage and cost. What I really love about Skin + Me is that because their formulations are made directly for your skin, delivered direct to your door each month with the exact amount you’ll need, no waste, I’ve been able to downsize to just what I need for my skincare routine. Both myself and Matt’s Skin + Me is completely different – addressing direct concerns we both had. Whilst we both generally travel to and experience the same places in the outdoors, the way our skin personally reacts to different environments is such an individual experience. So, it’s been great to see the benefits of how that manifests personally on our skin being looked after. Having just one product has made a really big difference to me – both for when I travel, but also in terms of cost, too. Their products also cut down on waste and are infinitely recyclable.
Image description: A landscape image. Two Skin + Me products, in white bottles with personalised ‘Matthew and Fay’ written on each bottle sit on an out of focus table top. In the background, plants, fairy lights and pictures frame the light bright scene.
Become Mindful
What we do from day to day and the different things we come into contact with can have a big impact on how we feel in our skin, too. If you’re finding that there are certain activities, foods or environments that could be aggravating your skin, try keeping note of these to see if there is a recurring pattern. This will give you the best possible ability to start honing down on if there are any lifestyle or environmental changes you can make that might have a more positive impact. Such as eliminating certain foods from your diet or even something as simple as changing your laundry detergent.
Image description: A portrait image. Fay stands by a door frame using personalised Skin + Me product. The bottle is white and the logo is yellow. Fay is wearing a grey top and is looking down at the bottle.