12 TSA-Friendly Face Masks to Revive Mid-Flight Skin

Winter can wreak havoc on our skin. And, we aren’t just talking about the weather (though it’s certainly a culprit). We’re referring to all the upcoming holiday air travel that’s sure to mark our calendars. Ever wonder what that pressurized cabin air does to your complexion? Airplane air is a lot like hanging out in the desert in that it can be incredibly drying. Humidity drops significantly at extremely high heights and dehydrates everything in its path. Couple that with the already harsh, wintery conditions and you have a case of itchy, dull, dehydrated skin at touch-down.

Since that’s definitely not the way you want to start your holiday festivities with family and friends, turn your attention to targeted skincare solutions. Click through for our go-to masks for the best in-flight facials.

Miss de Gaspé Defy & Drench ($32): It might not be the most subtle way to mask mid-flight, but these sheet masks are the equivalent of stowing a pocket-sized facialist in your carry-on. The formula features red maple extract, salicornia, and hyaluronic acid, which work together to lock in hydration and cater to minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Farmacy Hydrating Coconut Gel Sheet Mask ($6): Enhanced with coconut water, hyaluronic acid, cucumber extract, and cichoric acid, the mask can aid the drying effects of cabin pressure. After application (and just in time for landing), the moisturizing mask leaves parched skin feeling soothed and nourished with a supple and glowy appeal.

Skin Laundry Hydrating Facial Sheet Mask ($10): This hydrating sheet mask is a total game-changer and whipping it out mid-flight is an excellent way to ward off whatever airplane air has in store for your skin. One of its quenching ingredients is watermelon extract, and that’s exactly what your face feels like — a juicy, plump watermelon (except, you know, without the redness) — after use. In addition to watermelon, the formula’s niacinamide helps improve the skin’s tone, meadowfoam seed oil rejuvenates, and lentil seed extract keeps blemishes (another common travel woe) at bay.

Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask ($48): This creamy leave-on mask helps bring skin back to reality even before you touch down from vacation. Antioxidants, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory ingredients combine to wipe away tired, puffy, dry skin with a calming, cooling, deeply hydrating effect. The best part (aside from all of the above)? It’s not a sheet mask and, therefore, a tad more discreet.

Allies of Skin 1A All-Day Pollution Repair Mask ($99): This in-flight treatment is a step above rinse-free. Formulated for all-day wear, the repairing face mask is ideal for those on the fence about mid-flight masking. Made with hyaluronic acid, an ingredient known to hold 1,000 times its weight in water, plus pollution-fighting ingredients (like stable oil-soluble forms of vitamin C), the mask moisturizes, protects, brightens, and improves texture.

MAGICSTRIPES Hyaluronic Intensive Treatment Mask ($18): The cotton fabric is soaked in nourishing ingredients (including rose leaf extract, aloe vera, and hydrolyzed collagen) that restore, relax, and firm the complexion.

Peach Slices Mango Peace Popsicle Sheet Mask ($4): Made with mango and ginger extracts, the fuss-free treatment helps work nourishment back into the complexion.

Pacifica Wake Up Beautiful Mask ($15): Since the formula is made for sleeping in, it’s not nearly as noticeable as, say, a sheet mask, but still gets the job done (and can be left on for the duration of long-haul flights). Enhanced by antioxidants and lipids thanks to avocado and sunflower oil, as well as shea butter, mushroom water, and jasmine flower extract, the mask helps combat cabin pressure while also providing protection against environmental aggressors.

Gotham Grove 107 Botanics Illuminating Moisture Mask ($3): One of the visible impacts of dry skin is dullness, so incorporating an illuminating mask into your regimen can help breathe life back into your complexion. This 100 percent natural sheet mask is chock-full of glow-enhancing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, flower extracts, rice extract, and niacinamide to turn dingy-looking skin into sheer radiance.

True Botanicals Resurfacing Moisture Mask ($90): The treatment sloughs off dead skin cells with lactic acid so that the deeply nourishing effects of avocado butter and essential fatty acids can moisturize — in less than five minutes.

SiO Beauty FaceLift ($50): Need a mid-flight pick-me-up? Why not go big with a facelift? Okay, we aren’t talking about an actual facelift, we're referring to this high-tech face mask that combines hydrogen and carbon to make a silicone polymer that encourages the skin to plump, hydrate, and rejuvenate itself.

Lather Honey Moisture Mask with Propolis Extract ($24): We love a mid-flight mask that can just be rubbed in after use. And, this mask has that feature, plus so much more. The creamy formula contains vitamin- and mineral-rich propolis extract, to improve skin texture, nourish deeply, and protect against the effects of pollution and harsh conditions (AKA, dry airplanes).