Trippin: Travel Essentials for Keeping it Clean
Updated: Oct 14, 2022
Recently at the Brickworks, a lovely couple came up to me and said they had brought a single bar of our handmade soap to Australia, where it lasted for three weeks' worth of both their showers at various Airbnb locations. Finally they left the bar behind, because really, who's going to bring home a used bar of soap? Except me? But the takeaway is, they were surprised the bar had lasted for 42 showers, because they had heard that handmade soap melts away to nothing in no time.
It's true, our soap is not triple-milled like those French and Italian bars that retail for $20 and will outlast an apocalypse; but it certainly lasts for a long time, especially if you let it dry between uses as opposed to letting it sit in a deep soap dish full of water. So, if you're road tripping, cottaging or vacationing this summer, what should you never leave behind?
Essential products for your travel kit
Ah, the toiletry kit. I learned to keep one packed when I was waiting for my son to be born and didn't know when I'd be taking that trip to the hospital; I simply never unpacked it, and keep it at the ready to bring to overnights, work retreats and vacations. Actually, I keep two.
Guilty as charged: My toiletry bags contain a LOT of non-natural bath and body care products, as well as all the typical Mom/hoarder/you never know stuff, from Gravol to NyQuil to earplugs to cotton balls.
What I never leave home without:
Good skin cream - the hotel lotions are an unholy mix of water and oil that often leaves my skin ashy or feeling dried out after just a couple of hours. I need a rich, super-thick all purpose body butter, especially for after the overly chlorinated hotel pool has just destroyed our skin.
Oil - a good all-purpose oil can double as a skin lotion, massage oil, bath oil and oil for getting jiggy, but is also great for hair that has seen - or will see - too much sun, wind and again, chlorine.
Bug repellent - because you never know when sand flies, black flies, noseeums, mosquitoes or other pests will make an appearance. This all natural bug repellent stick is easy for kids to apply themselves, right over top of their sunscreen. The beeswax, which is infused with insect repelling essential oils and herbs, creates a thin, non-greasy barrier that bugs can't get through.
Bar soap - while liquid body wash can be more convenient, there is nothing like a good bar of natural soap to remind me of home.
Last but not least - bath treats. Whether you are going to a romantic retreat with an in-room Jacuzzi or just a room with a bathtub, which you may not have at home and regardless, don't have to clean yourself in a hotel room, it's great to bring bath bombs and bath salts for when a quick shower just won't do.
What's in your travel bag? What skin care products can you just not live without, even on the road? Let us know and we'll hook you up!
Happy travels from SaltZ&Co!