Travel toiletries rip-off revealed: The ‘minis’ with a MAJOR price tag

Small shower gels, toothpastes etc up to SEVEN TIMES more

Rhiannon Moorhouse | Edited by Anthony Hill

30 July 2019

It's no secret the prices at airports are sky-high, but are you being ripped off before you even get there when buying toiletries to take with you on holiday?

I’ve been doing some digging and discovered travel-size toiletries – mini bottles of shampoo, sun cream etc – can work out as much as seven times more expensive (per ml) than a standard full-size version of the same product.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to beat it… just don’t buy minis. If you’re worried about hand luggage rules (100ml of each liquid), decant from the bigger, cheaper bottle into a small one – see cheap reusable bottles below.

Of course, this won’t work with everything, eg, aerosols, and does take a bit of effort. Though if you’ve already paid for a baggage allowance, you might as well pack the cheaper full-size products in your suitcase and save the faff of decanting - just be sure to tape them shut as 300ml of shampoo makes more mess than 100ml.

What have I found?

I've tried to pick brands available at most supermarkets, Boots, Superdrug etc, but also a practical list of items most of us would take on holiday. I looked for the cheapest travel mini and compared with the full-size equivalent in the same shop to highlight how easily you can switch size and save. A few items on the list – including toothpaste and roll-on deodorant - were actually 100ml or under in their full-size versions:

Product/brand	Cheapest mini version	Full-size equivalent at the same shop	How much more expensive is the mini per 100ml?
Shower gel - Original Source lemon & tea tree	£1.50 at Boots for 50ml - £3 per 100ml	£1 at Boots for 250ml - 40p per 100ml	7 times more
Toothpaste - Colgate Total original	£1 at Sainsbury's for 20ml - £5 per 100ml	£2.50 at Sainsbury's for 75ml - £3.33 per 100ml	50% more
Shampoo - Aussie 'Miracle Moist'	£1.50 at Sainsbury's for 90ml - £1.67 per 100ml	£4 at Sainsbury's for 300ml - £1.33 per 100ml	26% more
Conditioner - Aussie 'Miracle Moist'	£1.50 at Sainsbury's for 90ml - £1.67 per 100ml	£4 at Sainsbury's for 250ml - £1.60 per 100ml	4% more
Deodorant - Nivea Pearl roll-on	£1 for 25ml at Saisbury's - £4 per 100ml	£1 for 50ml at Sainsbury's - £2 per 100ml	Double the price
Mouthwash - Listerine Total Care mouthwash	£1 at Sainsbury's for 95ml (£1.05 per 100ml)	£2.25 at Sainsbury's for 500ml (45p per 100ml)	Double the price
Sun cream - Ambre Solaire sensitive	£3 at Boots for 50ml (£6 per 100ml)	£7 at Boots for 200ml (£3.50 per 100ml)	71% more
Dry shampoo - Batiste original	£1.50 at Superdrug for 50ml (£3 per 100ml)	£1.99 at Superdrug for 200ml (£1 per 100ml)	3 times more

So you could be paying far less for your holiday toiletries if you can ditch the convenience of miniatures.

What are the rules on liquids in hand luggage?

With tonnes of toiletries dumped at UK airports each year, it's obvious many of us are still confused. If you're bringing liquids in your carry-on luggage, you can't take any one item over 100ml – even if it's partially empty – and you'll need to fit all your items inside one clear plastic 20cm x 20cm bag per person, zipped shut. As some airports charge £1 for the plastic bags, it's worth bringing one from home or reusing an old one.

If you're still not sure about what you can bring, check full Government guidance for more information.

Cheapest refillable and reusable bottles

If you're looking for cheap refillable and reusable travel bottles, and don't have any from previous travel-sized items you can reuse, I found the following when I looked on Tue 30 Jul:

100ml travel bottle, 50p at Wilko*
50ml travel bottle, £1.10 at Boots*
60ml travel bottle, £1.69 at Superdrug (these are the ones I've personally been using for 10ish years - your experience may differ!)
3x 50ml travel bottles, £1.80 (60p each) at Sainsbury's*

Obviously, if you've already bought minis then the most MoneySaving and eco-friendly thing to do is to use them up and refill 'em. You'd be surprised what you can refill with a little effort – even mini toothpaste tubes. Just make sure when you're refilling you're doing it over a sink, and remember to recycle any larger bottles you empty.

What are your top MoneySaving travel tips? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter.

What the * means above
If a link has an * by it, that means it is an affiliated link and therefore it helps MoneySavingExpert stay free to use, as it is tracked to us. If you go through it, it can sometimes result in a payment or benefit to the site. It's worth noting this means the third party used may be named on any credit agreements.

You shouldn’t notice any difference and the link will never negatively impact the product. Plus the editorial line (the things we write) is NEVER impacted by these links. We aim to look at all available products. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the top deal, it is still included in exactly the same way, just with a non-paying link. For more details, read How this site is financed.

MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). The registered office address of both MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC and MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited (registered in England No. 3157344) is MoneySupermarket House, St. David's Park, Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited.

How this site works

We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of the site. We're a journalistic website and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques, but can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.
We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips).
Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first.
We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content.
Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.

MoneySavingExpert.com is part of the Moneysupermarket Group, but is entirely editorially independent. Its stance of putting consumers first is protected and enshrined in the legally binding MSE Editorial Code.

Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, How this site is financed and MSE's Editorial Code.

Deals Hunters

Travel toiletries rip-off revealed: The ‘minis’ with a MAJOR price tag