Hands up if you've arrived at airport security, only to promptly (and sternly) be told that you've got to throw away three cans of sardines from your hand luggage.

Ah, so that's just us then.

However, many of you will certainly have had to bin an over-sized bottle of beloved scent, get rid of your new suncream, or chuck the make-up that you were certain wasn't a liquid, because they didn't meet security restrictions.

The strict security rules on liquids in your carry-on luggage - implemented after a foiled 2006 transatlantic terrorism plot involving a combination of liquids to create explosives on-board - have been around for long enough that all travellers should be used to them.

Everything has to be 100 mls or under, and it's all got to go in a single transparent, sealable plastic bag, and you only get one bag per passenger.

However, whenever we're going through security at the airport there's ALWAYS someone who falls foul of the rules (sometimes spectacularly so), causes unnecessary delays for others, or becomes upset that something they'd bought especially for the trip is getting dumped in the bin before they fly.

Or just didn’t remember that cans of sardines contain quite a bit of liquid in them.

Thankfully, we have a tried-and-tested DIY approach to help you save time, save a lot of money, and save on stress as you go through airport security for your next city break - and it doesn't involve buying a single overpriced and undersized travel toiletry bottle from your least favourite brands.

This is our guide on how to always prepare the perfect sustainable toiletry bag for your hand luggage - without travel size toiletries - and always bring your favourite toiletries with you!

. . .

The Rules & Restrictions on Airport Liquid Bags (or Hand Luggage Toiletries)

So, here's a little refresher for everyone.

When boarding a plane anywhere, there are clear restrictions on the amount of liquids you can take in your hand luggage. For the avoidance of doubt, liquids include drinks, liquid or semi-liquid food (jams, sauces, syrups), sprays and deodrants, pastes (including toothpaste), gels and solutions.

Most cosmetics and make-up products will also be classified as 'liquids' by airport security in the UK, US, and EU; this includes creams, lotions, oils, perfumes, mascara, and lipsticks.

For flights originating in the UK, the EU, and the US, the rules* for taking any liquid through airport security and on to a flight in your luggage are as follows:

All toiletries must be in containers of 100 mls or less
They must be packed in a single, transparent resealable plastic bag (usually 20 cms x 20 cms)
All toiletries must be able to fit into the sealed plastic bag
Passengers are generally not allowed to bring total toiletries over 1 litre
The bag must be removed from your luggage during the security screening process
A passenger is only entitled to bring ONE toiletry bag in their carry-on luggage
A passenger is only entitled to bring ONE litre of toiletries in total in their carry-on luggage
It must be possible to seal the plastic bag whilst all toiletries are contained within it
The plastic bag must fit in your hand luggage

Any item(s) which do not meet the above liquid restrictions will be discarded by the security personnel. If you have too many toiletries to comfortably fit in the sealed plastic bag, you will be asked to rearrange the bag and discard items until the requirements can be met.

Note that liquid amounts which are under 100 mls, but in a container which is larger than 100 mls, are often removed by security. For example, if you have only a little bit of hair gel left in a container of 100 mls, it is likely to be checked at security and may be discarded depending on how strict the personnel are.

It's therefore always best to leave these at home or put them in your checked-in baggage (if you have any).

* Sources | Hand Luggage Restrictions at UK Airports + TSA Liquids Rules

. . .

Why You Shouldn't Buy Travel-Sized Toiletries

Although that all seems pretty clear-cut, we really do have to emphasise how frequently we see people trying to flout these rules.

Often it’s an honest oversight or mistake. Sometimes it’s just taking the piss.

As most standard-sized toiletries bottles and containers in your bathroom will be over 100 mls, the simplest solution may therefore appear to be to play it safe by buying the growing number of special travel-sized toiletries available at shops and pharmacies.

These are from well-known brands, in containers guaranteed to meet the liquid restrictions, and come in fun-size so you can pretend you're a giant in the shower.

However, for the convenience and confidence they provide you, there are three main reasons why you should not buy them before you fly.

COST

Travel-size toiletries end up costing you much more than necessary. Let's take a few examples of popular options, and how much they cost* at the same retailer’s high-street shop versus the standard-size:

Original Source Lemon Shower Gel

£1 for 250ml bottle (£0.40 per 100ml) | £1.50 for 50 ml bottle (£1.50 per 100 ml)

Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo For Dry, Really Thirsty Hair

£2.79 for 250ml bottle (£0.93 per 100ml). | £3.00 for 90 ml bottle (£3.33 per 100 ml)

Sanctuary Spa Body Lotion Moisturiser

£4.87 for 250ml bottle (£1.94 per 100ml). | £2.50 for 75 ml bottle (£3.33 per 100 ml)

*Prices and comparison accurate as of 20 March 2020.

From that small, but very representative sample, travel-sized toiletries cost double or triple the cost of the standard-sized equivalents per 100ml. You are therefore always paying a lot more to access the exact same shampoo, shower gel, or moisturiser you use at home.

WASTE

For a variety of reasons, single-use plastic is a material that we should all be severely and seriously reducing our consumption of.

The vast majority of it is not recyclable, the vast majority of it will never be recycled, and the bits of plastic that are recycled are only able to be repurposed once or twice maximum.

Buying miniature toiletries for a bit of convenience doesn't help.

Further, it's inevitable that that expensive little shower gel or shampoo will either have too much or too little product for your trip. As you can see above, many of them actually only sell it in 50ml, 75 ml or 90 ml bottles!

Any product you do bring home (going by Emily’s parents here) will also inevitably be lost in the toiletry box of doom at home, meaning that you have to repeat the process for the next trip, and the next trip, and so on and so forth.

BRANDS

If you depend on fun-size travel toiletries for your city breaks, work trips, or short holiday, you will always be really limited on the range of brands and products available.

These will possibly be from products you don't like, never use, or don't want to support for ethical reasons (i.e. they continue to test on animals).

Further, many simply won't be suited to your personal beauty or hygiene regime.

So what’s the point in buying them?

. . .

What Liquids To Pack in your Hand Luggage

So, unless you’ve had to rush to the airport at super short notice and have forgotten a few essentials (which can happen), frequent travellers should not be buying buy travel-sized toiletries.

However, you still need to be able to pack with confidence that your plastic bag and all the lotions and potions will meet requirements and be suited for your travel style.

Before sharing our number one travel hack for this, we want to share advice on what you definitely need to take, and what you can really can leave at home:

CITY BREAK

You’re going to be going hand luggage only, so need a few essentials for the airport, plus your favourite toiletries to keep you fresh, fancy, and fabulous to explore the city itself!

For everyone's plastic bag, we recommend:

Toothpaste / Deodorant / Face wash / Soap or body wash / Shampoo and conditioner (we use solid bars to reduce our plastic consumption) / Suncream (if required) / Face suncream / Moisturiser / Hand-sanitiser / Antiseptic cream / Condoms (you never know!)

For women, Emily would recommend also bringing:

Perfume (optional) / Basic make-up / Make-up remover / Serums / Hand or foot creams

For men, Andrew would recommend also bringing:

Hair gel or wax / aftershave

If that sounds like it's going to be far too much to bring in your hand luggage, then we can promise you that it isn’t - it’s what we have at home and pack for our city breaks.

Remember, things like paracetamol, vitamins, toothbrush, tissues, floss, and plasters don’t have to go in the bag. However, for ease and practicality, we usually have them in there too.

Also, although it’s tempting to just pick up a few favourite items once you’re through security at duty free, remember that you won’t then be able to take them back with you on the return flight if they’re over the 100ml.

And no Emily, travel hot sauce is NOT an essential for everyone.

BIG TRIP

If you have checked-in luggage, then it’s much easier to pack your airport toiletry bag. You are able to stuff all of your large toiletries in your main suitcase and simply take a few essentials on the flight like hand-sanitiser, toothpaste, and maybe a deodorant and small thing of sun cream incase your main luggage is delayed on the other side.

. . .

Decant, Decant, Decant - and use bars when you can!

Now for the good stuff.

After several years of city breaks, we realised that the absolute best way to economise on space and cost in our single, sealed plastic bag is to make our own bag of refillable toiletries - and to use soap, shampoo and conditioner bars.

It costs less. It saves times. It cuts down waste (and reduced our plastic footprint). It lets us bring our own toiletries. It allows to pass through airport security quickly and confidently.

In fact, it’s such a time and money saver overall, that we’d put it as one of our best travel hacks.

All you need is set of reusable travel toiletry bottles and containers.

A bunch of these exist (view here on Amazon), made specifically for air travel and airport security, and therefore meet the requirement of being under 100 ml. We have used this set of bottles for the last three years, but we have linked to a few good, affordable alternatives at the end of this section.

The process to follow, once you've bought your own set of resuable bottles and containers, is this:

Firstly, sort out which toiletries you need to bring
Establish which are in containers over and under 100 ml and separate out
Fill up the travel bottles from larger containers (we use shampoo, conditioner and soap bars now so only have to decant moisturisers, sun creams, make-up remover etc)
If necessary, you can write on the bottle or put on a label to remember which is which
Put everything in your plastic bag
Make sure the plastic bags seals
Lay them at the top of your packed suitcase / backpack for easy access at security
Take it out quickly and easily at airport security and breeze through.

Bish, bash, and may we add, BOSH!

The whole process takes 10 minutes maximum, and we simply do it at the same time as our packing (which will either be a calm and measured two days before flying, or a frantic dash around the flat at 1 a.m. before a 6.45 a.m. flight).

An additional benefit from this process is that we can then just take our reusable bottles back home with us and use up any excess through normal day-to-day usage.

After that, they've just got to be rinsed and stored away for your next trip. Alternatively, if they’ve still got a decent amount in them, just leave them half full so you can bring it next time.

To make the whole process as smooth as possible for future trips, we’d highly recommend always storing them in your plastic bag inside your city break suitcase or bag, alongside your packing cubes and anything else you always bring with you on trips. That way, come the next adventure, everything is there and ready to go (and you can use the same plastic bag multiple times - we’re pretty sure ours are into double digits of usage and still going strong!).

. . .

Reusable Travel Toiletries Bottle Sets

If you want to purchase your own set for future trips and city breaks, we chosen a selection of reusable and refillable travel toiletries bottles which are affordable, would do the job well, and have great reviews. Several of them also include containers and a few smaller bottles within the pack.

We have also made sure that bottles + containers selected below are specifically made for air travel, leak-proof, and have the container volume (i.e. 50 ml, 100 ml) written on them as this is often required at airport security.

We have used these 100ml refillable silicon travel bottles by humangear for the last three years, and they do the job perfectly - you can get them on Amazon here.
A TSA-approved complete 14 pack travel bottle + container set - buy here.
8 or 9 piece travel toiletries set by Comsmart - buy here.
MoKo set of 4 travel bottles (89ml) - buy here.

You can find the full range of travel bottle sets available here.

* One of them is even used for Emily’s travel hot sauce stash.