Long flights can give you dry, irritated lips. In this blog, we look at why the best SPF lip balm is one of the easiest ways to stay comfortable.
TL;DR: When you’re on a long-haul flight, your lips go through a lot and can dry out, fast. An SPF lip balm is one of the simplest ways to keep them protected and comfortable when heading out on vacation.
If you’ve ever been on a long-haul flight, you’ll know that your body and mind go through quite a lot. You’re trapped in a long metal tube with hundreds of other people and breathing in dry, conditioned air. Couple that with not drinking enough water, and soon, you’re in need of the best SPF lip balm.
Most people pack for skin care in a general sense, maybe bringing a moisturizer or face SPF in their suitcase. However, it’s the lip area that often gets forgotten, but you’re likely to start noticing dryness occurring after a few hours in the air.
Lip balms are small, easy to carry, and don’t feel like a big addition to your bag, but when you get dry lips at 35,000 feet, you’ll be very glad you have SPF lip balm in your carry-on.
Why You Need the Best SPF Lip Balm On Long Flights
So, why exactly is the best SPF lip balm so important on a long flight to your vacation destination? Let’s face it, flying anywhere on a plane is far from natural. The air in the cabin is much drier than most people are used to on the ground and over several hours, the moisture can be pulled from your lips, leaving them dry.
On top of that, it’s common for people to skip drinking their usual water intake, which isn’t good when you’re sitting in one place for hours at a time. It’s a slow build, but by the middle of the flight, your lips can start to feel less than perfect.
Here are a few more reasons why they get dry:
- Your lips don’t have oil glands, so they dry out quicker than the rest of your skin
- Constant airflow from vents (sometimes directly into your face) can make that dry feeling a lot more noticeable
- Small cracks can start forming in your lips without you really noticing, until they start stinging
- If you’re near a window, you’re also getting more UV exposure than you would on the ground, meaning you can get sunburn lips indoors!
None of this is going to feel dramatic in the moment, but it can add up the longer you spend in the air. By the time you land, your lips can feel a lot worse, adding to your overall fatigue and possible jet-lag.
SPF Lip Balm Can Help Throughout Your Flight
Once you notice your lips drying out on a flight, it can become quite hard to ignore. The difference with the best SPF lip balm is that it’s actually protecting you while it’s doing the basic job of keeping your lips comfortable. You’re getting ahead of the dryness.
It’s also one of the easiest things to stay on top of. You don’t need a mirror, it literally takes a few seconds, and you can reapply it whenever you want. It’s something you can use at every stage to keep yourself happy and comfortable.
Use It Before You Board
At this point, you’re usually thinking about tickets, bags, and getting through security, not your lips. But when you put it on before you get on the plane, it means you’re taking off with a layer of protection already in place. It gives you a bit of a buffer before the dry cabin air even has a chance to do its thing.
Use It a Few Hours Into The Flight
This is when dryness really starts to build up. You’ve been sitting in that dry air for a while, maybe had a drink, and your lips start to feel just a little scratchy again. Putting some on again now replenishes the protection you had at the start, once again stopping dryness before it’s had a chance to take hold.
Use It When You’re Trying To Sleep
It’s hard enough to sleep on a plane without having dry lips, so if you do want to get some sleep so you’re a bit fresher when you land, another application is going to help. Sure, a spot of turbulence might wake you up, but your lips won’t.
Use It When You Land
After hours in that metal tube travelling at over 600 miles an hour, it can all catch up. Your lips can feel dry, tight, and just generally uncomfortable. Topping up when you land helps you step off the plane feeling normal, instead of being desperate to get to your hotel.
The Best SPF Lip Balm Can Make a Huge Difference
It’s one of those things you don’t really think about until you’ve had a few bad flights and realize you always get the same issue. Dry lips, uncomfortable by the end, and nothing on hand to deal with it properly. That’s the wisdom of putting a tiny SPF balm in your bag.
Bring one often enough and it just becomes part of your travel routine. Passport, headphones, lip balm. You don’t really question it, you just bring it, because you know you need it.
