Madelaine Petsch's crafty hack for avoiding pimples while travelling

Avoiding acne can be tricky at the best of times, even when you're on home ground with all your favourite products. When you're travelling, however, it can be near impossible. You're out of your routine, you're using your (cute but tiny) minis sparingly, and you're dealing with way more germs than you would in your own home.

And so you have two choices. You can press on, hope for the best, and deal with the breakouts that come, or you can try Madelaine Petsch's hack for avoiding bacteria (and the blemishes it can cause) while travelling. We think it's a no-brainer...

Madelaine Petsch's travel hack for avoiding acne

Petsch has been open about her experiences with breakout-prone skin, so it makes sense that she puts extra cleanliness measures in place while on the move.

“You will never catch me without my antibacterial wet wipes. When I get to a hotel, I wipe the toilet seat, wipe all the handles, and all the phones," she explained in a Vogue 'what's in my bag' video. "If I can avoid getting any extra pimples, or getting germs [I will]. I always think about touching something [and what it could do to my skin].”

It's a lesson she learned (or rather, a pal of hers taught her) through experience. “This is an airplane horror story for you," she added. "My friend was not like me – he did not use wet wipes – he now does, for the record. He put his face against the window [of the plane] and he got ringworm. When he woke up, he had ringworm on his face.” She did warn us: horror story!

“[I was] like ‘first of all, how did the ringworm get there?’. Someone with ringworm on their face or foot or something must have [leant against the window]. But now he does wet wipe every surface that he puts his face on," she confirmed. We're glad to hear he's now following her advice; we certainly will be, too. FYI, if you want Petsch's exact fave, she carries a pack of the classic Wet Ones Antibacterial Hand Wipes ($23.10 at Amazon).

Madelaine Petsch's travel hand cream

Petsch is serious about protecting herself from germs in all areas. Luckily, she knows that she needs to replenish lost hydration after using anything harsh, especially on her hands. “Because I wash my hands so much and I use hand sanitiser, you have to have great hand cream. And this is just the best,” she explained, referring to her trusty Weleda Skin Food Original Ultra-Rich Cream ($23.43 at iHerb). "I want my hands to look young for as long as possible. I do use sunscreen [on them] every day, and that helps, but I know that hands are one of the first places to show ageing.”

Luckily, her fave Weleda formula is packed with hydrating plant oils (as well as nourishing lanolin) to keep hands looking and feeling their best, even when you're jet-setting.

Madelaine Petsch's travel lip balm

Petsch keeps another area of her routine clean too, just in a slightly different way. “This lip balm is one of the only 100 per cent non-toxic lip balms. It’s the Avène Hydrating Lip Balm ($10.84 at Cosmetis)," she noted re: her go-to pout-hydrator. "It’s so good – it smells like grapefruit and it gives a little bit of a gloss. And it’s just nice to know that the thing I’m putting closest to my mouth is not poisoning me every day.” Facts.

We'll be adjusting our travel kits accordingly, and thanking Petsch for our clear faces, hydrated hands, and grapefruit-scented lips.

Main image credit: @madelame

Petsch isn't the only Riverdale star with solid advice. Here's how Lili Reinhart handles acne...