4 Tiny Travel Toiletry Essentials I Love

I would consider myself a minimalist packer. I do not want to check a bag at the airport, I do not want to have to struggle with unwieldy luggage, and ideally I’d want to have everything on my back in one pack.

I’m not saying I’m never an overpacker (especially when we have a car to fill with lots of jackets for the always-changing weather in Maine), but after spending three weeks in a campervan, I know how to pare down.

So when one of my best friends, an admitted bag checker and overpacker, told me she was going to try and keep herself to carry-on luggage for a two-week trip to Greece, I got possibly too excited about this challenge.

And it was a great opportunity for me to introduce her — and now you — to some of my favorite travel toiletry items for keeping fresh and clean without having to bring the entire bathroom cabinet on vacation.

My toiletry bag is a constant work-in-progress when it comes to my goal of fully minimalist packing. Even after ditching all makeup and falling in love with the 100 Senses ultimate body bar, I’m still looking ways to cut weight and still not feel like I’m depriving myself.

These are four very small travel toiletry items that make a huge difference to my personal cleanliness when I’m on the road.

Disclosure: I am never sponsored by any company to provide any recommendations, ever. If I’m telling you I love something, it’s because I spent my own money on it and honestly enjoy using it. I do receive a minuscule commission on purchases made through my Amazon links as an Amazon Associate, but you are welcome to buy things however you like.

Cadence toiletry capsules

Yes, the Instagram-famous Cadence travel capsules are pricey. (I was able to get some of mine half off thanks to an REI employee discount). Yes, they are a little heavier than some thinner plastic bottles on the market. And yes, I was skeptical when I bought my first set as an experiment.

But boy, are they worth it.

First, these capsules are magnetic and stackable, which means they’re not rolling around the toiletry bag, falling over and causing chaos. I love being able to pull the full stack out of my bag and admire how little space it takes up on a bathroom counter.

Bonus points when you’re in a questionably clean bathroom (AKA when camping) and don’t want to put your nice clean stuff down in public spaces.

Second, they are indeed as leakproof as I have been able to test and hold a generous amount of product, even in the smallest size capsule. As Heather of Drinks with Broads noted in her recent discussion of the capsules (great minds!):

Your mileage will vary, so take that into account. But, for example, I ordered the green medium capsule for my face cleanser, and even with my kids borrowing it from time to time, we only made it halfway through the pot. In fact, none of my pots emptied. Small was PLENTY for my face serums, Vaseline, and waterless cleanser for the plane, and I think my curl products and leave-in conditioner would also have been perfectly fine at that size.

Third, they’re super easy to clean. I’ve had so many issues with certain face washes and lotions getting thick and crusty in GoToobs — my former regular travel toiletry containers — that I had to stop using them. Cadences are smaller, more packable, and the medium size is still super luxuriously sized for my thirsty skin’s body lotion needs.

Castile soap

I’ll get into my minimalist clothing packing routine and recommendations in another post, but here’s the basic idea. You do not need to bring 10 t-shirts and 10 pairs of underwear and 10 bras for a 10-day trip. You only need to bring four of each, maximum, and wash them in the bathroom sink or shower with magical Castile soap.

Castile soap — which you’re probably mostly familiar with because of the iconic Dr. Bronner’s brand packaging — really is magical. I don’t just use it to wash my undies when I’m traveling; it’s an all-purpose cleaner, so it’s good for cleaning dishes or your actual bod too.

It’s concentrated, so a tiny squirt will do ya. Just be aware that it doesn’t lather as generously as regular soap because it’s sulfate free! If I’m traveling, there’s Castile soap in my bag for whatever comes my way. I typically use the unscented baby soap version, but the lavender is lovely too.

I usually decant from my large bottle of soap into an OXO squeeze bottle for road trips, but you can buy a mini 2-ounce bottle for TSA compliance when flying.

Mini microfiber towel

As we all learned from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you should never go anywhere without your towel. And in my case, I don’t leave home without my microfiber towel, which is mini but so mighty.

Again, I’m not being compensated by REI for telling you this. They pay me for other things! But I’ve had this tiny towel since 2017 and it comes in handy for so many situations.

Wipe off questionably clean seats and bleachers at baseball games. Dab off your sweat, then dip it in water and cool off your face and neck on a hot day. Use it as a bandana to keep your hair out of your eyes or shade yourself without a hat. Save yourself when you’re in a public bathroom with weak air dryers or no paper towels at all.

And then in the evening, you can wash it with your castile soap and it will be fresh and ready to go the next morning!

Ursa Major face wipes

First, the name of this product is misleading. Yes, Ursa Major makes insanely wonderful face products that will make your skin want to sing an aria because it will feel so good when you use them.

But these face wipes have have enough juice in them to do a full body cleanse, if that’s necessary. And honestly, that’s how I discovered how much the Ursa Major wipes go above and beyond the usual generic wet wipes situation. We brought them on our Route 66 trip for emergency “van showers” and quickly fell in love with their effectiveness, gentleness, and amazing scent.

Now we use them for refreshers after paddleboarding, to make ourselves feel a little more presentable when we come off the hiking trail and want to go straight to the bar for burgers and beers, and generally for any moment when we don’t have time to do a full clean but need to feel like we, in fact, did.

This is a “when all else fails” travel toiletry item, but I always keep a few wipes in all of my bags just in case something truly gross happens. Bird poop, splashes from a mystery street puddle, full table of drinks tipping on you at dinner… anything could and probably eventually will happen. So why not be prepared?