Ways to detox your travel beauty bag

Giving your beauty bag an eco-friendly makeover is not only great for your skin and the planet, but it also makes your life easier once you reach your destination. Here's how to get organised, properly prep your beauty kit and keep it clean.

Go natural

Travel can take a toll on your skin and chemical-laden formulas in beauty items can add to the problem. Opt for products with natural or organic ingredients and avoid nasties such as formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates, triclosan and oxybenzone. Take your detox mission one step further with cruelty-free brands that don’t test on animals (find a good list on Peta).

Choose multi-tasking products

What you pack is as important as how you pack, so bid bon voyage to long-winded beauty routines and embrace multi-purpose products that save space, time and reduce waste. Think BB or CC cream with SPF (as both a foundation and sunscreen), plus all-in-one sticks for eyes, lips and cheeks (’cos who has time for high-maintenance make-up on vacay?).

Create your own travel minis

Cute travel-sized beauty products are tempting but think about how much plastic you are adding to landfill. Save coin and do your part for the environment with reusable travel-sized bottles (or by recycling old ones) filled with your favourite products.

Organise your stuff into bags

Zip-lock bags aren’t just for packing snacks – avoid leaks and mess by packing your beauty products in them, too (just remember to buy degradable bags and reuse them). Separate your stuff into categories – skincare, shower essentials and make-up – and you’ll have super-organised bags that make it easy to find things on-the-go.

Do yourself a solid

Cutting down on bottled liquids will save you goopy explosions in transit and it’s a genius way to be more eco-friendly. Opt for solid versions of liquid toiletries such as shampoo bars (similar to soap bars but for hair) and deodorant pastes. These often use biodegradable packaging or are packaging-free (bonus points for this one!).