How Much Is Three Ounces?

Five 3-ounce bottles fit comfortably inside a 1-quart bag
with room for your travel toothpaste

Okay, let's assume I'm not asking the obvious. Three ounces is 90 mL, the amount of any one liquid or gel you can take in a carry-on bag (all liquids together to fit inside a 1-quart plastic bag). Anyone who's traveled in the past nine years is familiar with TSA's rules.

What I'm really asking is how far will three ounces get you? Will three ounces of shampoo be enough for a two-week trip? A two-month trip? Will three ounces of face wash last as long as three ounces of shampoo? I don't know the answers to these questions - but I wish I did. Knowing exactly how much lotion and body wash I need would really help me pack light. So I'm going to answer my own question: I'm going to put three ounces of essential bath products to the test and see how long they last.

Before I can conduct my experiment, I have to locate 3-ounce bottles. There are a wide variety of products on the market, including a set of four bottles by Eagle Creek ($15) and another set of four by Bed, Bath, & Beyond ($5). In the end, I've decided to order my bottles individually (and much more cheaply) at PlasticTravelBottles.com ($0.98 a bottle and a flat shipping rate of $1.99, but be warned: they only accept PayPal and they ship from Singapore, so order well in advance).

All bottles full on Monday morning, November 29, 2010

Here they are, all set to go: shampoo, body wash, face wash, toner, and lotion. As of today, I will use only these 3-ounce bottles until their contents are gone - and I'll let you know, one by one, as the contenders drop. To provide you with some context for comparing my results with what you're likely to experience: I use shampoo and body wash once a day, face wash and toner twice a day, and lotion all over once a day. I'm 5'6" and have short hair.

Just to underscore the importance of packing the correct amount of liquids - my five 3-ounce bottles actually weigh 19 ounces when they're full, rather than the 15 you would expect. Liquids are heavy, so it's definitely best not to overpack.

All right, I think we're set to go. We'll see just how much three ounces really is!

Copyright 2010 Sara Harding

Stock Up on Travel Essentials at Aveda!

The holiday season means more of Aveda's great
products come in convenient travel sizes.

I love Aveda. I love their products and I love their dedication to preserving ecological and human diversity, which makes me feel good about buying their products. Washing my hair with Aveda's invigorating Shampure shampoo is a favorite part of my morning ritual. Also, scents are terribly evocative - and culturally specific - so my Aveda shampoo actually smells like home to me. And when I'm traveling, there's nothing more comforting than having a bit of home come along for the ride.

That's why I'm heading to Aveda now to stock up on my favorite products. For most of the year, Aveda offers only the basics in trial sizes. But around the holidays when everyone's on the lookout for stocking-stuffers and little gifts, Aveda markets a much fuller range of their products in sizes compatible with a carry-on. If you love Aveda's Pure Abundance Volumizing Hairspray or their Rosemary Mint Body Lotion, now is the time to find these products in travel sizes.

Prices for Aveda's trial sizes start at $3.50 and range up to $10, depending on the product. Most of the bottles are refillable, so once you've purchased a travel bottle of - say - Phomollient with its unusual pump mechanism, you can simply refill it from your larger (and more economical) version.

As we all become more aware of the size of our carbon footprints - and as green and eco-tourism take top spots on the savvy traveler's wish list - Aveda's trial sizes and travel gift sets are a great way to have it all: quality, environmental consciousness, and the scent of home.









Photos taken at the Douglas J Aveda Institute, Ann Arbor
Text Copyright 2010 Sara Harding

Beauty On The Move: Skin Care Products

A facial brush from the Body Shop - keeping
me radiant on my trip to visit my boyfriend in New York

Finding a way to fit your beauty regimen into a suitcase - both literally and figuratively - can be a real challenge. All travelers want to avoid overpacking, but at the same time, many of us have a carefully-developed set of procedures and products that keep us looking sexy... and no one wants to leave their sexy behind!

So when it comes to packing your bag, it's important to know how to travel light and still look fabulous.  It's a tall order, but there are tips - and products - that can help.

One of my best skin care tips is to leave the face scrub at home. It's heavy, you may run out of it, and it's one more liquid that you'll have to fit inside a quart-sized bag when you go through check in. Also, most face scrubs come in flip-top tubes that may accidentally flip open in your bag - no one wants to arrive at their destination to find gritty paste all over their travel essentials.

Instead of face scrub, bring a facial exfoliator. My two favorites are a facial buffer and a facial brush, both available inexpensively at the Body Shop. You only need one or the other, and either one will be lighter, smaller, and last longer than a tube of face scrub. I took both on my recent trip to Europe to test them out, and had great results with both. I found the facial buffer to be slightly easier to use - the facial brush tends to flick drops of face wash around and is best used in the shower - but the facial brush gave a slightly deeper exfoliation. If you're concerned about choosing the right one, buy both and test them out before you go - both together will still cost you under $10.

Traveling is great, but no one wants to look like they're traveling. We all long for the casual elegance of the International Person of Mystery - that enviable traveler who can fit everything they need for two weeks in a carry-on and still look chic and put together. To achieve this, you can either log tens of thousands of frequent-flyer miles... or take the advice of someone who has.

Copyright 2010 Sara Harding