Tell us about your symptoms and treatment experience. Take our survey here.

Travel Products: Yes Ma'am or Major Scam?

When living with a condition that could possibly cause your skin to look and/or feel different at any moment, you can say products are kind of important. We are faced with the struggle trying to keep our bodies sustained inside while also dealing with outside effects. What products we use are the absolute key to our treatment plans and overall wellbeing of our conditions.

Traveling with eczema

Needless to say, travel can be a struggle for people like us. For people living with chronic/skin conditions, it can be difficult to travel for various reasons: getting products through TSA screenings, worrying about forgetting a product, using a hotel product, then suffering the consequences, the list goes on.

Travel size products

With the digital nomad lifestyle on the rise, it's not hard to miss all of these "travel size" or pocket products in stores. In fact, there's an entire section dedicated to them in some of the largest stores! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a tiny bar of soap just as much as the next girl. I see small pink things and I immediately want to grab at least two, maybe 3!

But here's the thing:

Let's be real with ourselves. These "travel size" products are rarely ever worth the bucks we spend. Usually, we're not getting much of a deal when it comes to quantity vs. cost. So why do it? I get it. Convenience is key. I hate having to worry about unnecessary things.

Pack your own

This is especially true when I am traveling. I try to avoid added stress as much as possible, but come on now. It seriously only takes a second to transfer a portion of the liquid soap you already have stocked up in your bathroom into a tiny bottle that's being sold 3-for-$1 in most stores. You're able to recycle these bottles and use them for your next trip, or even when you get back home! You're not wasting as many resources and you're still using the exact same product(s) you normally would without any major additional costs.

Eliminating confusion

I realize this method may not work for everyone, but it certainly has been working for me. If you're concerned with confusing one product with another, rest assured these reusable, refillable bottles are sold in different colors. On one of my most recent trips, I labeled each bottle using $0.50 labels and a sharpie.

A friendly suggestion

As a person living with atopic eczema I am well aware of the importance of having products close and ready for use. This is a simple and cheap fix to travel worries. I'm not saying you have to try this method, I'm simply asking that the next time you find yourself tempted to purchase that $3.99, 2.5 ounce bottle of Caress, try comparing that to this easy alternative.

As always, thank you so much for reading. I truly hope you found this article helpful. I want to know what you think! Are travel size products are must for your travel needs? Have you found them helpful? Share your travel tips in the comments below!

By providing your email address, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The AtopicDermatitis.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

Community Poll

How much control do you feel you have over your eczema?