TRAVEL
As we all head off on our summer travels, it's time to consider what is perhaps the worst part of it, the flight. Delays, dry air, economy seats and baggage overweight, flights are notorious for being the dampener on what otherwise is a perfect trip.
Aircraft cabins run somewhere between 10 and 20% humidity, our living rooms sit at 40 to 60%. The Sahara is kinder to our skin than economy class. Planes are kept this dry on purpose, because moisture corrodes the airframe, and the airline will always pick the airframe over your face.
We lose water through breathing, but air that dry pulls it out of us far faster than normal, up to a couple of litres over a long-haul and before we've factored in the wine or the three coffees we had during the flight delay. Someone once flew a box of fresh mushrooms across the Atlantic to prove the point: they boarded plump and landed shrivelled, with wrinkles. That's us. We are the mushrooms.
So we're here to share how we survive, thrive and arrive looking perfectly acceptable and no that doesn't mean you have to do 10 steps of skincare at 38,0000 feet.
"Drink Water"
"Drink water" in this situation is the advice equivalent of "just relax." Technically correct but practically its useless. Here's what works better for optimum hydration:
Preload. You cannot catch up on hydration at hour nine of a flight but you also can't stockpile plain water in advance, your kidneys will just send the surplus straight back out. The trick is boarding topped up rather than at a deficit so drink well the day before and if you want to preload, make it water with an electrolyte sachet an hour or so before the flight as the sodium helps you hold onto the fluid.
Little and often beats chugging. Around 250ml an hour while you're awake. Down a litre in one go and your kidneys will simply pass it straight through, which on a plane also means climbing over two strangers every forty minutes.
Electrolytes earn their seat. We gave electrolyte sachets a cautious nod in our supplements rating but a long-haul flight is one of the places we most definitely rate them. One or two over a flight plus if you decide to preload as above will really help you to retain your fluid.
The Drinks Trolley Problem
We like a champagne on take off, it's part of the whole experience (especially when you don't post it on stories...) but the science on drinking at altitude is much worse than we expected.
Some German researchers recently ruined the wine-then-nap routine for us. They recreated cabin pressure in a chamber, gave half the group a drink before sleep, and the drinkers' hearts were beating noticeably faster all night while their blood oxygen sank and their deep sleep was cut nearly in half. And these were fit, healthy people in their twenties and thirties. The researchers' polite conclusion was that the combination "challenges the cardiovascular system." Ours is that the wine-then-nap routine we've all done is your heart doing overtime at altitude.
The workaround: have the glass in the lounge with your feet on the ground, or with the meal if you must, then switch to water well before you plan to sleep. The mid-flight top-ups are the ones costing you.
About the ten-step routine in seat 34B
We've all seen the reels, influencers doing the most, and we'd like to not so gently suggest that some things should stay private, and your skincare routine is one of them.
There is no need for sheet masks, jade rollers, hair rollers, eye patches or anything else that makes us look wildly attention seeking. And whilst we're at it, we'd also like to take a stand at not wearing eye patches anywhere that's not the privacy of home, the gym or morning coffee runs can DO WITHOUT THEM. Thank you.
Back to the flight. Do your skincare at home or in the lounge, finish with a rich balm or facial oil to seal everything in and then leave your face alone. Yes, for the duration of the flight. You only need a lip balm, hand cream and a toothbrush for before landing. Landing with brushed teeth is a disproportionate upgrade for something that takes 120 seconds.
Sleep like you mean it
Set your watch to destination time once you board and then behave accordingly. If it's night where you're going, that's your cue to eat, wind down and sleep, even if the cabin lights and the snack service disagree. If it's daytime there, stay up and suffer now so you don't suffer for four days later.
Light is the lever that actually moves jet lag. Rough rule: your body shifts about one time zone per day on its own, so help it along. Flying east, get morning light when you land. Flying west, get evening light.
Why Everything Tastes of Nothing
Our taste buds partially clock off at altitude. The dry air and low pressure mean we taste salt about a third less than on the ground. Airline caterers have known this for years, so they simply add more. Both chicken and beef have been seasoned for a tongue that's half asleep. You're eating far more salt than it tastes like, on a flight where you're already losing water by the litre. The maths isn't in your favour.
Then there's the bloat, and for once the food is innocent. The air pressure in the cabin is lower than on the ground, and at lower pressure gas expands, including the gas already sitting in your digestive system. It swells by about a third, which is why we all land feeling puffy no matter what we ate. So eat lighter than you would on the ground. Skip the second meal service, bring your own snacks; fruit, cucumber sticks and go easy on the fizzy drinks, it's just extra gas that you're signing up for.
On Landing
Shower, then get outside and walk, even if every part of you wants the hotel bed, because daylight and movement are what will reset your body clock, not willpower. Eat at the local mealtime whether you're hungry or not. And no napping "just for an hour", we've all been there and we all woke up at 11pm ruined.