Carry-On Toiletries for a Month? Here’s What I Fit in a Tiny Pouch
Packing for a trip can be equal parts exciting and exasperating. This is especially true when it comes to travel toiletries. It took me a while (and a lot of trial and error) to figure out what I really need and what just takes up space. With stricter airline rules and rising baggage fees, travelling with carry-on only has become a bit of a game, but it’s one I’ve been determined to win! And if you’ve already seen my 4-season travel capsule wardrobe or ultralight tech kit, or my 4 pouch method, you’ll know I always travel with a small daypack and aim to keep things simple, light, and genuinely useful plus I’ve had a lot of practice1
Wanting to Lighten Your Load? Here’s Where You’ll Find Things
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Minimalist Travel Toiletries – What To Pack & What to Leave Behind
✅Keep it Simple • ➖Less is More • 🎒Baggage Freedom
This tiny pouch for toiletries weighs just 340g when filled and is sufficient for about a month so it works for both short breaks and longer trips. I honestly don’t have the time or the patience to organise and decant before every trip and, as I aim for zero/low waste in every day life, I prefer not to rely on ‘travel size’ either.
So here are my tips and packing for toiletries, when travelling with a small bag the size of a daypack.
10 Tips for Packing Toiletries for Carry On Travel
Over the years, I’ve refined my travel toiletries to something simple, lightweight, and genuinely useful. Everybody’s needs will be different, but here are the key lessons I’ve learned. I hope by sharing it here, it helps you to pack less, enjoy more, and still feel like yourself on the road.
1. Simplify Your Daily Routine Before You Leave – Experiment with Less
If you use a huge number of products on your skin and hair in daily life, then packing toiletries for trips away is going to be more of a struggle. Experiment before you go away and see if everything you use is definitely helping. It’s easy to get sucked into the latest ‘must haves’. If you can find products or processes you can eliminate from the ‘everyday’, without stopping you feeling like ‘you’, then it’s a win all round.
If it doesn’t help me stay clean or vaguely presentable, it’s not coming!
2. Don’t Bring Things Supplied By Your Accommodation
This does depend where you’re going and how particular you are, but many places do provide some toiletries. Personally I don’t bring body wash but I do bring products to shampoo and condition my hair, as I’m picky! Shampoo happily doubles up as body wash if there’s nothing provided or I don’t like the look of it!.
3. Bring Multi-purpose Products
I’ve already mentioned shampoo options can work as body wash. But, I take this one step further with moisturising and conditioning. I’m amazed this is not recommended more, but the travellers best friend is dry oil!
- Formulated to work on hair, face and body with scent too.
- Feels like a treat to use.
- One little bottle replaces all face and body lotions.
- Great hair detangler and hair treatment. Much pefer it to solid conditioners and many liquid hair conditioners.
- A little goes a long way.
4. Switch Liquids for Solids (Where You Can)
Solid toiletries are better than ever. Don’t give up after one dud. Some trial and error pays off.
These options work well in solid / more compact form:
- Shampoo bar: I’ve already mentioned, I don’t gamble with hotel shampoo. I pack my own – Nuxe or L’Occitane bars are gentle and effective. I’ve also heard good things about Kitsch and Ethique. Personally, I avoid the brightly coloured ones and ones containing sodium lauryl sulphate, to avoid itching and flaking.
- Deodorant balm: Technically a paste, so it counts as a liquid at security – but it’s compact, long-lasting, and my favourite smells gorgeous.
- Toothpaste tablets: These are a great alternative to toothpaste tubes. They’re tiny, ultralight and you’ll never worry about airport liquid limits or burst tubes in your bag. Take as few or as many as you need. My favourites have fluoride and are ‘dentist approved’ – Parla Fluoride Whitening Toothpaste Tablets or Sonisk Toothpaste tablets
5. Lose the Hair Tools
I stopped fighting with my hair and just decided to roll with it, many years ago. For me, advice from a stylist and knowing for my thick straight hair – short layers = scarecrow = high maintenance has helped.
It’s worth remembering:
- Most places provide a hairdryer (sometimes from reception).
- No tools = no faff with plugs, adapters, or voltage.
- Without them your hair will be healthier, and your bag lighter.
6. Minimise The Makeup
Yes you can still wear makeup as a minimalist! Although you don’t have to! Just bring one compact item for the categories you consider essential – so, for example, no choices of lipstick or nail colour. The same ‘look’ has to work everyday. If you’re happy to wear tinted sunscreen in lieu of foundation and use light lipstick as a blush/bronzer substitute and so on, then you can reduce further.
7. Decant Larger Quantities
Personally, the last option I consider, as I really don’t like the faff. But it goes without saying, that if you’re only away for a week, you’re unlikely to need a big bottle of anything!
8. Weigh and make swaps
Small changes add up. Here’s what I’ve swapped recently to save space and over 200g from an already minimal setup:
- Electric toothbrush → Folding toothbrush: I also don’t need to worry about batteries or charging. I just need to pay a little more attention and brush more thoroughly, to be effective.
- Hairbrush → Comb: I find a comb works as well, provided I don’t leave too long between hair cuts and let the ends get shredded.
- Regular Toiletry bag → Ultralight pouch: The sections were overkill once I downsized. The pouch is simpler and lighter.
9. Use a Dry Bag for Solid Toiletries
Game-changer. I don’t think I’d travel with sold toiletries, without it! It’s especially useful if you need to pack things up, before your solid toiletries have had a chance to dry out.
- It soaks up moisture and prevents soap disintegrating and leaving a soggy mess. Shampoo bars, other detergent bars including beauty bars and conditioner bars are prone to this. Traditional cold pressed soap tends to be more stable.
- This soap dry bag has a suction cup so it sticks to the shower wall. It’s a dupe for the Matador Soap Bag which isn’t always easy to source for a reasonable price in Europe. The Matador one doesn’t have a clip and sucker but you may well be able to attach one.
10. Buy Airside or On Arrival
If you’re anxious about baggage weight and liquid limits, this is definitely an option. Trying different products, in your destination, can be quite fun. Check to see if there’s a ‘click and collect’ service when you arrive or airside so you can collect after security. Boots offer this service at a number of UK airports.
Minimalist Toiletry Packing List
The ‘noise’ around skincare and the products we should and shouldn’t use can be overwhelming. Harsh chemicals and long routines have never appealed. I’ve definitely noticed a ‘less is more’ approach works better for me and my sensitive skin and scalp in the every day. And. of course, this simple approach definitely helps when packing too. If you’re curious as to what a minimalist setup could look like (and what’s left out), here’s my full list.
- Comb and nail file (mine is a set in a leather case)
- Shampoo bar in a soap dry bag
- Dry oil for hair, face and body
- Toothpaste tablets (tin fits circa 70 tablets)
- Folding Toothbrush
- Mini floss
- Deodorant (decanted from a large tin – enough for a month)
- Makeup including tinted sunscreen, small mascara, lipstick and eye pencil
- Small mirror
- Small pouch to pack the items listed
Pictured: Comb and Nail File Set. Soap dry bag with sucker, Shampoo bar, Dry Oil for hair, face and body oil, toothpaste tablets, mini floss, folding toothbrush, Deodorant Balm (decanted). tinted moisturiser/foundation Mirror, mascara, lipstick, eye pencil, Pouch
And a few more personal care items, packed elsewhere.
- Ultralight towel
- Sunscreen
- Victorinox Swisscard – Swiss precision mini tools stored in a credit card sized case. This includes tweezers, nail file, tooth pick, mini scissors (no issues so far with airport security and passed through many times).
- Travel razor
- Loop Earplugs – reusable ear plugs, which I much prefer to wax or foam ones.
- First aid supplies and emergency medicine
Pictured: Ultralight Travel Towel, emergency medicine and first aid, mini razor, loop ear plugs, Victorinox Swisscard. small sunscreen
The travel towel is rolled and kept with my clothes, the sunscreen is kept with me in my little crossbody everyday carry bag and it’s the one thing I often buy on arrival. Everything else listed here is packed in a separate ‘Just In Case’ pouch, (part of my four pouch system).
Pick The Right Toiletry Bag for You
The more minimal your toiletries, the lighter and more minimal your toiletry case can be. Hanging toiletry bags can be a great option for travel, especially if you are staying in hostels or budget accommodation where counter space may be limited. I’ve used hanging toiletry bags for years, they’ve even hung in my home bathroom too, because I use mostly the same products home and away. After the last ‘downsize’ though, I’ve found lots of sections, overkill, so my makeup bag became my toiletry bag. Hopefully I should be content with the one I have now, until it falls apart and gets beyond repair. Here’s the last two iterations of my toiletry bag, plus the one I use now, which is one of 4 similar pouches to organise travel, tech, just in case items plus a fourth with items I need if travelling outside my home country.
Know Your Airport Rules
TSA rules get all the attention – but they only apply in the US. Elsewhere, things may vary. Here are some differences in Europe.
- In much of Europe, “liquids” include creams, pastes (i.e. makeup), and balms – so check what needs to go in your clear bag. If you don’t include everything you should, your toiletries may be confiscated
- On the plus side, some airports now have better scanners and don’t require you to separate liquids at all, although the limits may still apply. It’s worth checking in advance for the airport you are travelling through.
- I carry a small clear plastic bag for airport security, just in case it’s needed. Increasingly. I’m finding it’s not.
The vast majority of my trips don’t involve flying, but I travel in the same way and keep things minimal, regardless. If airline liquid limits are relaxed in the future, I won’t be changing anything!
Travelling with minimalist toiletries keeps things simple – less bulk, less fuss, and more freedom to enjoy the trip. If you’d like to see how this fits into the bigger picture, I have a 4 season travel capsule wardrobe which fits in a small underseat bag, a minimalist tech list including some small mini but mighty, travel accessories and a pouch of ‘just in case’ items which may interest you.
Do you have any mini travel essentials you bring on every trip? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for Reading!
I have always loved trying to get my toiletries down to the smallest working amount. My latest attempt was with deodorant. Now, I know Native makes a very small, and cute travel size, but I wanted to try for smaller! So, I took an empty lip balm tube and put deodorant in it! It works great!!
Excellent idea – yes it all becomes a bit of a challenge to do better and take less doesn’t it! My deodorant is a paste, so it was straightforward to put a little in a smaller tub. Melting a solid deodorant and pouring into a lip balm tube is genius!