Tags
carry on, packing light, shamppo bar, solid conditioner, solid deoderant, solid toiletry, toiletry, travel, travel size, ultra-light travel
Solid toiletries have a clear advantage over liquid toiletries. They don’t leak. You don’t carry around the excess water that is in a liquid toiletry. Solid toiletries are lighter, on a per-use basis, than any liquid toiletry. People think that switching to a solid toiletry is all they have to do to travel lighter. Unfortunately, this isn’t true.
People don’t realize the true weight of toiletry items. Many times we think nothing of carrying a 3 oz bottle of liquid instead of decanting it into a 1 oz bottle. We carry an entire bar of soap instead of cutting it up into a smaller bar. It’s only a small difference, right? Wrong! Ultra light travelers know that each ounce (or kilogram) adds to the total weight of a bag. If you want to travel lighter, you have to weigh each item in your bag. This becomes critical when there are strict weight limits for carry on bags.
Minimize solid toiletries to reduce weight
Reducing toiletries is one of the five key principles of light travel. People remember to reduce their liquid toiletries, but forget about the solids. To demonstrate how ounces affect weight, I have created a weight table for four common solid toiletries:
| Toiletry Item | Full size Weight | Travel size Weight | Weight difference |
| Soap Bar | 4.8 oz (136 g) |
1.2 oz (34 g) |
3.6 oz (102 g) |
| Solid Shampoo Bar | 3.4 oz (96 g) |
0.85 oz (24 g) |
2.55 oz (72g) |
| Solid Conditioner | 2.4 oz (68 g) |
1.2 oz (34 g) |
1.2 oz (34 g) |
| Deodorant (stick Vs. crystal) |
3.5 oz (99 g) |
1.7 oz (48 g) |
1.8 oz (51) |
| Total Weight | 14.1 oz (399 g) |
4.95 oz (140 g) |
9.15 oz (259 g) |
If you look at the table above, you’ll see that you can get a weight savings of 1/2 a pound (1/4 kg) from reducing just four toiletry items. Can I repeat that? A half pound savings from just four toiletry items! Can you imagine this scenario repeated through each article in your bag? Your clothes? Your electronics? We are talking about pounds shaved off of your total bag weight.
There’s another benefit to reducing the size of your solid toiletries. The total bulk goes down. Smaller toiletries mean a smaller toiletry kit, which fits in a smaller carry on bag. Hmm, maybe that under seat carry on bag isn’t as impossible as you thought?
I usually buy full size solid toiletries to save money. Then I cut up the full size items and bag them at home. This also lets me get my favorite products, as there is limited availability for travel size products. I keep a stash of my “travel-sized” toiletry items in my travel bin, ready and waiting for the next trip. Here’s the step-by-step process for reducing the size and weight of each solid item:
Start with a full sized solid toiletry item.
Lightly score around the outside of the bar.
Make sure you score around the entire bar.
Score the bar a second time, going deeper.
Cut through the entire bar, using the score marks as a guide. Go slowly, with a steady pressure. This will keep the bar from shattering into pieces.
Cut the bar into travel size pieces. I usually cut soap and shampoo bars into 4 pieces. I cut lotion bars in half.
Place each piece into a snack size plastic bag. I pierce the bag several times using a pair of scissors. The mini air holes let the bar dry out after each use.
A set of “travel size” shampoo bars!
The travel-sized bars usually last a minimum of 2-3 weeks per bar. Many times I get several more weeks of use out of each bar. That means I only need one mini-bar per trip.
Think about reducing your solids for the next trip. You’ll like the weight and bulk savings.
Lady Light Travel 
For smaller bar of soap, we save a half used one to travel with….easier than having to try and cut one, also easier for my husband to use than a small piece. For me I just take one of the complimentary bars we get from hotels
That will work too. I usually forget to take out the small soap.
I need to carry my own toiletries because I have some severe allergies. I’ve ended up with swollen eyes, rashes, etc. Sometimes I ended up in the emergency room, which was a poor way to spend a vacation! I no longer take the chance with hotel toiletries. I need to test things at home ahead of time.
I put the small bar of soap into a travel size q-tip box….. I prefer to take it out of a box rather than a bag …… I’ve used the same box for quite a while.
Toiletries have always been a challenge for me. I’m trying to take less and buy it on the road. I have allergies to too much perfumey smell …. I try to get non scented. It’s actually better as the scented can affect people around you too in close quarters. (plane, train).
Great article …. enjoyed it. I’m going to try to cut my bar shampoo ….. but I’m leaving the conditioner (by the same company) whole as it cost a small fortune. Happy Travels. Sylvia
You must have really short hair. I cut my shampoo bars into thirds to use at home and they do not last 3 weeks. I do wash my hair every day and it is somewhat long (down to my bra in the back) so the quarter bars would be gone in a very short time. Great idea for those with short hair though. I do not use conditioner much so would probably just take two shampoo bars instead.
I have shoulder length hair. I wash it every 2-3 days because every day isn’t healthy for it.
Sadly, my hair is oily and has been since I was 12. I would love to be able to wash it every 2 to 3 days, but the greasy head look is not a good look for me.
I found that washing my hair less slows down oil production. There is a period of a month or so when the hair is weird. After that the body responds ad produces less oil.
That said, if a quarter bar doesn’t work then take something larger. >
I realized that my previous answer was incredibly terse. I’m afraid I was in engineering mode. I have very fine shoulder length hair. I also have a lot of hair. I have found that alternating shampoo washes with water only washes makes my hair healthy. The water only washes distributes the oils down the follicle and gets rid of the dirt. I reserve shampoo wash for deeper cleaning twice a week. Shampooing every day dries out my hair.
I think your advice is excellent. I’ve just bought my first solid shampoo – which weighs 56g – so I’m looking forward to trying that out when I’m in Japan next week.
I use shampoo bars at home (from Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve) and cut those into thirds (keeping only 1/3 of the bar in the shower so the whole bar does not shrink should it get under the shower head). But 1/3 usually only lasts me just less than 2 weeks (my hair is very long) so I could never travel with something the size you do for 2 or 3 weeks. Both my hubby and I travel with these 1/3 bars. The ones that I use are also all natural and vegan so doing my part for the environment, too. Plus, there is less volume going into the landfill (small cardboard box compared to large plastic bottles).
After 7 weeks in the USA and Europe, I loved my shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant and laundry bars from ‘Ethique’ in NZ. I reduced each bar to a quarter of the original size.