Essential Toiletries for Long-Haul Flights

Whether you're an expat visiting family across the world, a professional on an international work trip, or lucky enough to be travelling to a distant holiday destination, long-haul flights will most certainly be part of the experience. 

I've had my fair share of long-haul flights. Out of those experiences, I've been able to narrow down the absolute essentials when it comes to skincare and toiletries. 

About three years ago, in the early days of the blog, I shared a rather useful list (if I may say so myself). Since then, I've picked up a couple more tips as I've tried to minimize clutter in my carry-on. I thought it was time to share this updated version of my essential toiletries for long-haul flights. 

Bare Essentials

My suggestion is that you keep things simple. Leave any pampering add-ons in your checked luggage for when you get to your destination. Believe me, you will not make use of them and will not appreciate the extra weight they add to your carry-on.

If I could only carry one product, toothpaste would have to be it. Dental hygiene is an absolute priority for me. Water can clean my face and hydrate my body but to go without brushing for two or three meals is a nightmare.

Hand-sanitiser would have to be a close second. You may not be able to leave your seat every time you want to clean your hands so it's good to keep it close by.

Fortunately, I can carry a couple a few more essentials to keep my hands and face feeling great.

For hands, it's simple. A rich moisturiser should do the trick. But try to find one that absorbs quickly to avoid stickiness.

When it comes to face skincare, if you're going to be in a plane for 6 to 12 hrs, you may want to consider carrying your bare essentials to be able to follow a basic skincare routine.

For me, this currently translates into face wipes, a day cream, a night cream and a lip balm. The face wipes are a recent addition and I've found them more practical than a liquid cleanser. I could have only one moisturiser but I like to replicate my daily routine as closely as possible.

The products above are what I currently have in my carry-on but you should take what works for you. One thing I would suggest though, is to be aware that he airplane environment is extremely drying. You may want to think about products that are gentle and rich. 

Minimizing clutter

There are a couple of things you can do to avoid over-packing toiletries. You can follow the suggestion above to keep things to a minimum, and, in addition, you can carry a small amount of each product.

Travel pots are a great alternative to frantically looking for mini versions of your favourites, or trying to make sure every bottle is no bigger than 100ml.

The stacking kind are even better to help reduce the number of little objects crammed into your travel bag. Each little pot fits more than enough product for two 10hrs+ flights, including layovers (my usual). 

Instead of carrying several little pots, you have one small tower with all you need inside. I got this one as a gift a couple of years ago and now just clean it for each trip and fill it with my favourites. 

If you like Evolu's products, I think this one is worth it. It's reusable and comes with two caps, so you can split it up. For my current trip, for instance, I only brought four of the six pots. 

But you can find stacking pots online or at the travel section of your usual chemist/pharmacy. 

So there you have it, my few tips and tricks picked up through my travels. If you have any tips of your own, things you've found useful during those long flights and layovers, please drop me a line. I'd love to hear your experience.