tiaw

I've started my packing a while ago. But keep thinking what I can do to make the bag lighter.

I will not bring a lot of clothes on this 3 week trip to Germany because I'm planning on washing them along the way. But the things that I can not make any lighter are the liquid items like body lotion, soap, shampoo and hair conditioner. I wondered if anyone had found something that is less heavy. For example, podwer shampoo and conditioner. Or any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks a lot in advance

sandi_travelnut

I go the the drugstore and get the small travel size. If I run out, I make a fun shopping experience out of going to a pharmacy in my vacation-country and try to find what I need.

StCirq

Why not take the tiny travel-size ones , or none at all, and then just buy regular-size ones when you get there? The main time heavy luggage is a pain is on the way over and on the way back, unless you're doing a lot of train travel. So buy them over there and then throw them away before you come home.

cocofromdijon

and you might even find toiletries in the accommodations you'll stay in...
otherwise I use to keep samples from beauty shops or magazines.

have a great trip
corinne

J_Correa

I understand the desire to bring your own toiletries.

I have sensitive skin, so I can't use just anything and I would hate to try a different soap or shampoo and then spend the rest of my vacation dealing with an itchy rash. It is one thing to be travelling in the US where every Walgreens sells just about the same stuff, but travelling overseas is a different story.

ggnga

I have colored red hair so I must use my own shampoo and conditioner. Just buy a $1.99 pack of travel size plastic bottles and take your very favorite stuff in smaller sizes. All of mine will fit in ziplock bag. I even refill one of the small pump hairspray bottles with my own preferred brand.
I take my favorite shower gel but love bath salts and bombs I buy and use when I am there if I have the good fortune to have a tub.

SeaUrchin

Take your supplies in multiple small plastic bottles and throw them away as they are used up. For your dry toiletries use zip lock bags (for powder, pills, etc).

Be careful with some of the hotel shampoos, etc. that you have saved from previous trips, they wear out easily and start to leak. Yes, it has happened to me. I buy sturdy plastic bottles from Walmart or a discount store.

suze

Put your own products into tiny bottles (like hotels give away or bought from a travel store) just enough for 3 weeks. I do this for liquid body soap, shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, etc.

I also like to buy a nice new larger bottle of body lotion after I arrive which then makes a great souvenier.

Don't waste space using a "cosmetics case". I carry a fairly huge array of lotions & potions and can fit them all into 2 ziplock bags for a trip of that length.

elaine

Pert is just one product (in the USA) that is a combination shampoo + conditioner. Try it at home, see if you like it. Pantene makes one as well.
So, that would be one bottle, not two.


If you are not allergic, I've never heard of even a simple hotel that doesn't provide soap.

If you buy a body lotion at home 'for sensitive skin' you could use it as a face lotion as well. Just check the label that it is non-comedogenic (not pimple-producing).

Shampoo makes a perfectly fine 'laundry' detergent if you are just washing a few undies or a lightly-soiled shirt in the sink. For major laundry in a machine, you can buy that there.

I know what you mean about toiletries and cosmetics--the amount to take for a weekend isn't much different, if at all, then what goes along for a long trip.

I tried a powder shampoo once when I was ill, I had to brush my hair for an hour to get the stuff out and my hair didn't feel clean anyway. Ick.

FainaAgain

Are you staying in hotels? Never been to a hotel room which does not provide soap, so leave it at home.

Hotel's shampoo may (or may not) be of questionable quality or the wrong type - use it for laundry.

Bring or pour your shampoo in small bottle(s) and toss on the way - more room for souvenirs!

Make sure everything liquid is in soft plastic bottles, not in glass or heave plastic. Put liqids in bottles in a zipper bag.

suze

*exactly* i never use hotel shampoo on my hair but it's OK for washing clothes in the sink. and i do use hotel provided soaps rather than bother to carry my own. if you must pack your own soap i find liquid is more convenient than toting around a soggy bar.

tiaw

Me too. My hair stands up as stiff as a broom when I used the hotel shampoo. And I did try and bring their shampoo bottles home planning to fill them with my own stuff. They leak!

Worktowander

I've found I can't make toiletries any lighter (if I had such powers I'd spend them all on my hips anyway), but I force myself to control the number I take.

I have two small cosmetics bags that came with sturdy, sample sized bottles (both 6x8 inches. They were bonuses from my salon for spending an inordinate amount of cash there). I fill one with as much makeup as it will hold, then stop packing. I fill the little bottles in the other one with hair and skin products, put them in the bag and when it's full, I stop packing.

I've found that although I'm a product junkie at home, I can get by without three kinds of lotion when I'm traveling.

I doubt you're this kind of girl, but if you are, go to an outdoor store and look for a product called Campsuds. This biodegradeable liquid detergent is good for hair, skin, laundry and dishes and it's highly concentrated. It's fine short-term ( I use when camping), but it is a bit harsh on hair for 3 weeks of use.

Anyone have other ideas? I'd love to hear 'em.

LoveItaly

Hey tiaw, referring to your other post...if you didn't have to pack all those other items you wouldn't have to worry so much about your toiletries! Just a thought, hehe.

elaine

good point about paring down the cosmetics and hair products to a minimum.
Whenever I feel I'm not looking my absolute best (that requires more and more products these days) I say to myself
"I'll never see these people again."

Worktowander

Amen, Elaine. I figure they don't know how good I can +really+ look, so it doesn't matter!

My DH, on the other hand, knows how +really+ bad I can look, so anything better than the just-rolled-out-of-bed look is a bonus to him.

It all evens out in the end, right?

Worktowander

Hey - another idea: Check with your salon if you use their products. All of my Aveda stuff is available in travel/sample sizes from them, but they don't put it on the shelves. I have to ask for it.

djkbooks

www.thecontainerstore.com has a huge selection of cheap travel bottles. No point in packing 8 ounces of shampoo when you'll only use 2 along the way. Fill a 2 ounce bottle 3/4 full (too full and it will leak) and see how long it lasts at home. If that's not enough for you for 3 weeks, pack 4 ounce bottles.

I also save up those nifty tiny Aveda bottles whenever I stay in a Kimpton Hotel for even smaller amounts of liquid.

FainaAgain

You can stuff your toys with travel size toiletries to save space.

suze

I have always used hotel shampoo bottles - refilled with my own products. I have never had one leak. I've done this dozens & dozens of times. The bottles you can purchase for travel are way too big for what I need.