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| Lotion was the first to go, with body wash not far behind. |
Well, I carried on the How Much Is Three Ounces? experiment for over a month, and the results were interesting. It turns out that three ounces of different products last very different amounts of time. This means that simply buying a travel kit full of three-ounce bottles (Eagle Creek and Bed Bath & Beyond offer them) is a terrible idea - you'll end up carrying more than you need of some products and not enough of others. Instead, use my results to judge how much you need and buy appropriately sized bottles from PlasticTravelBottles.com, which offers a variety of sizes and is super cheap (just order well in advance - shipping is slow).
The First To Fall: Body Lotion - 11 days
Admittedly, I'm a full-body moisturizer, so I should have figured three ounces of body lotion wouldn't last long. Still, 11 days is a fairly long trip - lots of honeymoons and whirlwind tours last 11 days or less, so three ounces of body lotion may be enough. My advice: if you're going for longer than 11 days and are addicted to body lotion, buy it there. If you absolutely must have your brand from home (and think carefully about whether this is really true) take two three-ounce bottles of the same stuff. Technically you aren't supposed to do this, but no one in security is going to care.
Body Wash - 14 days
Body wash didn't last much longer than body lotion, but it did make it a full two weeks. Chances are you don't need more than that unless you're going on a pretty extended trip. My advice: if you need more than two weeks worth of body wash, consider using soap instead. It may not leave you as silky-smooth, but it won't take up space that you might want to use for other more important liquids - like your contact solution.
Toner - 17 days
Toner didn't last as long as I thought it would. I figured I would get at least 20 days out of a three-ounce bottle, but it fell short. Oh well. My advice: if you need more than 17 days of toner, take the full three ounces and be scouting around for a comparable brand at your destination. The trick is to find something that contains the same percentage of salicylic acid as your brand back home.
Face Wash - 32 days
I was impressed by how long the face wash lasted; I didn't expect 3 ounces to be over a month's worth of face wash. I guess I've been overpacking this one for a while! My advice: one ounce will easily last ten days, so don't worry that your 1.7 ounce trial size bottle will run out. Unless you're going to be gone for a long time, save space and pack just what you need.
The Winner: Shampoo - 34 days
I guess I'm not surprised about this one - I figured the shampoo would last a long time. Still, it's nice to know just how many days "a long time" is. My advice: like the face wash, you just don't need very much of this. Pack more if your hair is long, of course (mine is short), but unless you're rafting through the Amazon, your hair will get clean with a minimal amount of shampoo. One ounce will be plenty for most trips.
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| Shampoo held out for two days longer than face wash, providing clean hair for a little over a month. |
