10 Best Travel Essentials For Acne Prone Skin

First and foremost, a facial cleanser with a symptom appropriate active ingredient is a critical acne travel essential on every trip. Depending on the type and root cause of your acne, your skin may need a different active ingredient. For example, if you struggle with cystic, inflammatory acne, a benzoyl peroxide wash may be best fit for you. Alternatively, if you struggle with clogged pores, a salicylic acid wash may be best fit for you. I personally use the Clove Hill Clarifying Cleanser, which includes benzoyl peroxide and contains no acne triggering ingredients. Be careful with benzoyl peroxide, though, as it can bleach your clothing and bedding. I learned this the hard way.

Traveling — rather, flying in particular — can expose you to a vast array of bacteria. So, I always cleanse my face as soon as I can after a flight. Before long-haul overnight flights, I also wash my face and do my skincare routine in the airport just before boarding. And, I never touch my face without washing my hands first in order to prevent bacteria or dirt from touching my skin unnecessarily.

Furthermore, acne safe moisturizer is crucial for keeping your skin hydrated and comfortable after dry flights. Unfortunately, most drugstore moisturizers contain pore-clogging ingredients — even some moisturizers that are recommended by dermatologists and/or labeled non-comedogenic. I recommend using Natural Acne Clinic’s pore clogger checker tool to see if your moisturizer contains any pore-clogging ingredients. I use Clove Hill Balancing Lotion, but if you’re looking for a safe drugstore option, the Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer passes the pore clogger test. For additional hydration, I also use the Clove Hill Hydraboost in conjunction with my moisturizer.

Sunscreen is imperative. You need to wear sunscreen every day (even cloudy days) to protect your skin from harmful UV rays. This is especially true if you are using active ingredients like benzoyl peroxide that make your skin more susceptible to UV damage. Plus, UV can slow your skin’s healing process, so if you have any hyperpigmentation (dark red spots after an inflammatory breakout), you definitely want to wear sunscreen to keep that healing process as quick as possible. However, like I said, most products you buy in store contain pore cloggers that can trigger acne and result in never-ending breakouts. This includes the vast majority of brandname sunscreens. That’s why I use the Clove Hill Tinted SPF on my face every day, as well as my acne prone chest and upper back on sunny vacation days.

While we’re on the topic of acne-triggering ingredients, it’s important to know that liquid foundations clog pores. I was a religious liquid foundation user until I started Natural Acne Clinic’s online acne program. I had a lot of doubt that cream concealers would perform as well as my full coverage liquid foundation. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised with Glo Skin Beauty’s Oil Free Camouflage Concealer. Although it does not provide completely full coverage, I’m happy to say that it does not contain pore cloggers. For my fair skin tone, I use shade sand. For my under eyes, I use the lighter of the two concealers in the Glo Skin Beauty Under Eye Concealer Duo compact.

Not only are cream concealers better for acne prone skin. Cream concealers are also better for travel, which is what makes them one of the best travel essentials for acne. Why? Because they are solid. They aren’t liquid, so they don’t take up any of your precious liquid space when traveling carry-on only. The same goes for powder foundations in place of liquid foundations, such as the acne safe Glo Skin Beauty Pressed Base Powder Foundation. For blush, I use the Glo Skin Beauty Blush. For bronzer, I use the Glo Skin Beauty Bronzer Pressed Powder.

Moving on from skincare products, let’s talk about some travel essentials for acne that will make traveling with your skincare products a lot easier. Traveling with skincare products as someone who struggles with acne can be a nightmare, especially when traveling carry-on only. Between our skincare products, dental care products and other hygiene products, it can be hard to narrow down which liquids are truly essential and which aren’t.

Fortunately, there is a way to turn some of your skincare products from liquid to solid to cut down on liquids packed. For all of your watery skincare products, such as toner (I use the Clove Hill Moisture Balancing Toner), presoak cotton pads in the product and seal the cotton bags in an airtight plastic bag before your trip. That way, you have at least one less liquid product to pack. I prefer using 100% organic cotton pads like these to ensure I’m not putting any unnecessary, potentially acne-triggering chemicals to my skin.

Obviously, us acne prone folks have to be careful about the products we put on our face. However, did you know your shampoo and conditioner could be triggering your acne too? Because of this, I always recommend traveling with your own acne safe shampoo and conditioner. I personally use the Vanicream shampoo and the Vanicream conditioner. For body wash, I’ll usually use whatever body wash the hotel provides on my lower body and the Clove Hill Mandelic Face + Body Wash on my chest and upper back to prevent body breakouts.

Now, we need the best toiletry bag possible to pack all of our acne safe products, which is why I always use a hanging toiletry bag like this one, particularly for longer trips that I need a lot of product for. I love traveling with a hanging toiletry bag for a variety of reasons, primarily so that I can hang my toiletry bag up anywhere in my hotel room and have easy access to my products without taking up limited bathroom counter space. In terms of my skincare routine, I think a hanging toiletry bag is an acne travel must-have because you can see all of your products through the clear pockets without ever haphazardly digging through your toiletry bag.