If you have swapped from a liquid shampoo to a solid one, you will, at some point, wonder, how you store your shampoo bar for travel.
After I made the swap, I went for a weekend away with my husband. I wanted to take my shampoo bar with me, as we planned to have a romantic dinner and I wanted to wash my hair.
I realised, that I didn’t know how best to pack my solid shampoo, so I did some research.
It turns out that just throwing your bar into your toiletry bag, which is what I thought I would do, is not a good idea.
To share what I learned, I will tell you in this article how you store and prepare your shampoo bar for travel.
Preparing Your Shampoo Bar For Travel
The good news is, there is not much you have to do to prepare your shampoo bar for travel.
You just have to make sure that it’s as dry as possible. Because then it will be easy to store it safely during your journey.
If you are storing your shampoo bars correctly at home, this won’t be a big problem. Because it will dry out quickly after you have used it and will soon be ready for your adventures.
However, you might want to wash your hair before you leave.
In that case, here is a tip I have used numerous times: after you have used your shampoo bar, put it between a towel, which will absorb the moisture from the bar.
Leave it for as long as you can to give the solid shampoo as much time to dry out as possible.
But make sure you don’t forget your shampoo, as I did once. Very annoying, I can tell you!
This is all you need to do to prepare your shampoo bar for travel.
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How To Travel With Your Shampoo Bar
While there is not much you need to do to prepare your shampoo bar for travel, it is important that you transport it in the right way.
You may have heard people say that you can put your bar in a plastic zip-bag and throw it in your toiletry bag.
I don’t like this idea. For one, the reason I switched to a solid shampoo was to reduce my plastic waste. So I am not keen on introducing plastic again.
But storing a shampoo bar in a plastic zip-bag while travelling can also make the bar soft and squishy. Especially if there is still a bit of moisture in the bar.
Equally, if it gets too warm, the bar might start to melt and because the bag prevents any air circulation, it will leave a mess in the bag.
And this will waste the shampoo bar causing it to be used up quicker. Besides, soggy, soft shampoo bars are not a nice thing.
You can wrap your solid bar in a towel or flannel. This will absorb any moisture and will keep the bar dry. But this will take up more space in your toiletry bag, and it won’t protect your bar from breaking.
The same is true for fabric bags, which some brands sell. The bag will absorb any moisture like a flannel, but is made for transporting your bar.
But you still have the issue of the bar potentially breaking.
Personally, I prefer using a travel tin. They are normally made from aluminium and can be re-used for a long time. And if it reached the end of its life, you can recycle it (most councils in the UK will accept them for recycling).
But because aluminium doesn’t rust, it won’t give up quickly.
These shampoo bar tins are lightweight but will protect your shampoo bar from getting broken during your travels.
Also, aluminium is known for its insulating properties, which means it will keep your bar cooler than a plastic bag or a towel. So the risk of your solid shampoo starting to melt is smaller.
I bought some shampoo bar tins from KinKind, which are not just great for travelling, but also to store new bars in.
I have taken my shampoo bar in this tin on various travels and never had a problem.
Although one tin only holds one bar, if you are short on space, you can break a shampoo and conditioner bar in half and put a half of each in the tin. This way, you have all your hair care products in one tin.
It’s best to dry out the bar before putting it into the tin, but if you haven’t got the time, do what I do.
I cut circles in the size of the tin from an old towel. Put one in the bottom of the tin and the other on the shampoo bar, then close the travel tin.
This is a tried and tested method that has worked many times for me. The towel pieces will absorb moisture from the bar and keep it dryer.
However, it will only work if the solid shampoo isn’t too wet. Dry it first with a towel to get the worst of the water off.
So while there are different options, for me a travel tin is the best protection for your shampoo bar for travel.
Our Top-Rated Shampoo Bars:
| Shampoo Bar | Value For Money | Range | Results | My Rating | Full Review | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
 | Outstanding | Good | Excellent | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
 | Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
The Perfect Travel Companion
By the way, shampoo bars and other solid personal care products are ideal travel companions.
Here are some of the main reasons:
- less space – because solid bars are more compact, they take up less space in your toiletry bag
- no mess – shampoo bars can’t leak, so won’t spill all over your cloths or cosmetics
- lightweight – solid bars are lighter than their bottled equivalent, so you can pack more clothes
- no liquid – solid bars are not counted as liquid, so you can carry them in your hand luggage on a plane without worrying about the liquid allowance
But you also have many brands who have designed multifunctional bars, so you only need one bar when you travel.
One example is grüum’s resa 3-in-1 Travel bar. It’s a shampoo, body wash and hand wash in one bar, so ideal for travelling with.
I love that it is packed with natural ingredients like lemongrass, aloe vera and coconut oil. You just know that it will be good for your hair and skin.
If you are now thinking, but what about a conditioner, well you won’t need one.
For most of my life I have used conditioners to manage my long thick hair. But since I have swapped to solid shampoos I don’t need them anymore.
This is because liquid shampoos contain cleansers or detergents, most commonly sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). This is a cleaning and foaming agent that ensures that you get a nice lather and that all the dirt gets washed away.
But it also strips your hair and scalp of moisture. Dry hair tends to have knots and is more difficult to brush.
As a result, we use conditioners, which smooth the surface of our hair to make it manageable.
Grüum’s travel bar does not contain SLS, so is a sulphate-free shampoo. Instead, it contains natural ingredients which keep your hair moisturised and therefore easy to brush. So no conditioner needed. Isn’t that great?
However, you should know that this 3-in-1 travel bar is soap-based. If you have not used this type of shampoo bar before, you should be aware that you might experience a transition period. Also, soap-based bars don’t work very well with hard water.
Another of my favourite brands also offers a multifunctional bar that is ideal for travel, KinKind.
Their 2-in-1 Shampoo and Body Wash bars will take care of your hair and body, and you can wash your hands with them too. So really, they are 3-in-1 bars. This is a surfactant-based shampoo bar (no SLS though), so you won’t have a transition period or problems with hard water.
They offer four different combi-bars, catering for different needs, including one for sensitive skin.
So you can see, travelling with your shampoo bar is very easy and can make your life much simpler.
No more full-to-the-brim toiletry bag that is difficult to close or worrying that your shampoo has leaked and covered your cosmetics.
Now that you know how to store and prepare your shampoo bar for travel, you are ready to go. Joyful adventures are awaiting you!
Our Top-Rated Shampoo Bars:
| Shampoo Bar | Value For Money | Range | Results | My Rating | Full Review | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
| Outstanding | Good | Excellent | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
| Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
