Our definitive guide to in-flight skin care (2025)

Whether you’re traveling by plane for work or play, you’re sure to feel most comfortable when prepared with all the best in-flight essentials. From travel-sized items for your carry-on to TSA-approved sunscreen, there’s a lot to think about. With the help of board-certified dermatologists, Mohs surgeons and cosmetic surgeons Drs. Joel and Daniel Schlessinger of Schlessinger MD, we’ve gathered the best recommendations for keeping your skin healthy and comfortable during air travel, including:

• Think small: Travel-size skin care

• Stay well: Reduce virus and bacteria exposure

• Sun safety: Traveling with sunscreen

• Hydration tips: How to combat dry air on the plane

• More FAQs: Skin care and air travel

Think small: Travel-size skin care

If you’re in search of the best travel-size skin care products to pack in your carry-on luggage, we’ve got you covered. According to the latest Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirements, you can bring a quart-sized bag of travel-size containers in your carry-on bag. Each travel-size skin care item must be 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or smaller, and this guideline applies to liquid products as well as gels, aerosols, lotions and creams. If you’re traveling with skin care products larger than 3.4 ounces in size, you’ll need to pack them in your checked luggage.

LovelySkin packages its best-selling facial cleansers in 1-ounce tubes that are sized just right for your carry-on. For normal to oily skin, LovelySkin LUXE Clarifying Gel Cleanser provides a gentle yet effective cleanse with glycolic and salicylic acids as well as afaLUXE, a blend of amino-based filaggrin antioxidants, vitamin C and Dead Sea minerals. “If you’re acne-prone and tend to break out while traveling, this cleanser will help prevent new breakouts by exfoliating your skin with every wash,” says Dr. Joel Schlessinger, LovelySkin CEO. For very dry skin types, the LovelySkin LUXE Gentle Cream Cleanser also features afaLUXE along with moisturizing meadowfoam seed oil.

For a soothing skin care treat in-flight or on a long layover, you can slip the Patchology On The Fly Travel Facial Kit in your carry-on bag. It contains hydrating sheet masks and lip gels as well as soothing under-eye gels to reduce puffiness.

Another travel must-have is FixMySkin 1% Hydrocortisone Healing Lip Balm. “I always have a tube of FixMySkin with me while traveling,” says LovelySkin Medical Director Dr. Daniel Schlessinger, who invented the formula with his father Dr. Joel Schlessinger and his grandfather, Dr. Bernie Schlessinger, who has a PhD in Chemistry. “It helps soothe chapped lips and can also be pulled out in a pinch to address any unexpected skin issues, such as insect bites or a minor allergic reaction to something you might have come in contact with while traveling.”

Stay well: Reduce virus and bacteria exposure

Spending time in a bustling airport and on a crowded flight can increase your exposure to viruses and bacteria that could cause skin infections or illness. “During air travel, I recommend common-sense practices such as washing your hands often, avoiding touching your face and carrying hand sanitizer for those moments when you’re unable to wash your hands,” Dr. Daniel Schlessinger says. “With that being said, frequent hand-washing can also cause very dry skin, which is something the FixMySkin 1% Hydrocortisone Healing Body Balm would be great at moisturizing.”

If you choose to wear a face mask in the airport or on the plane, Dr. Joel Schlessinger recommends packing Lasercyn Dermal Spray in the 2-ounce travel size. “This spray contains hypochlorous acid, which is quite effective at getting rid of bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19,” he says. “I recommend spraying your skin and reusable face mask to help disinfect it until you can get to your hotel to wash with soap and water.”

Sun safety: Traveling with sunscreen

Do airplane windows protect against the sun’s UV rays? Back in 2015, a research review in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that flight crews had twice the incidence of melanoma compared with the general population.

“Since then, there’s been a lot of discussion among dermatologists as to whether that’s due to in-flight UV exposure or the possibility of pilots and crew spending more time outdoors between flights,” Dr. Daniel Schlessinger says. “There is no regulated standard for UV protection in airline windows. As such, I think it’s reasonable to expect you might have some extra exposure to UV rays during your flight.”

Having sunscreen close at hand while traveling can prove helpful during your flight and after. “I personally carry sunscreen with me and apply it if I’m in a window seat, sitting near a window at the gate or waiting in an open-air airport,” Dr. Daniel Schlessinger says. “Then if I’m outdoors at the rental car lot or waiting in a taxi line, I’m protected.”

Colorescience Total Protection No-Show Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 is one of Dr. Joel Schlessinger’s personal favorite face sunscreens. It provides broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection with 10% zinc oxide and has a sheer, lightweight finish. Both the 1.7- and 2.6-ounce bottles are TSA-friendly and slim enough to slide into a handbag or backpack pocket.

For easy application over a full face of makeup, consider a powder sunscreen such as the jane iredale Powder-Me SPF 30 Dry Sunscreen. “A dry sunscreen with a brush applicator like this one is a convenient way to get some protection at times when a traditional liquid sunscreen feels too messy, and you’re not able to get to a bathroom to wash your hands after applying,” Dr. Joel Schlessinger says.

Last but not least, you can stash an SPF lip balm in your pocket to keep your lips protected throughout your travels. TiZO Tinted Lip Protection SPF 45 provides broad-spectrum UV protection with 5.5% zinc oxide and 4% titanium dioxide. Whether you’re headed to a warm-weather destination or not, the tropical kiwi-lime-ginger flavor will help ease you into vacation mode.

For answers to more questions about sunscreen and travel—such as how to pack sunscreen in checked luggage—you can check out our FAQ list below.

Hydration tips: How to combat dry air on the plane

Plane-cabin air is notoriously dry—between 10 and 20% humidity, compared to the EPA’s recommended indoor humidity level of 30 to 50%—which can leave your skin feeling sapped of its natural moisture.

With a rich texture and fragrance-free formula, Epionce Enriched Body Cream is an in-flight lifesaver for dry skin. Meadowfoam seed oil, avocado oil and safflower oil all combine forces to reduce moisture loss and leave skin feeling soft and soothed.

For dry, overwashed hands, Eminence Organics Mangosteen Replenishing Hand Cream can provide some relief. Glycerin and coconut water help boost hydration levels in your skin while emollient plant oils derived from sunflower seeds and apricot kernels help preserve that much-needed moisture.

For especially dry patches, La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Balm B5 Soothing Multi-Purpose Balm can help reduce redness and irritation with shea butter, vitamin B5 and Centella asiatica. It can also come in handy to soothe chafed skin caused by clothes or shoes that rubbed the wrong way during a long day of travel. If you’re flying with children in tow, you’ll be glad to know this gentle formula can be used on babies as young as one week old.

More FAQs: Skin care & air travel

Q. Can I bring moisturizer on a plane?

A. Yes, you can bring face or body moisturizer on your flight as long as it’s in a travel-size container of 3.4 ounces or smaller and kept inside a quart-sized, resealable bag.

Q. Can you bring sunscreen on a plane?

A. Yes, you can bring sunscreen on the plane with you as long as it’s in a travel-size container of 3.4 ounces or smaller and inside a quart-sized, resealable bag.

Q. Can you bring spray sunscreen on a plane?

A. Yes, aerosol sunscreens are TSA-approved for your carryon as long as they are packaged in spray bottles sized 3.4 ounces or less and kept in a quart-sized, resealable bag.

Q. Can I bring a 4 oz bottle on a plane if it's not full?

A. No, according to TSA rules, any bottles containing sunscreen or any other liquids, gels, aerosols or creams need to be 3.4 ounces or smaller in size. If you bring a larger bottle, it could be flagged and confiscated at a security checkpoint, even if there is less than 3.4 ounces of product inside.

Q. Does sunscreen need to be in a quart bag?

A. Yes, TSA rules require you to put your travel-size containers of sunscreen or other skin care products in a quart-sized resealable bag. If you’re bringing sunscreen in your checked baggage, TSA rules do not require you to put it in a quart-sized bag.

Are you traveling to Hawaii or Key West? You can read more about the requirements for reef-safe sunscreens in these popular vacation destinations on the LovelySkin Blog.

JANE IREDALE COLORESCIENCE EPIONCE FIXMYSKIN LA ROCHE-POSAY LOVELYSKIN LUXE PATCHOLOGY TIZO EMINENCE ORGANICS LASERCYN