When cold, crisp winter weather makes our hair and skin freak out (i.e., break out…dry out…frizz out…), we make sure to stock up on our favorite multitasking product from Japan. No one can sing the praises of Vine Minus Ion Care Water better than Travel Beauty’s hair care expert, Ishi.

———

Where do I begin? Vine Care Water is negative ion water that was first developed in Japan for NASA to clean the lenses and mirrors on space bound vehicles and satellites. Bacteria cannot live in a pH 12.5 environment, so it was made as a germ-killing cleanser. Negative ion water is 170 times more absorbent than water, so on its own it provides moisture. Used in conjunction with hair and skin care products, negative ion water works as a driver – so it boosts the effectiveness of products used subsequently.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Hair Care

The negative charge of the water is attracted to – and bonds to – hair.  It helps strengthen fine hair, making it feel thicker. It boosts the strength of conditioners, treatments and styling aids to amplify the benefits of these products. It can also be mixed with your shampoo or conditioner at a rate of 10%, or can be sprayed onto hair, roots to ends, before leave-in conditioners or styling aids are applied. This is a fabulous tool for thick, curly hair as well; read more here about how to use it.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Skin Care

Care Water works well as a moisturizing skin toner or clarifier (most products that clarify tend to dry the skin). Many of my clients have had success clearing up some forms of acne with Care Water as well. Layered with other products, it boosts the benefits of those products. Here’s an easy experiment to give you an idea of what Care Water does:

• Put a few drops of oil into water. You will see it separates.
• Then spray the oil and water with Care Water.
• You will see it actually reduces the size of the oil drops so that the water and oil mix together.
• This is the same way Care Water breaks up and clears away oils on the skin.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Scrapes & Cuts

Sprayed on scrapes or cuts, Care Water cleans the wounds (by killing bacteria) and moisturizes, therefore promoting healing. It’s currently being used in research at burn hospitals in Japan with very positive results.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Teeth

Care Water also works for brushing your teeth – both cleansing and whitening. Read all about our smile-cleaning secrets here. Don’t swallow it, though! It is not for internal use. The pH is too extreme for that. Care Water is the ideal multi-tasking travel companion. You can find this cure-all wonder water in travel size here at Travel Beauty.

If you’re anything like me, traveling can have a way of forcing you into packing just the bare-bone beauty essentials needed for your trip. But what to choose? Your regular size beauty weapons or the mini versions of your must-have products?

Let’s talk logistics

Take hair products for example – a 1 oz mini bottle of shampoo isn’t going to last you two weeks in Paris, now is it? What’s a girl to do? A mini toothpaste, however, can go the distance.

When you’re checking luggage, it’s easy – just throw everything in and call it a day. But when you’re confined to a carry-on, things can get tricky. Even though we think we are familiar with TSA Guidelines we still get in trouble at security – Ever had all your favourite products thrown into the garbage right in front of you? (Is there anything more tragic than trying to make your 4:30am flight and having your YSL perfume chucked out before your very eyes?)

There is the option, at many airports, to store your products for, a fee, until you get back from vacationing in Bermuda, but if you don’t want to part with your essentials, here’s what you need to know.

Opt for sprays vs. liquids

I’d much rather have liquid than dry shampoo, but when you’ve only got a carry-on, what can you do? There are benefits to skipping the suds anyways, like creating volume and reducing the heat you use on your hair (hello, no more blow dryers). Yes, the dry version does the trick but if you’re really in need of a liquid shampoo the world famous, Philip Kingsley makes great travel size Jet Sets that contain a fantastic shampoo, conditioner and Philip’s award winning hair mask, Elasticizer, that are substantial enough to get you through at least 10 days.

Pack travel size makeup

Even though most makeup is travel friendly there are some brands that create everything in perfectly travel-size packages. There’s a brand that I know, love, and use called Stowaway, based in New York City, that makes all of their beauty products in exactly the right sizes. You’ll never have to worry about your foundation being over the limit again! Another plus to having your beauty products in smaller packages is that you’re able to actually finish a tube of lipstick before it expires. How often does that happen?

Bring a reusable water bottle

This isn’t something that comes to mind straight away when thinking of essential beauty products but water is an incredibly important part of your beauty routine – especially in flight. Water helps you stay hydrated and in return, makes you look and feel more beautiful – win, win! But don’t bring your own water because there are plenty of hydration stations around the airport to fill up on-the-fly.

Stash away a couple products for the plane

Beautifying yourself shouldn’t start when you land. It actually begins during the flight. With all that recycled air and drying temperatures, it’s essential to begin taking care of your skin while your seatbelt is still fastened. Apply a light face mask halfway through your flight. Heaven Skincare Silver Bee Venom Mask is my go to. You can apply it directly over your moisturizer and leave it on, it seeps right in with a dose of hydration. Don’t worry about getting strange glances from fellow passengers when applying your mask; they’re just envious of your well-packed travel kit. It is also essential to keep your lips moisturized. I’m partial to B. Kamins Lip Balm SPF 20. It can be applied right over lipstick or gloss and contains UV protection in case you are sitting in a window seat. You can actually get burned through the windows of an airplane.

Remember that less is more

All you super light packets out there, this beauty product is for you. Introducing the one and only water spritz you’ll need to pack in your carry-on: Vine Minus Ion Care Water. This high-tech water, from Japan, does it all – seriously. It can be used for a quick refreshing spritz while in flight and on the go, but it’s also a hair volumizer & skin moisturizer, a makeup remover and setter and can substitute for toothpaste in a jam. So while this product is only one small bottle, it can take the place of so many others.

If you’re really missing your full-sized beauty routine and need to work in an extra beauty boost, check out the many airport beauty services you can find in most airports.

Enjoy flying in style!

Even the product obsessive compulsive rotates a product or two with the change of season. During the summer, when the northern hemisphere is closest to the sun we need to give our skin a little extra added tender loving care. Here is how one particular girl on the precipice of 40 keeps her skin in check all summer long.

Starting With The Basics: Facial Cleansers

We all know it’s important to wash the face morning and night. I’m still 39, for another 9 days anyway, and my skin tends to be sensitive and on the drier side. This summer I’ve worked Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm into my routine. It’s a quadruple-threat spa in a jar. A moisturizing, deep-cleansing, makeup-removing mask and face wash that doesn’t strip the skin of its essential oils. This is a rare and important beauty find especially in summer when we tend to spend more time outdoors. While skin can seem a bit more oily during the summer, it really just needs some extra special loving care. Resist the temptation to exfoliate often and use strong, soapy cleansers. This will only over dry skin and encourage it to produce more oil and sebum. It will also exfoliate any semblance of a healthy tan you may be working on.

Morning Moringa Massage

I store mine in the refrigerator: the cool temperature is refreshing and calms puffiness. I apply it first thing in the morning, take a minute or so to massage it into my skin in the direction of lymphatic drainage.

• Line up your fingers, with both hands, right below the bridge of your nose and sweep out (repeat this down the entire length of your nose and don’t be afraid to apply pressure directly below your eyes) and then make a wide circle down the jaw and meet at the chin.
• From there sweep down your neck. Go back up to the bridge of your nose with your middle fingers and sweep up. Once you hit your eye brow, sweep in an outward motion towards your temples (repeat this upward until you hit your hairline at the top of your forehead) and then back down to your jaw, meeting up at your chin.
• Don’t leave your mustache area out. Place both middle fingers at the center, right under your nose, applying pressure, sweep out and around to your jaw line and meet again at your chin.
• Have a cup of coffee and go about your morning routine.

This enables me to leave the mask on for 10 – 20 minutes. I also apply it to the backs of my hands. When you enter mid to late thirtydom, even if you take A+ care of your skin and have great genes, you will notice age starting to rear its ugly texture on the back of your hands. There is no place that shows age more than the back of one’s hands.

The all-natural scent of moringa is also calming to the senses which is beneficial especially on hectic mornings. Though this cleanser can be used day and night, if your skin is dry like mine, you may want to use it only once a day.  At night I don’t use a cleanser at all. I spray Vine Minus Ion Care Water on a cotton pad and wipe off the day – it is anti-bacterial, hydrating and can be used to remove makeup as well. It also boosts the efficacy of your nightly face care regimen to follow. This is particularly useful as skin care does its most important work at night when we sleep.

Additional note: Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm can also be used as a moisturizing hair mask.

Moisturizing Regimen

In summer it’s important to use a moisturizer with SPF. Institut Esthederm Bronz Repair Sunscreen for Face SPF 15 is an anti-aging moisturizer and sunscreen rolled up into one. Esthederm sun care is – bar none – the best you can find on the market. Its high tech formula works to strengthen the skin’s ability to protect itself from the sun. It contains active beeswax and rice bran oil, both specially chosen for their highly nourishing, moisturizing and anti-free radical properties.

Summer Anti-aging Serums

When using an SPF moisturizer, you must apply a serum underneath. SPF can clog pores and as my mother says, you always need a little something between the wheels and the road. I stay away from face oils during the summer. My skin craves hydration, but nothing so rich or thick. Sapelo Skin Care Renewing Serum floods the skin with the nutrients and moisture it needs to stimulate cellular renewal, including gardenia stem cells, natural humectants and collagen that protect and nourish skin, enabling it to fight signs of aging and protect your pores.

Summer Body Care

The summer sun and air is just as harsh on the body as it is on the face. It goes without saying that one needs to use a sunscreen during the day. Sun Bum makes a high quality, reasonably priced sunscreen that offers broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection for up to 80 minutes. Great for golfers, surfers, tennis players, sand castle builders and sun worshippers alike and it’s PABA, paraben, oil and fragrance free. Most people are good about applying sunscreen. Where many of us fall off the wagon is in the aprés sun department. After washing off the day you really want to nourish your skin with a lotion that will sooth dry skin, boost elasticity and fight the damaging effects of the sun, pollutants and free radicals. Packed with ingredients like Aloe Vera Juice and, Avocado Oil, moisturizing omegas and powerful antioxidants, Mio Skincare A Cream Firming Active Body Cream will do just that.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

If you are traveling regularly over the summer or just on a summer gym tear, Mio Skincare Your Fit Skin Kit is a great way to sample some of this wonderful body care line. I also recommend Mio Skincare Clean Slate Workout Swipes – these, all natural, full body wipes are ideal for any summer situation you can imagine, including what I’ve come to call a dry shower.

By: Alyssa Barrie Weiss, Twitter @AlyssaBarrie

When hot, sticky summer weather makes our hair and skin freak out (i.e., break out…frizz out…), we make sure to stock up on our favorite multitasking product from Japan. No one can sing the praises of Vine Minus Ion Care Water better than Travel Beauty’s hair care expert, Ishi.

———

Where do I begin? Vine Care Water is negative ion water that was first developed in Japan for NASA to clean the lenses and mirrors on space bound vehicles and satellites. Bacteria cannot live in a pH 12.5 environment, so it was made as a germ-killing cleanser. Negative ion water is 170 times more absorbent than water, so on its own it provides moisture. Used in conjunction with hair and skin care products, negative ion water works as a driver – so it boosts the effectiveness of products used subsequently.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Hair Care

The negative charge of the water is attracted to – and bonds to – hair.  It helps strengthen fine hair, making it feel thicker. It boosts the strength of conditioners, treatments and styling aids to amplify the benefits of these products. It can also be mixed with your shampoo or conditioner at a rate of 10%, or can be sprayed onto hair, roots to ends, before leave-in conditioners or styling aids are applied. This is a fabulous tool for thick, curly hair as well; read more here about how to use it.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Skin Care

Care Water works well as a moisturizing skin toner or clarifier (most products that clarify tend to dry the skin). Many of my clients have had success clearing up some forms of acne with Care Water as well. Layered with other products, it boosts the benefits of those products. Here’s an easy experiment to give you an idea of what Care Water does:

• Put a few drops of oil into water. You will see it separates.
• Then spray the oil and water with Care Water.
• You will see it actually reduces the size of the oil drops so that the water and oil mix together.
• This is the same way Care Water breaks up and clears away oils on the skin.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Scrapes & Cuts

Sprayed on scrapes or cuts, Care Water cleans the wounds (by killing bacteria) and moisturizes, therefore promoting healing. It’s currently being used in research at burn hospitals in Japan with very positive results.

Negative Ion Water Benefits for Teeth

Care Water also works for brushing your teeth – both cleansing and whitening. Read all about our smile-cleaning secrets here. Don’t swallow it, though! It is not for internal use. The pH is too extreme for that. Care Water is the ideal multi-tasking travel companion. You can find this cure-all wonder water in travel size here at Travel Beauty.

We usually focus on the ladies here at Travel Beauty, but men, we want you and your skin to know that you are always on our minds. With Father’s Day around the corner, you may be able to cajole your family into snagging some of these shaving and grooming products for you. WARNING: Once you try them, you will never go back to your drug store brand again.

Binchotan Charcoal Shaving Gel

Binchotan charcoal, from Japan, seems to make every product with which it is infused exponentially better and more effective. Why? Known as the highest quality activated charcoal for purifying water, Binchotan charcoal can be used to absorb chemicals in tap water, remove toxins from the skin, capture moisture and odors from the air, enhance blood circulation in a hot bath, stimulate healthy soil in the garden and deflect negative ions in your home. Given this impressive resume, we are happy to have as many Binchotan charcoal products as possible, and they’ve now created a Binchotan Shaving Gel.

Binchotan Shaving Gel is a complete shaving experience, containing not only purifying Binchotan charcoal but also hydrating glycerin, invigorating rosemary and cooling menthol. What it does not contain are parabens, oil, synthetic fragrance or dye. Shaving Gel is a bit of a misnomer, as this is actually a 3-in-1 pre-shave lotion, shaving cream and aftershave that moisturizes, protects and soothes the delicate skin of the face and neck for a close shave that is not too close for comfort. As an all-in-one product, it’s perfect for busy mornings and, of course, travel. (Though we’re addressing the men here, it’s lovely on the legs as well, ladies, too.)

Binchotan Facial Soap

Many men prefer bar soap to liquid facial cleansers. If you are one of those, give Binchotan Facial Soap a go. It is gentle and has all of the purifying characteristics of Binchotan charcoal. Can be used as a 2-in-1 for the body as well.

Vine Minus Ion Care Water

Have extra sensitive skin that makes shaving a misery? After your shave, apply Vine Minus Ion Care Water, with a cotton pad, on your face and neck. Schpritz it on if you prefer. This miracle water from Japan is negatively charged and bonds to skin killing bacteria and hydrating the skin. It will also boost the efficacy of your aftershave. NASA uses this baby to keep bacteria from forming on the lenses of satellites that it sends into outer space. This is some serious high tech water that will heal and soothe your skin post shave.

Ursa Major Traveler’s Skin Care & Stellar Shave Kits

The Traveler’s Skin Care Kit  and Stellar Shave Kit are filled with travel essentials from our friends in Vermont at Ursa Major. Ursa Major provides men with healthy and highly effective skin care and shaving solutions that are a pleasure to use. These advanced formulations are robust, natural alternatives to the bland, chemical-laden products that pervade today’s marketplace. Ursa Major’s products never contain petrochemicals, sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrance or color, glycols, silicones or PEGs.

The Traveler’s Skin Care Kit is a complete collection of simple and effective skin care for men in TSA-approved sizes all boxed up for easy use. It makes the perfect gift too! This kit covers all the skin care bases and includes Ursa Major’s Fantastic Face Wash, Essential Face Tonic, fortifying Face Balm and five individually wrapped tonic-infused Essential Face Wipes….that can even be used on the body in a pinch!

The Stellar Shave Kit contains a fine handcrafted black walnut razor, travel size Stellar Shave Cream and Fortifying Face balm.

Explore more shaving and grooming products for men.

By: Claire McCormack, Twitter & Instagram