19 Men’s Grooming Travel Kit Essentials

I enjoy traveling. I also enjoy traveling without much luggage. These 19 men’s grooming travel kit essentials will maximize grooming results while on the road without sacrificing space.

I vowed a few years ago to avoid checking baggage if I could. After checking a large bag from the Marshall Islands to the United States in 2014, I discovered that water had drenched everything inside. This normally wouldn’t be so bad, but this specific water was cooler water, which had once been ice. This ice had been used to keep several dead fish cool from Majuro to Honolulu. This dead fish cooler water was now engrained into every suitcase, clothing and souvenir fiber I had. Ironically, I remember seeing the coolers on the luggage carousel after landing and wondering how they kept the coolers sealed.

What did the airlines do about it? Nothing. They gave me one option of paying to get it dry cleaned and sending them the invoice to hopefully be reimbursed.

Never again.

Since then, I have promised myself to only travel with carry-ons, and last November, I traveled for two weeks in India with only a regular backpack.

Luckily, I already had a minimalist wardrobe, see Minimalist Wardrobe for Men, A Casual Guide, and didn’t have many clothes that I brought with me.

My wife and I are going to Ireland soon, but I always find myself scrambling at the last minute to collect toiletries and grooming essentials. In order to avoid this, I figured I would make the perfect men’s grooming travel kit essentials list, a list that I can refer to every time to ensure I am bringing everything and forgetting nothing.

But, the list must have the essentials, nothing unnecessary, and everything must be as small as possible in order to make room for souvenirs on the return trip. I also decided that I should share this men’s grooming travel kit essentials list. Maybe you can use it for reference as well, so you don’t forget anything on your next overnight trip or vacation out of the country.

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Men’s Grooming Travel Kit Essentials

Storage

• I spent several, several hours researching the best travel backpack and eventually settled on the Osprey Farpoint 55L. Technically, the Farpoint 55L is two packs in one, with a 15L daypack attached to a 40L backpack. Regardless, it should be the perfect carry on size to fit in the overhead bin. If the airline complains, you can take the daypack off and have it as your personal item, stowing it under the seat in front of you if needed.

Travel Backpack: Osprey Farpoint 55L ($175.37)

• The next important thing is a “dopp kit” or men’s travel kit. A dopp kit should be rugged, with strong zippers, and can easily be crushed to conform inside of a backpack or suitcase. It needs to hold all of your toiletries and grooming essentials. Last, it needs to look somewhat masculine, no polka dots.  This is probably going to be as close to a man purse as you will ever get.

Dopp Kit: Iblue Canvas Travel Toiletry Organizer ($11.99)

• If you are going to be traveling on a plane and will only have carry-ons, you will have to abide by the 3-1-1 rule (3.4-ounce bottle or less; 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic zip-top bag; 1 per person). I would highly recommend getting a clear, TSA approved, toiletry bag for liquids. They are far more durable than regular Zip-Loc bags, zip up, and hold quite a bit more than regular sandwich baggies. So, if your liquids are tight for space, this is the ideal solution, as these bags provide the maximum amount of volume TSA will allow in a carry-on.

TSA Approved Clear Bag: $9.99

• Last, if you have liquid products that you need to break down into smaller bottles in order to comply with the “3” part of the 3-1-1 rule, it will be necessary to have a few small plastic bottles on hand. I usually have one for face wash and possibly one for a shampoo/body wash combo if needed.

Clear Plastic Travel Bottles: $7.99

Hair and Body

• Speaking of shampoo/body wash, if you will be traveling to locations without complimentary shampoo and body wash, you may consider packing your own. It can be hard to find your favorite brand in travel size, so you can transfer some into the 3-ounce plastic bottle. Consider getting a shampoo + body wash combination to save space.

Shampoo + Body Wash Combo: Jack Black All-Over Wash ($9.50 for 3 ounces)

• If you are like me and cannot leave the house, hotel, B&B, whatever, without hair product in, this is going to be a necessity. The problem is that a lot of hair pomades, clays, waxes, etc. can be a little bulky. Some companies offer their hair products in travel sizes. Currently, I am using Layrite Cement Clay, which comes in 4.25 ounces. This is a little big for travel, but I have seen Layrite products in smaller 1.5-ounce jars at my local barbershop. Amazon does have one Layrite Superhold Pomade in 1.5 ounces, but who knows how long it will last on there.

Hair Product: Layrite Superhold Pomade ($9.00 for 1.5 ounces)

• Deodorant of some type is a must, every day. Choosing is personal preference, and ideally, it will come in a travel size.

Deodorant: Every Man Jack Deodorant ($5.54 for 0.5 ounces)

• If Needed: Chances are, if you are reading this blog, you care about your grooming. Chances are also that you style your hair or have facial hair of some sort, maybe both. In that case, it is likely that you will need a small pocket comb to style hair or shape a beard.

Pocket Comb (If Needed): Swissco Tortoise Hand Made Folding Comb ($6.59)

• Optional: Cologne. Personally, I like smelling good and am willing to sacrifice the space in a clear TSA bag to bring along cologne. Unfortunately, cologne bottles can often be large and bulky. There are two solutions to this:

Solution 1: Check out EBay for your preferred cologne. In the search bar, enter your cologne + “sample”, or cologne + “decanter”. It is usually less than $10, and you can get a little spray vial of it. This amount should be enough to get you through your trip. Another option is to go to a higher end department store like Dillard’s or Nordstrom’s and ask for samples of what you want. They will generally provide free samples in the same type of decanter you would buy on EBay.

Solution 2: Solid Cologne. Solid Cologne generally comes in hard wax form within a tin case. So, it won’t be taking up room in a clear TSA bag. If you want to project a cologne scent and bringing the entire cologne bottle or Solution 1 is not an option, try a solid cologne.

Cologne (Optional): Drifter Men’s Solid Cologne ($24.00 for 0.5 ounces)

Facial Skin Care

• This is one of those times when you will almost always need to use the 3-ounce plastic bottles. Travel sized facial cleansers you find in drugstores aren’t usually great (unless your brand makes them), and your regular facial cleanser bottle is way too big to bring. So, you will probably be forced to squirt or squeeze a few ounces from your at-home facial cleanser into an empty 3-ounce bottle. If that is the case, I’m going to recommend the same facial cleanser I have in several other posts, CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. It is simply the best cleanser for the price.

Facial Cleanser: CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser ($9.38)

• Pretty much any facial moisturizer less than three ounces and in a small bottle or tube will suffice for this. Avoid bringing moisturizers in those large, plastic, circular jars to avoid taking up too much space in the clear TSA bag. For example, I often recommend Neutrogena Hydro Boost as a moisturizer. It is only 1.7 ounces, but it comes in a massive jar. I wouldn’t want to lug this thing around in my luggage. Rather, transfer some moisturizer into a 3-ounce plastic bottle, or just pick up moisturizer that is less than 3 ounces which comes in a reasonable sized bottle or tube. Ideally, you would have two moisturizers, one for the day with SPF and one for night without SPF. But if room is tight, you might need to pick one or the other.

Facial Moisturizer: Brickell Men’s Daily Essential Face Moisturizer for Men ($20.00 for 2 ounces)

• Not only are chapped lips annoying and unsightly, it is one of the things that I have found that women resoundingly dislike. If you are traveling with a significant other, traveling to see a significant other, or just need to look put together overall, you are going to need a lip balm.

Lip Balm: Brickell Men’s No Shine Lip Balm for Men ($7.50)

Oral Hygiene

• I am not going to put too many words behind this one, because everyone should know that they need to brush their teeth with toothpaste and a toothbrush. Try getting a travel toothbrush with travel sized toothpaste to save room.

Travel Sized Toothbrush: Folding Soft Toothbrush ($5.65 for two)

Travel Toothpaste: Crest 3D White Toothpaste ($5.71 for two)

• Optional: Floss. There is a strong debate on both sides of the flossing argument. Although the American Dental Association indicates that flossing can help remove gum disease causing plaque, the Associated Press found that beneficial evidence for flossing is “weak”. Depending on where you lie on the flossing debate, bringing floss is deemed “optional”.

Floss (Optional): Listerine Ultraclean Mint Floss ($7.01 for two)

Facial Hair Grooming

If you must have a smooth, clean shave, then it will be necessary to use a razor. Electric shavers can obviously work as well, but they are much larger than a traditional razor. But, if you need to maintain stubble or a just a fairly close shave will suffice, then there is an alternative to a cartridge or disposable razor.

• Some lists on this topic recommend a traditional DE safety razor, BUT, TSA rules state that DE razor blades are not allowed in carry-on luggage. If you insist on bringing a DE safety razor, you will need to pick some blades up at your destination or mail them to yourself directly at the destination address. Otherwise, you will be forced to use a regular disposable or cartridge razor.

Razor: Gillete Mach3 Men’s Razor ($7.99, handle and two blade refills)

• As said before, if you do not necessarily require an absolute clean shave, or you are trying to maintain stubble or a short beard, check out the Philips Norelco OneBlade. It is a shaver, trimmer and edger all in one. See the video below for more:

Trimmer, Edger, Shaver: Philips Norelco OneBlade ($45.17)

• Optional: Shaving Cream. If you are a die-hard shaving enthusiast and must use shaving cream when completing the task, consider getting a travel sized shaving cream tube. You will have to put it into your clear TSA bag, but if space is an issue, just use facial cleanser instead.

Travel Shaving Cream (Optional): Cremo Original Shave Cream ($13.96 for two, 3 ounces)

Tools

• If you will be traveling for more than a day and have a wicked unibrow that constantly needs attention, you are going to need your tweezers. Remember, the best time to pluck unibrow hairs is after a warm shower and be sure to pull in the direction the hair grows to avoid breaking the hair.

Tweezers: TweezerGuru Slant Tweezers ($8.34)

• Like chapped lips, dirty, long fingernails are another strong turn-off for females. It is best to have a set of fingernail clippers while on the road, you never know when they will be of use.

Fingernail Clippers: Harperton Nail Clipper Set ($14.63 set of two)

• Optional: Grooming Scissors. Depending on how long your trip is, you should be able to trim your nose and eyebrow hairs before leaving to get you through until your return (see How to Trim Eyebrows for Men, on proper eyebrow grooming technique). If, however, you will be gone for a long time, or have hair that grows unnaturally fast, consider bringing along grooming scissors. If you opt to bring them, just know that they may be confiscated at the airport. To decrease the chances of confiscation, make sure the scissors are less than 4 inches in length and are not pointy at the end. Also note that if you are traveling outside the country, airport security may be even finickier than TSA. I had my grooming scissors confiscated at the Jaipur International Airport in India.

Grooming Scissors (Optional): Kovira Nose Hair Scissors ($9.99)

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Let’s recap the 19 Men’s Grooming Travel Kit Essentials in list form. Feel free to print the list if needed.

List of Men’s Grooming Travel Kit Essentials:
1. Dopp Kit/Travel Kit
2. TSA Clear Bag
3. Plastic Travel Bottles
4. Shampoo/Body Wash Combo (Inside Travel Bottle if Needed)
5. Hair Product
6. Deodorant
7. Pocket Comb (If Needed)
8. Cologne (Optional)
9. Facial Cleanser (Inside Travel Bottle)
10. Facial Moisturizer
11. Lip Balm
12. Travel Toothbrush
13. Travel Toothpaste
14. Floss (Optional)
15. Razor or Trimmer
16. Travel Shaving Cream (Optional)
17. Tweezers
18. Fingernail Clippers
19. Grooming Scissors (Optional)

That’s is for the men’s grooming travel kit essentials! Keep in mind that a lot of this stuff can be purchased in your destinations if you don’t feel like hassling with it beforehand. You can easily pick up razors, tooth brushes, toothpaste, etc. regardless of where you are in the world. So, if it is important to save space initially, consider this option.

Did I miss anything in my men’s grooming travel kit essentials list?  Feel free to comment below with other suggestions and ideas.

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Enjoy reading 19 Men’s Grooming Travel Kit Essentials?

Check out some of our other popular articles: A Complete Guide to Men’s Hair Products, 20 Best Watches Under 100 Dollars, or Best Beard Trimmer in 2018 With Guide.

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Thanks for reading 19 Men’s Grooming Travel Kit Essentials!

-Chris