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The 1 Beauty Secret Weapon Flight Attendants Swear By for Perfect Skin

It’s not cheap, but it works. (Peter Thomas Roth)

Anybody who has ever taken a long flight can tell you that spending hours in recycled air can be a brutal on your skin. While lack of moisture in the air is the main culprit behind dullness and dryness, being at higher altitudes also exposes the skin to higher and stronger concentrations of UVA/UVB rays. Basically, skin takes a hit up there — it’s no wonder we get off the plane looking more haggard than we’d like. So how do flight attendants always look so put together and fresh?

As it turns out they, have a beauty secret that anyone can steal.

Before a recent 23-hour flight to Australia, I was shopping for some potent beauty products to add to my in-flight arsenal. I went to Sephora in New York City to get some of my favorite Karuna facemasks. When I explained to the salesperson that I needed them for the plane, he stopped in his tracks and said, “What you really need is Peter Thomas Roth ViZ-1000 with hyaluronic acid. It’s what every flight attendant who comes in here buys. It’s their secret weapon.” Score!

Why is it so great? It contains the highest level of hyaluronic acid on the market. “Hyaluronic acid is a supermoisturizer,” explains Dr. Joshua Zeichner, Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. “It’s a humectant, an ingredient that draws water into the dry outer cells from deep down in the skin. This helps restore hydration and keeps skin plump. Hyaluronic acid can counteract the dryness caused by living in dry environments or traveling on airplanes where the air has very low humidity.” And the high level of hyaluronic acid in this serum helps “attract 1,000 times its weight in water,” says Peter Thomas Roth, the creator and CEO of the brand.

I shelled out the $65 — a splurge, but worth it if it works, I reasoned. The day of the flight, I washed my face and then applied it to my face, neck, and the tops of my hands. After, I layered it with my moisturizer and sunscreen. When the first leg of the flight was over, I was pretty impressed with how I looked. No extra wrinkles. No dry patches. No dullness. Same deal on the second, 14-hour, leg of the trip, too. In total, (with layovers and delays) I had traveled for over 30 hours straight and you would have never known by the look of my skin. As a former beauty editor, I’ve tried a lot of products and it takes a lot to impress me. But this serum did.

(Photo: CeraVe)

If you’re not ready to spend that much on the flight attendants’ fave, other brands have more affordable hyaluronic acid formulations. Try: CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM, $10.39; L’Oreal’s Revitalift Daily Volumizing Moisturizer, $24.99; or Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream, $18.99.