A woman has revealed how she thinks skincare on a flight might look cute for Instagram, but when it comes to your actual skin health, it’s probably best to avoid
It’s all the rage at the minute, with influencers left right and centre telling you to forgo makeup on a plane, and instead, take a whole bunch of face masks with you to do while you’re travelling. You’ve likely seen countless videos of people unwrapping their expensive sheet masks, and probably wondered what their seatmates must think of them as they pamper themselves in public, and whether it’s irritating.
However, Stranded On Honeymoon Island’s Mae Hunter has shared the gross reasons she would never do face masks on a flight – and she might just change your mind about packing skin care on your next trip abroad.
Mae, known on the island for being outspoken and hilarious, said she needed “to rant quickly”.
“In-flight sheet masks? Cute for the [Insta]gram but terrible for your skin,” she penned as part of her caption.
Mae said she “appreciates people wanting to look after their skin,” but she felt like she needed to divulge the reasons why it may be doing more harm than good.
WARNING: The following video contains offensive language.
Mae even went as far as to say that putting a sheet mask on while on a plane “is the worst and stupidest thing that you can do”.
1. Bacteria
She said: “There’s actually more fecal matter found on tray tables and in the pockets than on the toilet flush button. Let that just sink in.”
Mae shared she has a “cross contamination fear” so will wipe everything down, before she gets in her seat.
But she said she would “never dream” of touching her face on a plane. “Your pores are open, they’re more vulnerable, your hands are dirty, and you just recycle in everyone’s coughs, everyone’s,” she said, as she started to squirm on camera at the thought of it.
She also said some people would argue they washed their hands when they went to the toilet, so their hands were clean – but Mae shared you then go and touch the button to get out, and touch your seatbelt on return.
In the caption, she wrote: “Planes = Bacteria Buffets. Tray tables, seats, vents, all crawling with germs. Touching your face mid-flight? Big mistake. Your pores are open, the air’s recycled, and breakouts are boarding with you.”
2. Cabin humidity
Mae said the humidity on a plane is “like the Sahara,” sharing in her caption that it’s anywhere between 10% and 20%.
She claimed because of this, your skincare won’t see any benefits. “You’re using a sheet mask because you want hydration, but because the air on a plane is so dry, it’s sucking out the moisture of the product anyway, so it’s wasting the product,” she explained.
But what’s more, is that it’s sucking the moisture out of your own skin at the same time. She said: “So you are literally gonna land drier than when you got on.”
“Congrats, you’ve just done reverse skincare,” she wrote in the caption.
3. Recycled air
Mae admitted she’s forever side-eyeing people who are coughing on a plane because she’s worried about getting sick – and it’s a concern many will be able to relate to.
She said if you’ve got a “sticky mask on,” all the gross gunk that might be lurking around could then be transferred to your face, which is less than ideal.
Mae wrote: “Dust, microbacteria, and fibres floating around, and your mask just traps them in. You’re not hydrating, you’re marinating in plane air.”
4. It will stress your skin barrier
Mae said being at high altitude and active ingredients such as vitamin C or niacinimide in a face mask does not make a good combo.
This is because “your skin barrier is already stressed by the altitude pressure” so the ingredients can “cause a bad reaction” such as “redness, irritation, and mid-air regret”.
What should you do instead?
Mae recommends putting on “a really thick barrier cream” instead, using a hydrating mist, staying hydrated throughout the flight by “sipping water,” and saving the sheet mask for when you’re all clean at the hotel.
“Wait until you’re showered and settled at your hotel for that sheet-mask moment – your skin (and the people in row 17) will thank you,” she penned.