How to Stay Fresh and Look Good While Traveling.

We’ve been waiting for our Indian visas for over a week now and living off the kindness of friends while we do so. As we’ve shuffled from apartment to apartment in Manhattan we’ve begun to encounter a few hiccups. Primarily, we really only packed a handful of fall clothing, as we were expecting to only be in the city for a couple days at most.  It can sometimes be hard to look good while traveling and we want to share some tips and tricks that we’ve learned over the years

 

This is an excellent time to discuss how to stay fresh and look good while traveling for an extended period of time. We’re no strangers to packing all our lives into a 55 liter backpack. So, whether you’re living in an Indian hostel or living it up in New York, here’s our tips and tricks to looking good, even when you live out of a backpack.

#1 – Dry Shampoo

We really can’t stress this one enough. Dry shampoo is our savior. While on the road, there are often times when taking a shower is a difficult task, if not all together out of the question. With a few spritzes of dry shampoo you can really effectively remove oil from your hair and leave it full bodied and smelling really damn fresh. I’ll vouch for this, since Tawny hasn’t showered in a week now and still smells like a field of lilacs. We’ve been using Psssssst brand dry shampoo, but we’re also huge fans of Batiste.

#2 – Baby Wipes

Dry shampoo can only take you so far. If you really need to get clean and there is no shower in site, baby wipes are amazing. If you get the pocket sized packets you can carry them discretely with you and never have to worry about staying clean while on safari, in a dodgy hostel, camping on a mountain, or in Uganda. They’re doubly nice in that most of the countries we visit don’t have toilet paper in public stalls. Nothing gets you quite as clean as a couple baby wipes.

#3 – Layers

Any one who knows me, knows that I wear more layers than an onion. This is really just a glorified magic trick. I once packed enough clothing for a year at sea, 22 countries, four seasons, one ambassador’s ball, and a fencing tournament in a 60 liter bag. The secret is layers. You can mix and match four different layers of clothing into eight+ different outfits and adjust for a wide array of climate changes. This is handy if you don’t know where you’re going to end up, how long you’ll be there, or if all you own in a bag of clothes. How can I ever say enough for the scarf or the vest. There two little numbers give you endless options. Just because you haven’t done laundry in a month, doesn’t mean you should look like a hobo.

#4- Travalo

This handy little beast allows you to carry any type of cologne or perfume you want without worrying about TSA nabbing it in transit or being concerned about breaking the bottle while on the road. The Travalo allows you to pump your favorite fragrance right out of your standard bottle into the travel tube and then store anywhere. This makes it easy to smell good, even when you’ve only taken baby wipe showers for the last month. Great for the on the fly meeting or for the off the cuff hostel romance.

#5 – Butane Powered Hair Curler

 I’m actually really disappointed in myself for evening talking about this one. However, I knew a girl once who used one of these and now every time I tell the story about her packing this up a mountain I always expect people to laugh at her. What I usually get though is, “Wow, you have to admire her ingenuity.” The truth is, Tawny would be all over one of these if we ever lingered on Amazon long enough for her to book one. The butane hair curler is, as far as the progress of man is concerned, a pretty impressive tool. I personally endorse it because it not only curls hair without electricity but it can be heated up and used as a personal defense item in a pinch.

Wild.

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Let us know if we missed any hot tips on how to look good while traveling.