With a passion for teaching hairdressing that knows no bounds, Sam Villa, co-founder and chief creative officer of Sam Villa and global artistic ambassador for Redken, is a serious road warrior. His constant globetrotting has forced him to hone in on some essential travel tips to help navigate his journeys as seamlessly as possible, so his creativity and education can flow with style and ease.
“Packing smart should always include lightweight compact tools, and it goes without saying that our Sam Villa tools are my favorite due to the ergonomic factor, as well as being lightweight and compact,” explains Villa. “Since I do travel often, it was an aspect that was taken into consideration when designing each of our tools.”
Travel Tips
- Rules and Regulations: Review airline regulations, specifically in relation to packing professional tools. Shear size can vary from airport to airport/airline, as can carry on restrictions and/or potential hazardous substances.
- Weight: Pack light, bring only the essential tools and products. Try rolling clothes to maximize space and minimize wrinkles and rely on tools such as the lightweight Sam Villa Professional Light Ionic Blow Dryer which weighs less than a pound yet is powerful. Weigh bags at home to prevent moving things around at the airport.
- Strategy: Secure items by packing in protective cases or bags that can withstand the rigors of transit. Organize and label tools and bags by color coding with ring tabs—red for electrics, blue for brushes, etc. It also makes it easy to repack quickly when rushing for a flight.
- Have a Go Bag: Craft a travel bag loaded with necessity items such as toiletries, professional tools, travel size product, charging cables, etc. to be ready to go at a moment’s notice (yes, it happens). Villa always has his Sam Villa Pro Results Cordless Flat Iron charged and packed, it’s compact, light and can be used anywhere.
- Comfort: Pack a blanket, headphones, and ear plugs. Villa even brings a small portable air cooler that hangs on his neck — it gets hot when a plane is stuck on the tarmac! All this helps to create a sleep-friendly environment onboard a long flight.
- Health: Bring healthy snacks for the plane and hotel — nuts, fruit bars, granola etc. and stay well-hydrated. Pack a reusable water bottle to fill up after passing security checkpoints.
- Jet Lag: Minimize jet lag by drinking plenty of water the day before. Getting on a plane already dehydrated, will set you back, so hydrate well the day of, even a few days leading up to a flight. Villa drinks plenty of fresh orange juice and avoids high sodium meals to reduce bloating/dehydration at 30,000 feet. He also avoids alcohol on board as it accelerates dehydration. Using natural sleep aids like melatonin or lavender essential oils can help if jet leg sets in during a trip.
“Traveling has been an extraordinary professional journey filled with boundless opportunities for growth and exploration. I have learned upon arrival to remain flexible and adaptable as each location can present its own unique set of challenges and opportunities,” say Villa.
Above all, Villa advises to embrace the unexpected, it can lead to encounters and experiences beyond the wildest of imaginations.