Give your skin the holiday it deserves: pre, mid, and post-holiday skincare tips

When you’re excited about the warmer days and lighter evenings of summer, caring for your complexion may be the last thing on your mind. However, your skin deserves love and care all year round, especially during periods of extreme weather. As such, devising a holiday skincare regime is crucial.

A change in environment can also affect how your skin looks and feels. Extra sun exposure can damage your skin, for instance, and heat can leave it feeling dry and dull. Taking a quick dip can provide a huge sense of relief on a humid day, but chlorine and salty air can also strip out your skin’s natural oils.

What’s more, we often switch up our routines when we enter holiday mode – maybe drinking less water than we should or eating foods that we usually wouldn’t. These subtle changes can all leave your skin feeling tired.

To learn more about the importance of summer skincare, and to discover some of our must-have holiday skincare essentials, read through our ELEMIS Summer Skincare Guide. When it comes to poolside reading, what better than absorbing a few well-being tips?

Here’s how to prep your skin for an upcoming holiday, so you can feel confident and healthy before you step foot on the plane.

Establish a summer skincare routine

It can be enticing to let your usual habits slip on holiday, but it’s much easier to stay on track if you have a firmly established routine. The same applies for skincare.

In the weeks leading up to your holiday, create a skincare regime that works for you and leaves your skin feeling and looking brighter. It will soon become a ritual and one that you’ll look forward to at the start and end of each day.

Hopefully you’ll feel so replenished afterwards that you’ll never be tempted to skip it – even if you’ve had a no-make-up beach trip or you’re feeling particularly sleepy after a day in the sun.

Get into the habit of exfoliating

Exfoliating regularly will help you remove dead skin cells that build up and cause irritation and blemishes, so it’s a great habit to develop. Always remember to be extra gentle when scrubbing sensitive areas like your eyes and mouth.

Exfoliating twice a week leading up to your holiday is a simple addition to your skincare routine, and it’s highly effective for preparation. By removing dead and dry cells, you’ll allow your healthy skin to absorb all the goodness from your chosen products. You’ll be left with supple skin that’s ready to soak up hydration, antioxidants and vitamins before being exposed to the sun.

To exfoliate your face, you can use a face scrub (make sure it’s kind to your skin before applying it all over) or our Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads. These facial pads are bursting with ingredients that aid the replenishment of cells, leaving your skin looking and feeling radiant. They’re also easy to use and even easier to pack away in your holiday bag.

Exfoliating your body regularly is another great habit to develop. You can use a nourishing body scrub or try daily dry brushing. As well as sweeping away dead skin cells, body brushing leaves your skin feeling refreshed and revitalised. Our Body Brushing Cellulite Duo features a cactus-bristle brush and uplifting body oil to detoxify, stimulate, and tone, revealing soft, smooth skin.

Start using a tan accelerator

Using a tan accelerator is another simple step to incorporate into your pre-holiday skincare routine. A tan accelerator lotion, like our shea butter and Jojoba oil-infused Tan Accelerator, will boost your body’s natural ability to bronze and tan.

What’s more, it’s quick and simple to apply. All you need to do is massage a small amount into your skin every day for up to two weeks before you go on holiday for intensive moisturisation.

Focus on hydration

Your skin will undoubtedly feel the effects of going on holiday, even if you follow your skincare routine morning and night. The combination of travelling, missing out on sleep, and exposing yourself to new environments can dehydrate your skin quickly.

One way to minimise this is to pay extra attention to your skin’s hydration in the days and weeks leading up to your holiday. Make sure to integrate an intensive moisturiser into your regime, preferably one with SPF, to keep your skin feeling hydrated and silky soft.

You’re on the holiday you deserve; now it’s time to be extra gentle with your skin.

Cleanse your skin thoroughly

Every list of holiday skincare essentials needs a hydrating cleanser that will melt away any makeup or lotion without irritating your skin.

Cleansing your skin is always an important step, particularly when you’re on holiday. You’re likely to have residue from sun cream, chlorine and sweat on your face after a day on the beach or by the pool, so removing this before you sleep is key. If you apply after-sun lotion throughout the night, you’ll also want to free your skin from this first thing in the morning with the help of your cleanser.

Wear SPF every day

You should try to wear SPF every day, especially in the summer. Packing a sun cream with an SPF of at least 30 and reapplying it regularly throughout the day is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your skin on holiday. Don’t forget to put it on at least 30 minutes before you expose your skin to sunlight and reapply it often, particularly if you’ve been swimming.

Ultimately, the best way to protect your skin against harmful UV rays is to stay in the shade. Of course, this isn’t always possible, so be sure to pack a hat with a brim wide enough to shade your face.

You should also look for a lip balm with SPF as the sensitive skin of your lips can become sun-damaged more easily than other areas. For more advice take a look at our guide to choosing and applying the best SPF skincare products

Hydrate yourself

Alongside carefully formulated holiday skincare, staying hydrated will keep your skin glowing from the inside out. This is a nice and simple tip for looking radiant around the clock, but it’s often overlooked.

Make sure to stay hydrated throughout the day, particularly when it’s hot, to stay healthy and prevent your skin from becoming dull and tired.

Don’t stop moisturising

To keep your skin soft and supple on holiday, nourish it with a hydrating moisturiser. After you’ve cleansed and toned your skin, massage a small amount of cream into your face and neck to prevent dryness and improve elasticity.

We particularly love our Pro-Collagen Marine Cream SPF 30 as a day cream. This luxuriously smooth gel-cream offers a healthy blend of algae and antioxidants, so you can be sure that you’re giving your skin the treatment it deserves. 

You could also consider packing an overnight cream like our Peptide4 Plumping Pillow Facial. Formulated with anti-inflammatory speedwell extract, layering this overnight mask onto your skin after a busy day will feel incredible and soothing.

Mist your face regularly

Air conditioning feels like a dream come true when it’s hot outside, but it can be less than kind to your skin. If you’ve ever noticed how dry and textured your skin feels after a few hours of being in an air-conditioned room, then you’ll know just how damaging it can be.

One way to minimise the effect of AC on holiday is to spritz yourself regularly with a replenishing face mist. This will help to keep your skin feeling as fresh and full of life throughout the day.

We have a range of scented mists to leave you looking dewy, with one of our favourites being the Superfood Multi Mist. You can even use this as a toner, primer and setting spray, so it certainly earns its place as one of your holiday skincare essentials. Exfoliation is ideal for lifting dead skin cells and unclogging pores from impurities. Our Gentle Rose Exfoliator works to buff away build-up and reveal silky smooth skin.

We recommend using this smoothing polish once a week, after cleansing. It will remove any remaining cleanser (particularly if you choose not to double cleanse) and encourage cell turnover. Hydrating Rose Absolute gently refines the surface of the skin to revitalise and smooth, revealing skin that’s soft to the touch. Its delicate nature is perfect for sensitive skin types.

Lightly massage your rose exfoliator onto damp skin with circular motions, then rinse with warm water.

Take care of your feet

It’s not just your face and neck that deserve some mid-holiday love and care. If your feet ache after a long day of walking around or feel hot and sweaty after wearing enclosed shoes, give them a spritz of our Tea Tree S.O.S Spray. It’s instantly cooling and calming, and your feet definitely deserve to be part of your holiday skincare routine.

You might have the holiday blues now, but your skin doesn’t need to. Here are our tips for helping your skin settle back into another new environment.

Keep applying SPF

We’ve mentioned that you should apply SPF every day, but it’s particularly important to keep up the habit when your skin has been exposed to strong UV. Your skin is likely to be sensitive at this stage, so keep topping up your sun cream to protect it against further sun damage as it restores itself.

Soothe your skin

Overexposure to the sun can speed up the decline of collagen – the protein responsible for keeping your skin feeling full of life.

After a holiday, it’s a good idea to introduce a product that promotes a youthful glow. We’ve formulated our skin-plumping Pro-Collagen Marine Oil to achieve just that, making it a wonderful addition to any pre, mid or post-holiday skincare routine. Simply work a few drops into your face and neck in the morning and evening to enjoy its soothing effects. 

Continue exfoliating gently

Continuing to exfoliate will help to remove dead cells and keep your skin lovely and soft, but be careful as you do so. The last thing you want is to irritate any sunburn, insect bites or sensitive areas after a holiday. Once you’ve exfoliated gently, make sure to lather up with a hydrating moisturiser.

Use an intensive moisturiser

Your skin may feel tight after a getaway in the sun, so you’ll want to enhance your post-holiday skincare routine with an intensive moisturiser. Massaging your sensitive or sunburnt skin will feel incredibly nourishing, so you’ll be grateful to introduce this step. What’s more, as fresh skin develops beneath any burnt or broken skin, applying a healthy dose of nutrients will protect it instantly.

Our Pro-Collagen Marine Cream Ultra-Rich is a splendid option here. This moisturiser’s combination of anti-ageing marine algae and sumptuous cocoa butter provides effective hydration and illumination all day long. You can even dab a little on as a highlighter to top up your post-holiday glow.

Don’t forget to rest

You may have just returned from a rejuvenating holiday, but resting is still essential for healthy, happy skin. You may be more tired from travelling than you think, with even a short trip taking its physical and mental toll. Make sure to prioritise your rest for a few days post-holiday so that your skin has plenty of chance to repair itself.

As a minimum, we recommend stocking your suitcase with the following holiday skincare essentials:

1. A cleanser that you can use morning and night to wipe away makeup, sweat, chlorine, sun cream residue, moisturiser from the night before, or anything else that could clog your pores.
2. Toner to wipe across your face after cleansing to catch any lingering products or fluids.
3. A serum or gel moisturiser, preferably one containing hyaluronic acid to support your skin’s moisture retention.
4. A moisturiser to massage into your skin and lock in hydration. If you can pack an overnight moisturiser too, then we’d recommend doing so.
5. A sun cream that is suitable for your face and body.

If you’re unsure of what skincare to take on holiday, then this is a good list to get you started. Combined, these products will help you cleanse, hydrate and protect your skin against the usual suspects – sunshine, chlorine and sweat.

For a more intensive holiday skincare routine, you might also consider the following:

1. A refreshing mist that you can spritz across your face and neck to stay cool on the go.
2. A gentle exfoliating scrub to help remove dead skin cells at the end of each day.
3. Under-eye cream to soothe and hydrate the skin beneath your eyes.

You can explore our full range of holiday skincare essentials in our Summer Shop and throughout the rest of our site, alongside even more of our summer skincare tips.