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Travel can be an extremely positive and fulfilling experience. After all, it gets you out of the everyday setting of your normal life, and propels you into adventure, new experiences, different cuisine, and confront you with people and cultures who you may never have interacted with before.
It’s not much of a surprise, then, that one of the main reasons why people use social media services like Instagram these days, is to follow travel accounts, and to show off their own holiday snaps.
One problem with travel, however, is that it may be more difficult than usual to stay looking your best. In an age when we are all used to being able to benefit from services such as breast augmentation operations, and also to buy all the cosmetics we could ever dream of for next day delivery through Amazon, the prospect of not being completely in control of your appearance for an extended period of time may be pretty jarring.
No need to panic, however. Here are a few examples of habits you can nurture that will help you to stay looking your best while travelling.
Get an early night whenever you can manage it
One thing about travelling, is that it’s not always easy to get an early night, or to maintain a regular sleep schedule, while out on the road. Certain types of travel will be better for this, and others will be worse. If you’re backpacking from location to location, and are trying to get most of your sleep in on buses, or in crowded hostels, you might not be doing yourself any favours.
Even if you’re staying in cosy accommodation, however, there is a substantial chance that you’ll find yourself cutting back on sleep in order to stay out later and start each day earlier. To see, do, and eat more, during your trip.
But getting enough sleep is a really big deal – and recent research has shown that failing to get a good night's rest contributes dramatically to your risk of premature death and illness, premature ageing, and mood disorders.
The best thing you can do to stay looking your best while travelling, is to get your beauty sleep. That means, try and arrange your days so that you can have plenty of rejuvenating slumber each night, and wake up feeling refreshed each morning.
Have a daily skin care routine that you stick with no matter what
A simple daily skin care routine can go a surprisingly long way towards keeping you looking your best. And the key here is that it doesn’t have to be very complicated, either.
With the absolute abundance of skincare products out there today, many people have adopted advanced skincare routines that include a dozen different potions, and an hour or more of application and routine each day.
Believe it or not, however, most of the work is actually done by exfoliating, and moisturising. If you have a good exfoliating product with you, and a good moisturiser, you will already be in a good position to look your best on the road.
The key thing is to make your daily skin care routine a habit. Do it each morning as soon as you wake up, for example.
Do what you can to eat whole foods, including plenty of vegetables – don’t live on sandwiches and fast food while on the road
When you’re travelling, you’re undoubtedly going to try some of the local cuisine. That’s a great idea.
What isn’t such a great idea, though, is to snack on store-bought ready meals, bread, and fast food, when you’re on the go.
A lot of people fail to look – or feel – their best while travelling, specifically because they let their nutrition fall apart.
So, next time you’re travelling, do what you can to eat whole full foods as a rule, including plenty of vegetables. Resist the temptation to live on sandwiches.
Go for simple and practical elegance in your attire
When you’re travelling, you’re probably not going to be able to bring your whole wardrobe with you, or every pair of shoes that could possibly be suited to every particular occasion.
The best way to deal with this lack of storage space is to go for simple and practical elegance in your attire. Go for clothes that don’t require a lot of upkeep, that aren’t very complicated to put on or take off, and aren’t going to get in the way during active days spent exploring.
Take this as a style challenge – an opportunity to express your inner Lara Croft, rather than your high-end fashionista side.