I am hard on my body when I travel! Whether its deciding to run up a mountain in Tevas, swim through tangles of seaweed in a foreign country, or hop on a studio supplied yoga mat in a new city; somehow, my skins’ sensitivity matched with my fervor for the new and obscure leaves my body at high risk for a new affliction.
Part of what makes travel so great is the freedom from what consumes us from day to day. So when I travel, I keep it light, simple and stick to the necessities! What you carry with you should be chock full of things that makes you feel good, the make up of what you put on and in your body~ so here are my top travel essentials!
Pawpaw goes with me everywhere, always! For chapped lips, burns, scrapes, rashes, chaffing, and as my late darling friend Annalise Brakensik taught me, “and for everything in between”.
This product was created by Dr. Thomas Pennington Lucas who believed this was the finest natural medicine yet discovered. Every papaya is hand selected and fermented, and the pharmaceutical grade petroleum jelly and wax (made specifically without palm oil, sodium laurel sulphate or any of the other common nasties found in most common brands)
2. Promix Nutrition Mint Chocolate Protein Puff Bars
I have a massive sweet tooth and these bars are one of the few things that curb my craving that still feel like i’m having a naughty little treat! My favorite is the mint chocolate (though you will find a hoard of each flavor in whichever bag I am carrying) and at 150 calories and 15g of protein these are my go-to post workout snack. If you are anything like me, as soon as I get on a plane, I fall asleep until the second the “fasten your seatbelt sign” goes off (its a true curse) and I am left the rest of the flight feeling peckish and fidgety: Promix bars are my answer 100% of the time!
Promix is a company, who not only is switching over to sustainable practices and eliminating 98% of its plastic but is obsessed with sourcing the highest quality simple pure ingredients. It’s the one company I have found that doesn’t use cheap claims like “natural flavors”, they just use actual natural ingredients, in their purest form, with no need to be “flavored”! If you still think natural flavors are all natural….well, if it were, then they would be able to say the specific ingredient.
3. Coola Mineral Sun Silk Crème spf 30 Sunscreen
As I spend the majority of my winter days biking through the chill of New York, when I get to my sunny destination I am in desperate need of sun protection. After multiple days of spending hours face planting waves as I become a better surfer atop sweat drenched ridgeline hikes, my skin needs more than a wide brim hat.
Coola Mineral Sun Silk Créme is more than just sunscreen! With non-nano zinc oxide- for full spectrum UVA/UVB protection, full spectrum 360° complex- which is full of antioxidants to help mitigate skin damage from sun, blue light and pollution, and niacinamide- to soften skin and retain moisture.
4. Nok Apothecary Moringa and Squalene Face Serum
After a day in the sun, sweat and swimming in the ocean, my skin drinks this serum up! I have very sensitive skin, tend to freckle more than tan, and at the change of diet (that frequently comes with travel) can leave my skin freaking out! This product smells and feels amazing, but more importantly kept me protected from the elements and breakout free!
Great skincare should not cost a fortune! I love Nok Apothecary because they are committed to high quality ingredients and thoughtful sourcing without the insane markup! With ingredients like Colloidal gold, rose absolute oil, squalene oil and moringa each of these natural bases help with reducing signs of aging, improve scarring, brightens skin and is chalk full of antioxidants and healing anti-inflammatories.
5. The Alchemists Kitchen Gut Health
Change in time zone as well as routine wreaks havoc on my gut and well, consistency. I recently discovered this tincture at WTHN after an acupuncture treatment right before my flight and I will never travel without it moving forward! After using Gut Health morning and night while on holiday, it staved off bloating and kept me consistent, the whole trip (and now I use it at home whenever Iv’e been eating out and don’t know exactly what my body could be reacting to).
Gut Health is made up of a blend of dandelion, burdock, yellow dock, wormwood, german chamomille and bronze fennel. This combination is full of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins, anti-inflammatory agents, natural occurring blood sugar regulators as well as an antispasmodic to help relax your internal organs
6. Pyt Beauty Full Filled Lip Gloss
Makeup is one thing that I resist packing whenever I travel; that and the occasional pair of tweezers that I simply forget, reminding me of how cute my pronounced unobrow really is and quickly revealing my russian german jewish heritage. As I rush out to dinners however, a touch of color on the lip (along with the possible eyebrow brush with pawpaw) is enough to bring my sun kissed ocean tousled look into the night!
Pyt Beauty is a company obsessed with clean, cruelty free and eco-friendly beauty. With nourishing ingredients like avocado oil, mango-seed butter and jojoba seed oil they skip all the fillers and keep the price accessible! I love the texture, color and slight plump I get from this product, and is the ideal addition to my easy breezy beautiful simple travel essentials.