While on vacation, it’s easy to forget about taking care of your body. But leaving your skin care routine at home could be taking years off your life and add stress to your budget.
Medical bills can add up. In fact, getting life insurance with skin cancer on your health history can be problematic, and you’ll probably have to pay more for it.
We’ll cover some of the best tips to protect skin while traveling and what skin issues are more common in different climates.
Finally, we’ll cover how a history of skin cancer affects life insurance premiums and what you can do to pay less.
Tips for Protecting Your Skin When Traveling
When you’re in a routine at home, it’s easier to remember a healthy protect skin care regimen, but you may need reminders while you travel.
#1 – Hydrate
Most people don’t drink enough water unless they put effort into it. You should aim to drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day. In other words, if you weigh 180 pounds, you should drink 90 ounces of water.
And that’s just the starting recommendation. If you participate in strenuous activities or are traveling in arid climates, you will need to drink more than that for optimal skin health.
If you don’t drink enough water, your skin will show it. It will look duller, wrinkles will become more prominent, and your lips will start feeling chapped. Eventually, they’ll begin cracking.
Another surprising benefit to drinking enough is better sleep. If you deal with jetlag or just have difficulty sleeping away from your own bed, you’ll especially want to remember this tip to protect skin.
#2 – Use a Moisturizer
Airlines recirculate the air on airplanes at a high rate. That’s good for reducing the spread of illness, but it’s bad for your skin because all that airflow will dry your skin out.
Before you get on the airplane, apply a layer of moisturizer as a protectant. Once you reach your destination, apply moisturizer in the morning and before bed.
If your face and body lotions don’t come in travel sizes, plan ahead and fill small containers made for carrying liquids in a carry-on.
#3 – Use Lip Balm
When you travel, you tend to spend more time outdoors. The skin on your lips is especially sensitive to the sun and wind. Keep a tube of lip balm in your pocket, purse, travel bag, or wherever else makes sense. Just make sure that you have it with you.
Make sure you use lip balm with SPF because, without it, the lip balm will do nothing to protect your lips from the sun.
#4 – Apply Sunscreen
If you’re traveling somewhere tropical, you probably already remembered that you need to pack sunscreen, but you might not remember it if you’re traveling somewhere else.
Did you know that the sun is more intense in the mountains, and your skin will burn more quickly than it will at sea level?
You should also remember that the sun will have the same impact on your face if you walk through the city for five hours as it does when you’re at the beach for five hours.
If you’re going outside, put some sunscreen on. It will protect skin & will thank you for it.
#5 – Wear Protective Clothing
A hat with SPF protection can protect your face and scalp from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. You can also get clothing with SPF to protect you no matter what you’re doing outdoors.
Consider the Climate of Your Destination
Your destination and the mode of travel will affect your skin in different ways. If you can be prepared for the unique effects, you’ll be able to keep your skin healthy and enjoy your trip more fully.
Beach
The glorious thing about visiting the beach is the sunshine, refreshing breeze, and ocean waves. However, all three of those things will dry out your skin, so remember to hydrate.
You should apply sunscreen to protect skin from the sun’s rays. Don’t forget to get the bottom of your feet if you plan to lie down and expose your soles to the sun’s light. Also, keep in mind that even waterproof sunscreen should be reapplied after you go swimming.
Mountains
Usually, if you choose a mountain destination, it’s because you have plans for adventure sports and outdoor recreation, so you’ll need extra hydration to keep your skin healthy.
Also, as mentioned earlier, your skin will burn more quickly the higher your elevation. Why? Because the higher you are, the less atmosphere the sun has to travel through.
In addition to having to deal with more severe sun rays, your body will lose moisture more quickly than at sea level, so you’ll have to drink more water to keep your skin healthy.
Cities
The pollution in city air can build up on your skin and clog your pores. You should use a gentle facial cleanser after a day out in the city air, and then make sure you use a moisturizer with antioxidants like vitamin C.
Taking extra precautions to protect skin from the climate where you travel can keep you looking and feeling your best.
One of the most important reasons to focus on your skin health is to prevent skin cancer. If you’re wondering how skin cancer can affect life insurance, you’ll want to read this next section.
Life Insurance and Skin Cancer
You should always focus on protect skin from harmful UV light so you can reduce your risk of skin cancer. Most people understand the severe impacts of skin cancer, but they may not realize how it can affect life insurance.
Thankfully, in most cases, you can still get life insurance even if you have had a skin cancer diagnosis. Certain types of cancer make more or less of a difference in your eligibility and premiums.
If you had your cancer removed and are free from a current skin cancer diagnosis, your potential life insurance provider might request a note from your doctor stating your cancer-free status.
Even though you can often purchase life insurance after having skin cancer, it will usually bump you out of the preferred risk category, so you’ll have to pay higher premiums than you would if you never had skin cancer.
Shopping around to compare life insurance quotes can help you find the best insurer for your situation. While one company may consider you a high risk because of a skin cancer diagnosis, another company might not, and you could get far cheaper premiums by choosing them.
Prevention is the key to keeping yourself eligible for the lowest life insurance rates. So, while you travel, take care of your skin, so you can avoid problems and keep yourself healthy and vibrant.
Melanie Musson writes and researches for the life insurance comparison site, EffortlessInsurance.com. She strives to help people understand how their health and wellbeing directly affect their life insurance premiums.
Also Read:
5 Reasons Why Overseas Travel Insurance Is Important
