Who doesn’t love to travel? Whether you’re finally setting off on that long-overdue holiday or heading out for yet another business trip, new sights and sounds await on the other side – and those are always worth looking forward to.
Seeing new corners of an ever-expanding world, sharing new experiences with new friends, and coming home with new stories: Traveling allows us a chance to both bust out of our comfort zones and embrace the fullness of life, too.
Booking that boarding pass is the first step in a two-pronged journey, writes Lisa Mercer in USA Today. There’s the outer odyssey, where you thrust yourself into a new place, exposed to new things – and a deeper, more complex, inner excursion, too. What you learn while there – about the world, and about your own perspective of it – can stay with you for years.
Why? Your mind is an elastic, adaptable muscle, and exposing it to new sensations can help it grow. In fact, recent research published in The Atlantic suggests that new sensations spark a variety of new synapses in the brain – and may in fact revitalize the mind.
Yup, traveling is great. If you do it right, just the act of climbing on a plane can inspire your mind to dream. But that’s a big if.
Too many guys come back from their overseas trip looking and feeling worse than before they left. Poor planning and rushed packing can sabotage what should be a relaxing time, keeping you stressed throughout and leaving you wondering if you’d have been better off staying at home.
What you need is some help. Whether it’s your first time on a red-eye or your hundredth overseas trip, a few rules remain relevant – and sticking to them will ensure you enjoy the time away and come home refreshed.
7 Crucial Grooming Items to Pack for Your Overseas Trip
To be at your best throughout your trip, you need to look great.
It’s true: People who are happier with their appearance, are happier in general, writes Vivian Diller, PhD, in Huffington Post. And those with a negative sense of self-image are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, reports Science Daily.
As a man in this day and age, chances are you understand the importance of your appearance, and invest both time and money in looking your best at all times. But no matter how hard you argue with security at the airport, one inconvenient obstacle remains: you simply can’t bring your bathroom onto the plane.
Fortunately, you don’t have to. With a little forethought and a creative approach to packing wisely, yes, you can fit everything you need into one carry-on.
- The Dopp Kit
Also known as a personal organizer toiletry bag, a well-constructed dopp kit should hold all of your shower essentials in one place while you’re in the air, and present them for easy of access once you’ve landed. Look for a hinged design that folds open to reveal pockets in a variety of sizes, while a hook while make it handy to hang up in the shower itself – and the most important feature, of course, should be its water-resistibility.
- Multi-Action Moisturiser
The best way to save space? Pack products that do many things at once. Look for a moisturiser that will help negate the drying effects of thin air in the airplane while conditioning and exfoliating your skin at the same time. Bonus: if it comes with an SPF, even better, especially if you’re expecting to see your share of sun.
- Dry Shampoo
Washing your hair every day is not only a chore, it’s also unnecessary; too many washes will leave your hair overly dry, robbed of its natural sheen, and your new haircut limp and lifeless, too. Dry shampoo is great for those inbetween days, as it it allows the follicles to retain some natural oils and recover faster – and it’s a lot more convenient if you are unsure about the bathroom amenities at your destination.
- All-in-One Trimmer
On top of your head, all over your face, even on your chest: hair never stops growing, whether you’re on vacation or not. A set of clippers with a variety of settings and attachments will take care of all your cutting and trimming requirements, and more, keeping your hair neat and your beard in check and giving you the freedom to get out and about.
- Face Scrub
Any new environment brings a host of new challenges. Humidity, pollution, severe sunshine, you name it: just being in a new place is bound to play havoc with your skin. But even on vacation, you need to look your best, and as you may not know what you’ll find in stores while overseas, keep your complexion clean, refreshed and protected by packing a quality face scrub you know you can trust.
- Sample-Sized Fragrances
Coffee dates, business lunches, evenings on the town: an overseas trip is filled with interesting and important events, and you will want to come across as interesting and important to match them. That means you need options. The problem: fragrance bottles are notoriously heavy, and too delicate for simple packing. Your solution: a few well-chosen sample sizes that will reflect your personality, impress your new friends and pack quickly and easily in amongst your socks.
- Deodorant
An obvious one, perhaps – and yet too many men head out on holiday having forgotten to pack their anti-perspirant. It’s even more essential to pack your own if you are traveling to a new destination, in case you end up having to scrounge the local supermarket for unfamiliar, inferior options.