Do a Face Mask on the Plane
If you’re traveling this holiday season, here’s a suggestion that might sound unhinged, but will in fact literally save your face: Do a face mask on the plane. Trust us. Just do it. Clear off the neatly partitioned tray of food on your small table, queue up your fourth viewing of Thor: Ragnarok, tune out the wailing babies and the pilot who thinks you care about "ground speed." Do a face mask on the plane.
Make sure the face mask is the sort that provides moisture. Lots of it. There are a million different face masks that detoxify, brighten, exfoliate, “mattify,” cleanse, firm, treat, tighten, soothe, refresh, and freeze. Skip those, and get the one that is going to make your face feel like it’s deep in the Amazon rainforest. (Try this one from Dr. Jart.) Make sure it’s a sheet mask, too. A liquid you slather on will get messy fast, plus you’re the sort of person who complies with the FAA regulations on liquid limits that have been in place for over a decade.
Here’s why you’re going to do a face mask on the plane: because being on the plane is killing your skin. The plane—and its infinitely looped, way-below-typical-humidity-levels air—will make the skin on even the most moisturized men feel like an overcooked steak. And if that’s not bad enough, once your skin dries out, your body tries to help by producing oil—which just makes your skin look greasy. So do a face mask on the plane.
Sure, it might seem weird. But 35,000 feet in the sky, all sense of decorum goes out the triple-pane window. Some people drool onto the padded rings strapped around their neck. Others spend the whole flight taking pictures of the folks in front of them. Guys wear their rattiest sweatpants. Using a face mask is low on the list of oddities anyone flying will encounter. I've (shamelessly!) done this before and no one stared, no one said anything. I didn't even die. It feels good as hell, and afterward my skin was extremely dewy.
You deserve this. You’ve made it through seemingly endless lines only to be seated in a cramped space that the douchebag in front of you will inevitably recline into the second the captain allows it. So stretch your legs the couple centimeters you’re allowed and put on a face mask for 15 minutes. It’s one teensy act that will help you retain some of the dignity you got on the plane with.
Honestly, you can’t afford not to. Maybe you’re headed on vacation or on a business trip—dry skin will make both worse. If you’re headed home for the holidays, there are old friends you want to impress, old girlfriends/boyfriends you want to impress, and old people you want to impress. No, grandma, I’m still not dating anyone; yes, this is my natural skin.
So do a face mask on the plane.
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Cam Wolf is GQ’s Watch Editor. He joined the magazine in 2017 after working at Racked (RIP) as the site’s (first!) (and only!) Menswear Editor and Complex in the role of Style News Editor. Shortly into his GQ tenure, he immersed himself in the world of watches and quickly fell... Read moreWatch EditorXInstagram