Sensitive Skin Travel Skincare Routine: Rosacea-Friendly Essentials I Swear By

As a girly with sensitive and rosacea-prone skin, I can’t emphasize enough how much my skin has suffered as a traveler. From the dry airplanes, dealing with hard water in some places, challenging climates – I mean I was in the skincare trenches for YEARS trying to figure out what would work with my rosacea and sensitive skin. I know how disheartening it can be to go on a dreamy vacation, only to look back at photos of yourself and see the red, splotchy cheeks that don’t even pass for a sunburn. And it’s not fun.

If you’re a person who deals with rosacea like I do, I’m here to let you know that you don’t have to go through the throes of splotchy redness, sore-to-the-touch cheeks, and an unbalanced tone anymore. It took me a span of 7 years to find these holy grail products that I swear by, and I’m going to give you every skincare product that has kept my skin feeling hydrated, balanced, supple, and moisturized in what will take you seconds to read.  This is the ultimate sensitive skin travel skincare routine.
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On my trip to Madrid, I walked into a farmacia (pharmacy) and asked if they had any of the La Roche Posay Cicaplast Balm (which is what I would use to repair my face’s skin barrier). The pharmacist right away could tell that I was dealing with a rosacea flare-up and she said that what I was asking for was too heavy to use on my face. I briefly stood there wondering what I could use for my face if this was too heavy until she recommended I use a cream called Aderma Exomega Face & Body Cream. I bought it on the spot and I’ve been using this stuff ever since. As a matter of fact, I still stock up on Aderma Exomega products whenever I travel to Europe. I still like the Cicaplast Balm by La Roche Posay, but I only use it during harsh Winters now when I feel that I need something a little heavier! I apply a thin layer of Aderma Exomega in the morning right before applying my sunscreen, and at night as the last step in my skincare routine.

Another face moisturizer that has been a game changer for my travels is Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream, which feels lightweight on the skin, protects your skin barrier, and gives your face the perfect amount of hydration. I love that many of the Kiehl’s products also come in travel sizes!

This leads me to my next skincare holy grail item (and this is something I can’t leave the house without whether I’m traveling or not) – Kiehl’s Lip Balm. Listen, I thought Vaseline was my ultimate girly pop beauty secret… and I still love a Vaseline moment BUT once you graduate to the level of hydration, suppleness, never-having-chapped-lips-again level, you can’t go back. I put this on before bed, underneath my lipstick and glosses, on the airplane… you get it. It’s just too good to pass up and your lips will thank you.

A product I may have overlooked in the past is tinted SPF. Firstly, as a person with rosacea, it took me a long time to find a sunscreen that felt comfortable on my face, let alone a tinted sunscreen. I’ve dealt with sunscreen that left my face looking parched; I’ve dealt with sunscreen that leaves the white casting (which is so unpleasant); and tinted moisturizers that seemed to fold into every crease of skin and somehow looked splotchy after less than a day. PUR’s 4-in-1 Tinted Moisturizer does none of that and has a full spectrum of tones (warm, cool and neutral) to choose from. Depending on where you’re traveling, it wouldn’t hurt to apply a layer of sunscreen underneath this tinted moisturizer for some extra protection from the sun. For easy, everyday use and easy reapplication while traveling, I love Shiseido’s Clear Sunscreen Stick.

A couple other products that I really like to take with me on my travels or purchase upon arrival are a thermal spring water face mist and a hyaluronic acid for extra hydration. For a straightforward thermal spring water face mist that is travel size, I go with Avene’s Soothing Calming Facial Mist Spray for Sensitive Skin. On days when you’re under the hot sun, or out in the dry cold air, this facial mist feels like a breath of fresh air for your skin.

Luckily, it’s pretty easy to find hyaluronic acid anywhere nowadays, but I recently found a way to make my own with Bos Essentials’ Pure Hyaluronic Acid Serum Powder! With this powder, you can make the amount of hyaluronic acid that you want to take with you on your trip, which is ideal given some travel restrictions. Just get yourself a little tincture bottle to store the serum that you make – I also love that you can re-use the tincture bottle over and over for your hyaluronic serum (okay little Ms. Saving the Planet!).

And there you have it! My short list of holy grail items that have brought soothing to my rosacea-prone, sensitive skin. It turns out that sometimes, less is more when you find the right stuff. Let me know what skincare product YOU can’t live without when traveling. And if you try any of these, I’d love to hear how they work for you!