Festivals essentials: what to include on your packing list

Aside from the obvious tent, wellies and sleeping bag, there are a few festival essentials that you may not have considered when putting together your packing list. It can be challenging to look (and smell) Coachella-ready when you’re staying in a tent in England, a long way from the nearest bathroom. 

Even if you're glamping this festival season, there's only so much you can take for a weekend away in a field. With a long trek to your campsite and space at an absolute premium, versatile products are a festival packing list must. As well as cutting down on packing space, stocking up on multi-tasking skincare products will also help you save time and money.

If you're not blessed with access to a shower block at your festival, keeping your hair looking and smelling fresh can be a challenge.

You may be hoping for clear blue skies for your festival experience, but one thing’s for certain — your skin can burn even if it’s cloudy. In fact, although clouds may block some UV, over 90% can still pass through light cloud and cause sunburn.¹

As you’re most likely going to be outdoors at your festival, apply a sun lotion with at least SPF 30 to any exposed areas of skin and continue to apply more as the day goes on.⁴

FACT: SPF refers to how much longer it'll take your skin that's untanned to start to get red with sunscreen on it, compared to how long it'll start to get red without it. As an example, if you choose an SPF 20 sunscreen, it'll take 20x longer for you to burn than you would without any protection at all.⁵

Realistically you're not going to be able to keep up your usual 10 step skincare routine while attending a festival – you need a simple, effective solution to remove layers of makeup, mud and sunscreen in a single step.

After a long day (and night) of partying, the last thing you'll want to do is make your way in the dark to a wash block. Our solution? Pre-soaked reusable cleansing pads. Soak the pads in your favourite cleansing solution (a multipurpose micellar water would be a good option), and seal in a zip lock bag to keep them moist. Chuck your used pad in with your dirty laundry and wash when you get home.

With the organisers behind your favourite festivals like Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds encouraging festival-goers to ditch the plastic, there's never been a better time to invest in a reusable water bottle. With most festival sites installing plenty of free water points, not only will you be reducing your plastic waste – your wallet will also be thanking you for it too.

Want to know more? Find out how much water you should be drinking per day.

Adding rehydration and electrolyte solutions to your festival packing list is a must. Long days on your feet and dancing the night away come at a price: salt. There are a number of salts (namely: sodium, chloride and potassium) needed by your body to function properly, so it's important to replace them if you become dehydrated.^7,8

Looking for a new go-to drink to help recover from a heavy weekend of partying? Why not try a thirst quenching kombucha?

No festival essentials list would be complete without the inclusion of some immune system-supporting vitamin C.

If you're planning to visit a festival this year, be prepared to be a little flexible with your skincare routine and general hygiene. With limited access to free-flowing water, you'll probably need to make a couple of adaptations; dry shampoo and reusable cleansing pads will be your best friend. And if you're are spending time outside at the festival, make sure you keep your SPF on you for easy reapplication throughout the day. Remember: your skin can still burn when it’s cloudy.