The Best Grooming Products for the Traveling Man

Image via Complex Original

Miami isn’t exactly a beard and flannel kind of town, so next time you’re heading down to Florida, don’t forget to pack your shaving cream. If you’re planning on a weekend of sunny beaches, breezy dinners, and dirty dancing, you might want to plan on shaving more than once (a day).

New York might be the world’s greatest city, but there’s no denying that’s it’s also one of the dirtiest. Just a few seconds of holding onto a subway pole could turn your hand black. Washing your face a few times a day is a must if you want to prevent nasty things from showing up, so don’t forget to stash a small bottle of acne wash in your briefcase.

Whether you’re planning on spending a few days in Denver or going straight to the slopes, it’s more than likely that you’ll be experiencing a heavy dose of sun (The Mile High City boasts 300-plus days of sunshine a year). The UV rays, wind, and cold temperatures are a perfect mix for chapped lips, so bring some balm and apply generously.

Even if you’re not a runner, yogi, or biker, the second you step off of a plane at LAX, something inside you gets the itch to exercise. Maybe it’s the pressure from seeing flocks of fit people eating plates piled high with the next trendy vegetable. Whatever the reason, you’ll need something to cover up the stench of running up Runyon Canyon, so don’t forget your favorite body wash for the post-workout shower.

Do cities really live up their stereotypes? Not always, no. But in Portland’s case, that whole natural, artisan, locally-made vibe is alive and well. Trust us. If you bring a bright neon blue stick of deodorant with you that your grandfather might have worn, people are going to notice. You’ll smell like chemicals from a mile away. So take our advice and bring some hippie-dippy stuff with you (preferably something made in the Pacific Northwest from a plant that you can’t quite pronounce) and blend in with the locals.

Austin is the capital of street food and barbecue, so you’re going to be using a lot of napkins to wipe off the sauces and drippings, which can mess with the delicate nature of those traveling man hands. If you’re flying to the Texas anytime soon, don’t forget your hand cream. There’s nothing worse than a blister getting in the way of opening a beer.

If you spend enough time in Boston, you’ll probably succumb to the infamous Red Sox hat that you see on almost every male—from child to senior citizen—around the city. It’s just a part of the town’s outfit. And when you do finally take the dive, you’ll need a bit of hair gel to style back that hathead before boarding the plane back home.

After only a few hours in San Francisco, you’ll have had two cups of gourmet drip coffee, three glasses of Napa red wine, and a Mission burrito—we guarantee it. All of these things wreak havoc on your pearly whites, so make sure you pack the big guns. San Francisco isn’t for the manual toothbrushes of the world. This is a trip for the electric kind, the ones that’ll clean you up before your interview at SoMa’s latest tech startup.

You never really have to worry about what to pack when you’re off to Arizona’s capital city. No matter the time of year, it’s almost certain that the weather is going to be hot and dry. And that combo is a surefire recipe for cracking skin, so don’t forget to apply generous amounts of facial lotion with sunscreen. You don’t want to go home in the dead of winter with a peeling red nose.

Las Vegas is a land of excess. And if you’re not up to the wee hours, you know you did something wrong. The only way to bounce back up for a morning meeting (though, let’s be honest, you’re not in Vegas for “work”) is to slather on some night cream for the few hours you’ll be sleeping. You might be exhausted in the morning, but at least your face will have its original pre-Vegas glow.