Travel sized toiletries in Europe? (Italy and France)

Thanks Laura! That's very useful to know :)

You'll find everything you need at chain stores such as Monoprix in France or Coop in Italy. They'll have the smallest sizes you'll find at the lowest prices.

I have had a problem finding travel sized toiletries at a reasonable price in Europe. As an alternative, you might try Lush shampoo bars (or another brand). Since it is a solid it can be placed in carry-on bags. I have found the shampoo bars to be great all in one cleaners; I use them for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and shaving cream. Some bars have are just shampoo and others are shampoo and conditioner all in ones.

Thanks guys! I'm not really worried about the price. I'll pay a few euros more if I don't have to lug around enough toiletries for the whole trip. I mean, how expensive can they be?

I'm really trying to go minimalist here, and as light as possible, as we're not going to be in one place very long, and I have to carry everything I need in my backpack for nearly a month. If I can buy it as I go along, all the better.

When I can find them (and I look for them a lot), they can €3-4 for less than 100 mL of shampoo, condition, body wash, contact solution, etc.

Thank you Laura! I don't think that's too bad, as I can't see buying them more than once or twice during the trip and I only really use shampoo and body wash, I won't need conditioner or anything else. I think the toothpaste and deodorant I'm bringing will probably last the whole trip. I'm a total minimalist anyway.

Oh, and have you seen any in France or Italy, or is this in the Netherlands? I hear that the Netherlands is more expensive than the rest of Europe.

I can't even find travel size toiletries in the Netherlands (minus contact lenses solution). These are the prices I have seen in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Germany.

Tonya, someone mentioned a shampoo bar. I'm using one next trip. They lather great & my hair feels fine. You can slice off a piece large enough to last a month & store it in a snack sized baggie. I'm also taking Ecodent tooth powder. A TicTac sized container will last me 2 weeks. A months supply of both won't weigh much or take much room. Yesterday, I bought some Listerine leaves. One pack is smaller than a book of matches. Also, if you remove the bottom of a travel size deoderant but keep the lid to store it in & place it in a snack size baggie, you'll lose more than half of the packaging.

In fact, you can save even more space by decanting gel deoderant into a tiny clamshell container. Dab in place with a finger. I've found that I can get a six weeks' worth in a container about the size of a golf ball. I decant a lot of my liquids into tiny containers, which gives me plenty of room for a couple of mini shampoo bottles.

Thanks for the Lush product recommendations. I'm using that for my trip to Europe. Shampoo, soap, detergent all in one. Considering I need to take Rx face washes, contact solution, lotion (dry skin), face lotion (acne problems) - it really saves on space. Also, I'm taking one loofah glove from The Body Shop to use as a puff/wash cloth. They take up no space, dry fast, and keep you glowing!

I'll second Laura's suggestion for Lush shampoo & body bar. I really like this product & it dries quickly & not gooey as bar soap.

J.R. Liggett also makes a bar shampoo in two sizes. More neutral fagrance. Can be found at many health food and camping stores.

J. R. Liggett

I'm bring JR Liggetts damaged hair formula which I found at Whole foods. It was the only formula they had. I've been testing it & it works great. I just sliced off enough to last 2 weeks.

Hi, so I'm back from my trip and wanted to let everyone know that I found travel sized (100mL) shampoo and body wash in Nice, France at a Casino supermarket for €1.07. This reaffirms my belief, shop and eat where the locals do, and you won't get ripped off.