How to decant products with SPF? -and a tip

I have used the shampoo bottles from hotels to use for carry-on size allowable liquids I want to take. Sunscreen/ aloe/ whatever and even refill with shampoo or conditioner when I go someplace that does not, or may not, have it.

Then there are the 3 oz size bottles you can buy and fill with whatever you want. Most drug stores and many travel accessory stores have them

So is it acrylic that is getting eaten by SPF?

SPF is not a chemical or ingredient, its a measurement of protection. There are several chemicals that are used to provide SPF coverage, so is there a specific one you're saying is corrosive to plastic?

I have been carrying decanted sunscreen in small Nalgene bottles for multi-month trips since 2015. They are a heavy-duty plastic with leak-proof tops, supposedly originally developed for use in labs. The Container Store carries them, though sizes available seem to vary from store to store. Some outdoor/camping-gear stores may also have them, and they can be found online as well.

Nalgene bottles are heavier than the throw-aways hotel shampoos are packaged in. The extra weight isn't enough to matter for just one product, but it could be noticeable if you used Nalgene bottles for all your toiletries.

If these are products you buy in a department stor see if they can give you sample sizes to take with you. I have gotten small samples of foundation and other makeup.

One less liquid for me as I use the stick sunscreen made by Neutrogena. Works well on my body.

Among compulsions with which i am familiar, decanting is a new one. Maybe carry a bottle of sunscreen from the front of the store back to compare to the empty travel sized bottles to see what kind of plastic is used. I also want to give a shout out for Neutro gena healthy defense moisturizer 50 spf, it comes in a 1.7 oz tube.

I'll cast another vote for the stick sunscreen- one less thing for the liquids bag! I do also carry a small amount of the facial lotion w/SPF I like to use, and I've had good luck using a spare contact lens case to hold it. Then I can put the day lotion in one side, and the night lotion in the other. No leaks yet!

Stan, yes, it seems something in my daily facial moisturizer with SPF is corrosive to my containers.

I will look for Nalgene bottles. We don't seem to have The Container Store up here but I'll find something. Perhaps a closer look at the selection at Sail will be on my agenda this week.

Holly, I bought some contact lens cases for just this purpose but they seem a bit on the small side. Perhaps for a one week trip they would do.

Barbara, I'm currently using a Mary Kay product as sold by my work cubicle mate; I'll definitely ask her if she can obtain sample sizes for me.

Thanks to all.

I've reused the same Mary Kay container for 20+ years, along with containers that contained shampoo/lotion/ from hotels from all over the world at least 2-5 times. I save the ones I like and are easy to refill.

I don't know what your "pots" composition are, but I can't imagine that typical toiletry products would "eat" up the pot.

Am very familiar with parafilm - wine industry and it works great.

Maybe find a small plastic container (more bottle than pot), and that might take care of your problem.

Your sunscreen products probably contain benzyl alcohol, which is incompatible with PVC, the plastic many reusable bottles are made of. Either look for safer products, or get bottles with a different composition. And throw away any products that were in the bottles you had problems with, as well as the bottles, if you haven't already done so.

For a trip to Australia in 2012, I took 100% deet in a small bottle. By the time we got over there, the Deet had eaten through the bottle into which I had decanted it. My husband said, " I am not going to put something which ate through the container onto my skin!" Fortunately, we did not need the repellent!

Bottles at Muji that cannot be used to store alcohol-containing products are clearly marked! I suggest shopping (or ordering from) there to be safe! They also have a really great assortment of various small bottles in general.

I would be far more concerned about using something on my face that does damage to the container!
I am very careful about I use on my face, especially when it comes to sunscreen. I am willing to pay more, but the products I use although more pricey than some are worth it not only because they are highly protective but a little goes a long way because they are so effective.
Here is what I used for 25 days, applying every day for my May trip in Italy, lasted the whole trip!
Replenix Sheer Physical Sunscreen Cream SPF 50 Plus (2 oz.) and for touch or some color I ALWAYS have my Avene tinted sfp 50 compact, wonderful product.
I also carried a small bottle of SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50 as a backup which is so wonderfully light but very effective.
All these can be found from Amazon or the Dermstore. They actually improve my skin. The Avene products are sold in pharmacies all over Europe, and the Avene line also makes some very good sunscreen.

REI had Nalgene bottles, last time I checked.

I think the benzyl alcohol is just a preservative--it's fine for your skin in the small quantities that are in products. It's just chemically incompatible with PVC bottles, that's all. I don't suggest switching up one's whole skincare routine anytime right before a trip. My skin would flip out on me, it's anyone's guess what result I'd get! Pimples like a 14 year old? Dry and flaky like the dead of winter? Both at once? Probably.

Thanks again to you all for your replies. I'm going to go hunting for Nalgene containers and next time I'm in T.O. have a look at MUJI.

Andrea,
I had the same problem last time I traveled. However, I don't think its the sunscreen. I think there is some kind of acid (glycolic?, some form of fruit acid?) in the lotion with the sunscreen, as many facial lotions have this. I brought my eye lotion in a very small plastic container (1oz?) with a screw on lid - perfect size, except by the middle of 3 weeks, the plastic was disintegrating. Makes me wonder what Im putting on my face ;) (half kidding - obviously it has something to promote cell turn-over, as most face lotions do, and why I like it so much and why I would go to the trouble of packing it in the first place).
Here I am getting ready for another trip, and wondering if I need to go to the little hippy herb store to find a glass version of that little container. I don't think plastic will work - maybe Nalgene, but maybe not. I know glass breaks, and is heavy, so Im weighing this against my desire for lotion I want on my face (thinking I could make a small pouch of taped bubble wrap that the little glass jar lives in in my toiletry bag). All the lotions I use on my face come in glass, including my face sunscreen which has Zinc oxide in it (a must). Im don't want to put zinc oxide body sunscreen on my face - yuck. So, your question is timely :)

After a disastrous leak from one of those expensive GoToob silicone bottles, I no longer fill small containers; I buy what I want in 3-oz. original bottles or bring hotel sizes from past travels.

Specific to sunscreen, I just bought one of the Consumer Reports top-rated sunscreens (Coppertone Water Babies) in a 3-ounce tube for our next trip. Neutrogena also packages some of their high-SPF products in 3-ounce tubes. My special face sunscreen from Lancôme is also this size.