Alternative Travel Beauty Essentials

Whether you are a seasoned traveler, or you are going on your first big trip, what you pack is of the utmost importance. Your bag needs to be lightweight but still contain everything that you need. The problem with beauty products is that they tend to take up a lot of space. If you need to take shampoo, conditioner, body wash, moisturizer, makeup, makeup remover, dry shampoo then you are already taking too much. If you can't go without these things then there are some great alternatives.

Dry shampoo is a travel beauty essential. You may go on long journeys or get sweaty and you need something to quickly make your hair look better. But cans of dry shampoo take up a lot of room and can't be taken in hand luggage. On option used to be to use talc powder, but since the Johnson and Johnson asbestos case, which found their talc-based baby powder to cause cancer, this is no longer an option. However, an alternative is corn starch. It has many of the same properties of talc. Corn starch has lots of uses:

• Soak up any grease in your hair
• Prevent chafing
• Deodorant – mix it with an oil such as coconut oil for a great deodorant. (The coconut oil can also double up as your moisturizer and makeup remover).
• Bug bites – simply mix it with water to create a paste.
• Face powder – it can reduce the look of pores and help your makeup to stay on for longer
• Foot protection – use it on your feet before a long hike to prevent them from being moist, preventing conditions like athletes' foot.
• Corn Starch has a crazy amount of uses, you can read about more of them here.

Another great tip is trying to find things in the bar form. You can now get shampoo, conditioner, body wash, makeup remover, and moisturizer all in bar form. Not only is this great for the environment as they remove the need for plastic, but they also last a long time and are easy to pack. One issue is keeping them in good condition. One option is to keep them wrapped in beeswax paper or baking paper.

When it comes to makeup, just bring the essentials. Some things are unavoidable, you still want to be able to dress up and feel your best at times. After all, you will be meeting lots of new people and doing lots of new things, sometimes you need to feel confident. Some versatile items like a contour kit that you can also use as a bronzer or a lipstick that you can use as an eyeshadow.

Another thing you can't skip out on is sun cream. In some parts of the world, sun cream can be surprisingly expensive, especially if the locals don't tend to use it. You must protect your skin while you travel.

The less you take, the easier it will be to get around. Put some thought into it before you head off, make sure you can get to things you need easily and that you have what you need. This will make your trip smoother and more fun!