One of the most challenging aspects of getting ready for a trip, is to get together all of the toiletries you will need. This post will discuss some travel toiletries tips that will hopefully help you the next time you get ready for a trip.

Travel Toiletries Tip 1: travel size items

Have you ever noticed things are so much cuter when they are small? I know it is ridiculous to think of deodorant as cute, but the travel-sized deodorant is adorable compared to its full-size sibling. Beyond being cute, travel-sized items are very practical. B conducted an experiment a while back that investigated how long travel sized items last. The gist? A lot longer than you’d think. So get yourself on over to Target and hit that travel section.

These are good travel-sized items:

• Deodorant
• Toothpaste and dental floss (care of dentist’s six month checkups)
• Hairspray
• Hairbrush
• Antibacterial wipes
• Makeup remover wipes
• Lotion
• Nail polish remover pads
• Razors

Travel Toiletries Tip 2: samples

Save your favorite items from your subscription boxes and sample items you get for purchasing random other things (e.g. Clinique kits). These items are compact and most of the time really nice stuff. If you save them for travel instead of use them everyday, you’ll feel special on your trip.

These are good sample items:

Makeup, hair care, you name it. B and friend G both have a history with Birch boxes that I reap the rewards of when they don’t want certain things. Ha! That’s a tip in itself: scrounge off friends’ sample items.

Travel Toiletries Tip 3: Mini appliances

One day a while back, I came home with the cutest little hairdryer ever. It folded up and fit in the palm of my hand. Wouldn’t you know, when B walked in that very same day she had the same hairdryer, albeit in a different color. Apparently we think alike. Anyhow, a mini hairdryer is a lot easier to pack than a big one. I’m not going to lie, though, some hair is better suited to mini hairdryer than others. B has no problem with her short hair. I have to go with a combo of air drying and using the hairdryer for the finishing touches. Ross, TJ Maxx, and the like are good places to check for travel appliances.

These are good mini appliance items:

• Hairdryer
• Hair straightener
• Curling iron

Travel Toiletries Tip 4: reusable packages

There are lots of small-sized containers available that you can put your everyday items into. An easy example is shampoo and conditioner. Don’t limit yourself to just that, though, you can really fill these babies up with anything from your normal routine that you don’t want to take the normal sized container. I’ve experimented with many of these and my favorite kind aren’t rubber, they are more like a thick plastic ziplock. It takes up less room since it only has to form to whatever is in it.

These are good things to carry in reusable packages

• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Hair smoothing balm
• Lotion
• Night cream
• Sunblock
• Toothpaste: I put this on here for B, as she likes to refill a toothpaste/toothbrush combo. It seems like a lot of work to me.

Travel Toiletries Tip 5: multi-purposing

Lots of times are pretty similar in their makeup and can be multi-purposed on trips to solve a few problems. For example: makeup. Products exist that can be used as blush, eyeshadow and lip gloss, all in one convenient package. Lotion can double as sunblock if it has the right ingredients. Makeup removers wipes can be used as a quick sponge bath if push came to shove. When you are packing your toiletry kit, think of items that can be used in more than one way. (Just make sure you have enough if you are going to use this product in multiple ways.)

Things that can be multi-purposed

• Makeup
• Lotion
• Wipes
• Baby powder (dry shampoo and anti-chafe)
• Aquaphor (lotion, chapstick, and scratch ointment)
• Allergy medication (sleeping pill)
• Motion sickness medication (sleeping pill)

Pack less…

One last tip is too “common sense” to list as one of the above tips. It is this: pack less. Obvious, right? Well, what I mean by this is that you don’t have to take everything that comes in the box when you travel. I like a good deal, so I like to buy in bulk. Packing less means that instead of taking the entire container (it might even be small!) of q-tips, I only take as many as I know I’ll need. You can pull some of your makeup remover wipes out of the bag and just take as many as you need. No need carrying around a 40 sheet pack when you only need 10 (2x per day on a five-day trip).

Conclusion

Traveling light is a challenge and one area that can really weigh you down (figuratively and literally) is in the toiletry kit. By economizing and only taking what you’ll actually need, these travel toiletry tips will keep your toiletries under control. As an added bonus, you’ll be ready to make it through security without checking your bag if you don’t want to. Also, even if you make a mistake with your packing, it isn’t the end of the world. Shopping for toiletries in other countries is a lot of fun and you just might find your new favorite shampoo in a foreign country grocery store.