At the end of 2019, I decided that I wanted to transition into becoming a minimalist traveler. I only wanted to travel with absolutely necessary items.
My first attempt at becoming a minimalist traveler was back in February when I only packed a carry on suitcase for a 7-day trip to Atlanta, GA, which was a huge success. And since I’ve been working to find more ways to make my travel life even more minimal, especially with long term travel on my agenda, and I think I did!
I’ve officially eliminated all single-use plastics and liquids from my bathroom routine (Excluding toothpaste. (I plan to try tooth tabs soon))! I am so proud of my transition, I thought I’d share my low waste and minimal swaps with you.
I always use Ivory Bar soap for my sensitive lady parts. I do not recommend using any scented soaps on your lady parts! So my toiletry bag will always contain a bar of white Ivory soap!
I buy these in a pack of either 3 or 12 from Family Dollar.
Now for body wash, I use any scent of the Dove go fresh beauty bars! The Dove Bars smell so good and have a quarter of moisturizer in each bar, so they aren’t drying. (Extra Swap Tip: The Dove Go Fresh Beauty Bars also serves as a really good swap for shaving cream.)
You can purchase this anywhere soap is sold!
Now, let’s talk face wash! This swap has to be the one I am most proud of! I no longer use St. Ives Apricot Face Scrub because I’ve been told by a dermatologist that the Apricot scrub is really harmful to your skin, and I was producing a lot of plastic waste buying those single-use tubes. So instead of using that harmful scrub, I’ve switched to something much better for my skin and environment.
I’ve switched to the Kiss My Face Olive Oil Soap, which is fragrance-free and only has 3 ingredients!
I ordered this pack of 3 soap bars from Amazon.
Now I suppose, if you really want to cut down on the number of soap bars you’re traveling with, you can just bring this bar and use it for your total body. But I like to cut these bars into three pieces and travel with a third of one bar.
Lastly, my shampoo and conditioner swap is the 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner bar from Love Beauty And Planet. I love the Coconut Water and Mimosa Flower scent. It really works wonders for my hair. I’ve tried the Shampoo bar for color-treated hair from Love Beauty And Planet, but I found myself still needing a conditioner, so unless you are planning to order a conditioner bar to accompany your shampoo bar, I strongly suggest getting a 2 in 1.
I ordered all of my shampoo bars from Amazon.
((Honesty moment: I normally wash my hair once a week, but when I first switched to using the 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner bar, I found myself washing my hair more. But after a few weeks, I was able to go back to washing my hair once a week.) PS: I also find the conditioner bars to be pretty expensive so if you’re trying to save some money, go for the 2 in 1.)
Ashley Travels The Globe 