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Long-Haul Flight Tips

Suitcase packed, ooh where are you off to? Whether you’re jetting towards a once in a lifetime dream destination, a big important global meeting or beaming at the thought of seeing distant loved ones – a long haul flight heralds a big adventure. And it’s a big moment for your skin too, airplane air is dryer than the Sahara Desert. Fact. The desert has an average of 25 percent humidity, and most planes are below 20 percent. So! We’d better look at some smart long haul flight tips to make sure you and your gorgeous mug bounce off the plane looking as radiant as when you bounced on. Eyes on our Sheet Face Mask range and favourite travel-sized toiletries.

Group of The Body Shop products

Before the flight

Imagine a long haul flight as if you’re travelling through the desert for 6 hours to get to where you're going. Then let’s get prepped accordingly. Like packing, you can prepare your skin the week before you fly by cajoling it into being its most hydrated happy self, before you step onto the plane. Guzzle as much water as you can and get some early nights in for 3-4 days before take-off. We’ve got the next bit covered – flight skincare essentials. When your skin is being ravaged of moisture, we’ve got everything it will thank you for in hand-luggage friendly miniatures. In the meantime, keep up your daily skincare routine including one of our hydrating moisturisers day and night.

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Get ready in three steps

Smiling woman with a glass of water

Drink water and plan your snacks

It’s time to fly and you’ve packed and prepped like a pro, but hang on… have you thought about grabbing some healthy snacks en route? Not all airlines are as in touch with your wellbeing as you are, and typical airline snacks like nuts and crackers can be salty and create desert-like conditions in your body. Nobody wants to get off the plane feeling slightly shrivelled. So, you’ll get brownie points from your skin if you pack some angelic snacks – veggie sticks, fruit, a homemade sandwich and some herbal tea bags. Your whole body and being is affected by the dry air on flights so keep up the water intake and watch what you eat as you soar above the clouds.

Woman applying soothing face mask

Prep your skin before your flight

Taking your skin on a long haul flight needn’t be a dehydrating drama if you give it a little bit of TLC before the off. Why not get into an ancient Roman state of mind and think of a luxurious face mask with our Mediterranean Almond Milk with Oats Instant Soothing Mask. Inspired by wise ladies who knew a thing or two about pampering, this mask has a creamy, porridge-like blend of oatmeal from the UK and Community Fair Trade organic almond milk from Spain. This dreamy mask smooths onto the skin and helps provide instant moisture for your skin to guzzle up. It’ll feel nourished and protected and ready to take on any environmental hazards. And what about those loyal limbs too? Yep, they need a serious dose of something special, after showering, try our Olive Nourishing Body Butter, enriched with nourishing shea butter and helping deliver 72-hour moisturisation – that means the flight and beyond.

Travel kit

Make sure you hand luggage complies with regulations

Now this is the Krypton Factor challenge we all face before flying anywhere. How to get everything liquid-like for our skin’s needs in 100ml or under and then cram it all into a clear bag approx. 20cm by 20cm sealed or tied at the top? Where’s Challenge Anneka when you need her? Well, we’ll try hard to take her place. Double check your airline restrictions before you fly, generally liquids tend to include creams, lotions, perfumes, oils, mascara, lip gloss, deodorant and toothpaste. So think hard what you need the most on the flight and when you land. Always include a face moisturiser, naturally.

During the flight

We’ve got some great ideas for in-flight pick-me-ups coming up – from Face Sheets Masks, Gel Face Mists to refreshing Gel Eye Masks, to pop in your small clear bag of hand luggage essentials. If you're sitting with friends and family, you’ll make their flight if you share a little bit of thoughtful pampering with them too. And if you’re on your tod, prepare to make some new friends with your wise ways! You’ll find all your The Body Shop favourites to keep your skin happy and healthy looking for your whole trip in handy travel sizes too, so they won’t take up too much space in your hold baggage. If you think of travel toiletries as mini but powerful versions of your everyday skin care routine and mix things up a bit for extra TLC, you’ll be on the right track.

Woman wearing face mask

Tip 1: Mask on-the-go

Game-changing long haul tip coming up. Why keep Face Masks on the ground? Our innovative Sheet Face Masks are perfectly designed for flying – lightweight and mess-free, ready to help hydrate the hello out of your gorgeous visage. What better flying companion than our Drops of Youth™ Youth Concentrate Sheet Mask? None quite frankly. It slips on like a second skin, helping to replenish your skin with moisture while its relaxing sensation helps calm your mind. It’s enriched with gorgeousness – edelweiss, criste marine and sea holly plant stem cells from the Italian Alps and Brittany Coast and Community Fair Trade moringa seed oil from Rwanda. So apply to clean skin and drift off to your happy place for 15 minutes while this industrious mask gets to work. Then peel off and give your face a little massage in upwards motions. Bliss.

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WOMEN PUTTING ON THE BODY SHOP NIGHT CREAM

Tip 2: Relax

Are you planning a mile-high snooze or to staying glued to the in-flight entertainment? Either way a little love round your peepers will help keep you calm as well as helping to keep the appearance of dark panda eyes we all dread at the end of a flight at bay. You always deserve a spa-like treat, so pop our Drops of Youth™ Bouncy Eye Mask in your in-flight pamper package. This smooth operator is enriched with plant stem cells and cucumber extract and helps cool the skin around the eyes, helping the eyes to appear less fatigued. As you drift off it feels heavenly and helps your skin feel smoother and replenished for when you’re ready to make eye contact with the world.

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Woman spraying herself with face mist

Tip 3: Use a face mist

It’s always nice to get a bit of shut-eye after you’ve caught up on some in-flight films, but it can be hard coming back round when the brekkie trays are out. We’ve got the perfect formula for a burst of hydration, whether you’re waking up after a snooze or just having a moment of – OMG my skin feels parched. Our cheeky little Vitamin E Skin Cooling Gel Mist is versatile and ever-ready to be spritzed on your face for an instantly refreshed feeling. Infused with vitamin E and raspberry oil, this ultra-lightweight gel quickly helps skin to feel revitalised and replenished. You’ll be ready to bounce off the plane with a healthy looking glow in just a few squirts.

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The Body Shop Spa of the World French Lavender Pillow Mist

Tip 4: Prepare for jet lag

We all want to get the most out of every minute of our travels, whether it’s taking in the awesomeness of nature or the sights and sounds of another culture. That’s when jet lag sometimes has other ideas, so be kind to yourself and plan a gentle first day adjusting. As you zoom across the skies through magical kingdoms and their different time zones your body clock – known as your circadian rhythm, can become confused as to what time is what. Is it awake or sleep time? Do I rest and digest now or later? So things like sleep, mood and bowel movements can become understandably erratic. You can nudge your rhythms in the right direction by working towards the time in your end destination as soon as you board the plane. Resting at their nighttime and eating at their mealtimes. Drinking lots of water and keeping your body moving by walking down the aisle and stretching your arms and legs will help your body adapt in its usual amazing way.

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After the flight

That moment when the plane door opens and you know you’re about to experience the magic of a new climate or culture is exhilarating, whether you're pooped or not. But if you’ve had a particularly long flight, as the astronauts and epic adventurers all well know, it’s always a sensible idea to earmark day one for gentle acclimatisation. Your body will thank you for a stress-free day when it can get in sync with the moon and stars in its new longitude and latitude. You could try and stay awake until the new bedtime or wake up at the new breakfast time, even if it’s a struggle and you need a midday nap later on. You’ll get into the swing of things much quicker that way. Try to get ahead of the game by sussing out the new environment – is the air hot, cold, dry or a bit grubbier than usual? What will your skin need?

The Body Shop Skin Defence Lotion on bathroom sink

Tip 1: Skin Defence

Wherever you are in the world you always need to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays. If you’re off to sunnier climes to bounce a beach ball around in the sun for hours on end, or scaling a mountain in your vest and shorts don’t forget to pack a good quality primary sunscreen. You can always double up with our Skin Defence Multi-Protection Lotion SPF 50+ PA++++, a lightweight moisturiser infused with vitamin C to help your skin feel healthier and look brighter.

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Woman's face

Tip 2: Get ready for your holiday

A big flight often means big holiday plans and you might be about to meet some dazzling smiles you want to dazzle right back. Panic not, we’ve got the perfect hydrating razzle-dazzle lotion for you, Fresh Nude Tinted Beauty Balm SPF30 is perfect for instant, ‘what flight?’ healthy-looking radiance. Grab a Lip Juicer for a quick pop of hydrating colour and one of our compact Shimmer Waves multi-purpose palettes to blush, contour, shadow and highlight for a sun-kissed glow.

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Group of The Body Shop products

Tip 3: Stock up on travel-sized toiletries

In our experience, before a long flight, nobody ever said, ‘I reckon I’m well below my baggage allowance,’. So, be travel-savvy and stock up on your body’s most needed essentials in our handy travel-sizes to keep your suitcase weight down and make more room for fabulous holiday outfits or sports kit. You’ll never regret The Body Shop Body Butters for a deeply nourishing feeling on your lovely limbs, our Shea Nourishing Body Butter or Hemp Body Butter are both excellent places to start.

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Woman applying charcoal face mask

Tip 4: Detox, Pamper, Relax

Just like our circadian rhythms, our skin can feel a little topsy-turvy with all the travel-induced changes. Changes in air as well as food may cause your skin to have a moment. So get ahead of the game and be ready to give it a little love with our Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask. Infused with bamboo charcoal from the foothills of the Himalayas – it’s a lovely way to relax away the stresses of travel. The invigorating formula helps to draw out impurities, leaving you with goddess-like healthy looking skin.

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