Health & Beauty Aids
 

I'm going to be in England and France for almost 3 weeks. I plan to pack aslight as I would for a 9 day trip I took. However, when it comes to things like shampoo, metamucil,and a variety of over the counter vitamins and minerals I take, I don't want nor do I have the room to take for 3 weeks. Can I easily find these items in England? I realize they'll have shampoos too but I was wondering if they will have any brands I might recognize from the United States.

You'll find some familiar names among the shampoos and you'll be happy using those produced for the British market while you're there. They are formulated to work well with the local water, thus actually work better than something you might have bought from home.
Don't know about the vitamins and otc medications. On occasions when I've come down with a cold or something similar, I've asked the pharmacist at the local Boots and gotten something that worked.

It's almost dismaying how many of the exact same brands they have in the pharmacies! You won't have any trouble in England or France replacing your medicine cabinet, although it might be handy to have the translations ready for the french counterparts. It wouldn't do to get shampoo for dry damaged hair if what you have is lush thick curly hair. :D

If you downsize everything taking enough for 3 weeks isn't that much. For shampoo, I refill a hotel size sample bottle with my own shampoo and that lasts 2 weeks easy. Vitamins and minerals into snack size ziplock bags.

You certainly can find similar products in Europe, but do you really want to spend the time shopping for them? Not to mention then you're toting around full size bottles and jars of the stuff.

I've travelled in England a lot, and I have yet to see many toiletries in trial and travel sizes, the way they are marketed here. Boots doesn't carry any, and Super Drug has a few. You're better off if you just carry two or three ounces of what you need with you. With the exchange rate so high, it's way cheaper anyway!

Boots and Superdrug have numerous 'travel' and trial size toiletries (don't understand previous poster's comments). I live in England and use these chemists regularly, and often pick up these items for when I travel abroad. Charles Worthington (don't know if you have his products in the US) do a big range of shampoo/conditioners specifically in travel sizes, and sold in Boots. The lids are 'secure' and don't leak, and the product itself is very good. Boots also sell trial size Dove products (also good).

Thanks for the responses. I feel I can over 2 weeks of travel with items from the US but not 3. Some items, like metamucil that I use 2 x day and shampoo/cream rinse just take up too much space for a 3 week time period. Exchange rate or not, it will be worth it to me to travel light, and buy what I need when I need it. Glad to here that Boots and Superdrug have travel sizes of items I might recognize from the US. Thanks again.