Dermatologist Essential Items for Travel
I was recently on vacation and a friend needed some allergy medication. I offered her to come to my room to get some. When she saw my travel arsenal she was impressed. Remember the old commercial for American Express – Don’t leave home without it! I may take this a little too far. But here are some skincare related essentials.
As a rule, I VERY RARELY use what toiletries are provided in a hotel. I am way to picky for that! And to take it a step further, I would never trust my toiletries to checked luggage, especially on the way there. I always take at least a small amount of my essential items as a carry on. Although I have been lucky (knock on wood), I have heard too many horror stories about lost luggage.
For those of you doing some air travel, remember there is a limit to the sizes of things you can carry on. TSA allows each person to have a quart ziplock bag with liquid items, and none can be larger than 3.4 ounces. Luckily we have a number of my favorite face care products in travel savvy sizes in the Spring Boutique.
On the list below, I am not including deodorant, soap, toothbrushes, toothpastes, etc. Just some things that are more dermatologically specific.
Wipes – I usually carry a few tipes of wipes. Huggies Natural Care for wiping my hands, Clorox wipes for wiping down tables, chairs and anything that looks grimy, and Cetaphil wipes for actual washing my face or neck if the need arises. All of these are pre “medicated” so they are easy to use and toss. I stock up on travel size packs of wipes at Walmart and the Dollar Tree.
Cerave Itch Relief – I love, love, love this stuff. I recommend it daily in the office. This cream contains Pramoxine which numbs the itch sensation sort of like Lanacane Spray numbs a sunburn. This alleviates the itch sensation within 2 minutes and lasts up to 8 hours; what a relief for bug bites! I use this myself at least every week. It looks bad if a dermatologist is digging at a bug bite.
Mupirocin Ointment (RX) – This is the only RX item on this list, but it is such an essential for me I couldn’t leave it off the list. I use this in place of other antibiotic ointments. This one effectively kills MRSA when other OTC antibiotic ointments do not. We use it for every little cut, scrape and pimply like bump that inevitably occurs at the most inopportune times.
Lamisil Cream – This wonderful OTC product works better than most RX antifungals. It is one of the few antifungals that are FUNGICIDAL (kills fungus) not just FUNGISTATIC (slows down the growth of fungus). Lamisil cream works great on feet that have been exposed to all kinds of yuk as well as in moist folds, to prevent jock itch from taking hold.
A&D ointment – This multitalented wonder works great for chaffed areas, soothing sunburn, and as a sunscreen. The active ingredients are Dimethicone 1% and Zinc Oxide 10%. The Zinc Oxide is an excellent sunscreen in a pinch and is soothing on any rash. The Dimethicone reduces friction.
Foot Glide/Body Glide – Foot glide is to be used on any areas that chafe or rub and can greatly reduce the likelihood of blisters when used preventively on the feet. Body glide is to be used on other folds – underarms, inner thighs, and more – also to reduce friction and prevent irritation. I was introduced to this when I was running a lot, but it works great for a day in a bathing suit as well.
Emery Board – I probably have some kind of sensory issue, but I cannot stand to have a knick or catch in my nail. I rarely am without an emery board or nail file.
Lip Balm with SPF – I have a number of these I like. On the less expensive and for the whole family, I like Sun Bum’s mineral lip balm. On the fancier and more girly end, Colorescience Lip Shine has a great pop of color and flavor.
Stick Sunscreen -I am not too picky on these. As long as it is a mineral based stick, I’m good. I tend to carry Cetaphil and Coppertone most often.
Pressed Powder Sunscreen -I am not a huge pressed powder fan, but for sunscreen touch ups on the go I like Colorescience pressed powder for my face and neck. It works great, is compact and is temperature stable.
Hand Cream– Cetaphil moisturizing cream is great, but I often have just a small tube of whatever kind I can find in my day bag.
ZO Skin Care Products – My daily lineup of ZO products is Gentle Cleanser, Daily Power Defense, Rozatrol for the past >10 years. Followed by Colorescience Tint Du Soleil. Luckily all of these come in travel savvy sizes in our Spring Boutique, so I don’t have to go far to shop. At night, tretinoin and Latisse are the essentials I can’t do without.
When you head out on your next trip, don’t forget your travel essentials in the correct sizes! One thing I often do is… if I’m on a trip and I wish I brought something along, I make a note on my phone and add that to my travel bag for my next trip. It has really helped. Then I keep a note on a note card in my toiletries bag with all the things that are supposed to be in there in case something gets removed. Happy Traveling!
