Planning treatments around a flight: before you fly, and after you land

Dry, itchy or red skin after a long flight: why it happens

Cabin air is dry, usually 10 to 20% humidity, which dries the eyes and airways, and low humidity weakens the skin's barrier too, so skin loses water faster and reacts more easily. That is why a long flight can leave skin tight, flaky or itchy, and why sensitive or rosacea-prone skin may arrive red: changes of temperature, from a cool cabin to Dubai's heat, are common triggers of a rosacea flush.

Short nights add to it: faces photographed after a night without sleep looked paler, with darker circles and more swollen eyes. And sitting still for hours lets fluid gather in the feet and ankles, which usually settles once you are up and about.

Should you do skin care on a plane?

Yes, simply. On a long flight, a plain, fragrance-free moisturiser on clean skin, again whenever it feels tight, and a lip balm do most of the work. Leave strong acids, retinoids, peels and new products at home: dry skin reacts more easily, and a reaction is the last thing you want on arrival.

Drink water as usual through the flight. Alcohol and caffeine can leave you dehydrated, which makes jet lag worse, and an Iyashi Dôme session after landing waits 24 hours after alcohol. If you had a treatment in the days before, keep to its aftercare on board: after MOXI, for example, no make-up for the first 24 hours.

Anti-wrinkle injections, filler and skin boosters before a flight

• Anti-wrinkle injections: at least two weeks before you leave. An expert consensus found no evidence for the old advice to avoid flying afterwards; the two weeks are for the effect to develop and for the doctor's review.
• Hyaluronic-acid filler: about a month before a long trip, two weeks at the least. Swelling usually settles within a week and a bruise within two, and the result is judged at two to four weeks. Rarely, filler blocks a blood vessel, which needs treatment straight away, so stay within reach of the clinic for the first days.
• Skin boosters, polynucleotides and PRP: small bumps, redness and bruising usually settle within about a week, so a week or two before you fly.
• Biostimulators: swelling usually settles in one to two weeks, but the change builds over two to three months, with follow-up visits, so start them when you will be around.
• Filler dissolving: not the day before a flight. Allergic reactions to the enzyme are uncommon, but some start later and need to be seen promptly, and the result is judged at about two weeks.

Laser, light and skin firming before a trip in the sun

• BBL HEROic: treated spots darken, then flake away over five to ten days, and treated skin stays out of long sun before each session and for two weeks after, travel somewhere sunny included.
• MOXI: a bronzed, sandpaper-like texture from day two or three that usually sheds by day five to seven, then a month of hats or covering clothes outdoors. At least a week before a city trip, and not in the month before a beach holiday.
• Laser hair removal with excel HR: strict sun protection for four weeks before and after each session, so a session that falls just before or after a holiday in the sun moves.
• Sylfirm X: a day or two of pinkness, and no fresh tan or sunburn around a session, so leave a gap after a sunny holiday.
• Ultraformer MPT and Volnewmer: downtime is usually none, but saunas and strong sun wait for a week or two.

Where you are going matters more than the flight. Coming back with a tan or a sunburn means light and laser wait for it to fade, or, for laser hair removal, the settings are adjusted; tell us about recent sun at every visit.

Facials before you fly, and skin care after a flight

A HydraFacial suits three to seven days before a trip; skip make-up for the rest of that day, and keep up sunscreen at your destination, as the outer layer of the skin is thinner for a while afterwards. Dermadrop suits a day or two before, and make-up can go on straight after it.

After you land, start with a gentle cleanser and a plain moisturiser. If skin still looks dull or dehydrated, a HydraFacial cleanses and hydrates, and Dermadrop mists a serum onto the skin without touching it, which suits dehydrated or sensitive skin; both usually need no recovery time, as long as you come without sunburn or a fresh tan.

Jet lag after a flight into Dubai

Jet lag is the body clock out of step with local time after a flight across at least two time zones, and it eases by roughly a day for each zone crossed, a little faster after flying west. Daylight at the right time moves the clock: after flying east, bright light in the early morning helps; after flying west, evening light. Keep daytime naps to twenty or thirty minutes.

An hour in the Iyashi Dôme or a few minutes of cryotherapy can be a pleasant part of the first day back once you feel well, though neither moves the body clock, and both wait if you drank on the flight.

Heavy, swollen legs after a long flight

On any journey over three hours, walk when you can and keep your feet and calves moving. A calf that turns painful, swollen or warm in the weeks after a long journey needs urgent care the same day: most clots linked to air travel appear within two weeks, and the extra risk lasts up to eight. If you have had a clot before, ask a doctor before a long-haul flight.

When the swelling is the everyday kind and nothing points to the veins, Endosphères or icoone can help legs feel lighter for a while, though neither is for anyone who has had a clot. If you can see veins, or one leg swells more than the other, start with Dr. Marat Takoev, a doctor in phlebology.

Travel skin care tips for men and women: the routine and what to pack

• A gentle cleanser and the moisturiser your skin knows.
• A broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30 or more, tinted if you are prone to dark marks or melasma, and a lip balm of SPF 30 or more.
• Any treatment a doctor has prescribed for you, so the plan doesn't pause while you are away.
• A wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses if you are heading for the sun.

The same list works for men and women; for a beard, a gel sunscreen spreads more easily. A trip is not the time to try a new product.