Traveling can be stressful. Traveling for us non-toxic folk can be extra stressful when we are entering environments that we have little control over. Whether you have special dietary restrictions, sensitivities to household products with fragrance, or get travel anxiety, there are a lot of unknowns. After many trips to different countries over the past few years, I've dialed in on how to set yourself up for a successful trip. My tips will help you minimize toxins, optimize your health, and de-stress so you can focus on being present and having a fabulous time on your trip!
Health/Medicines
PLANE
I'm no germaphobe but I think flying is one time when having hand sanitizer on hand is a great idea. I always opt for organic, fragrance-free or only scented with essential oils, like these. If you don't want to use hand sanitizer, these Handzies packs are so handy (pun intended). I carry them in my car and they are perfect for cleaning little hands, and wiping down airplane seats, trays, and messes they might make while traveling.
IMMUNITY
For Immunity, I also always bring and use these two items on the plane. Beekeeper's Natural Throat Spray and Xclear Sinus Spray, to help fight off any viruses that people may be bringing on the airplane. If you are traveling with kids, Beekeeper's makes these immunity lollipops.
I also sometimes pack extra Vitamin C and Glutathione. A lot of places, at least in San Diego, carry Cymbiotika and you can get individual packets. Shop Good, Earth Bar, and Whole Foods to name a few.
EATING OUT
If you are like me and tend to be more adventurous in your meals on vacation(hello extra dairy), I always like to have these two digestion helpers on hand. Especially for us who have food allergies, eating out always carries a risk of cross-contamination and these can lessen any reactive symptoms. I will take Digestive Enzymes before my meals. Second, I always have this Stomach Ache Ease roller-ball in my purse (whether traveling or not) for stomach aches. Lastly, I always bring activated charcoal. This is really helpful if you get hit with a stomach bug or food poisoning, it pulls the toxins right out.
STRESS
Traveling can be stressful, especially with kids, and I always make sure I have my organic CBD with me. The gummies provide almost instantaneous relief. At all times I have these calming gummies in my purse. They are non-drowsy and really help regulate my nervous system. For nighttime, I will bring these Sleep Gummies(melatonin-free) since sleeping in new places doesn't always come easy for people. For kids, I like to bring these calm + immunity gummies.
If you are traveling overnight, you can bring red light glasses to help your circadian rhythm amidst the bright blue lights of airports and airplanes.
Essential Oil Rollerballs - I mentioned I always bring the stomach ache rollerball. Plant Therapy makes other rollerballs that can help with; sleep, energy, grounding, focus, immunity, constipation, bug repellent and more. Peppermint is a great one that can help with headaches and stomach aches. They have a specific KidSafe line as well. I'm a big fan and have a handful of their rollerballs.
If you are bringing supplements to take on your trip, I love these compact supplement cases made for traveling! They keep your supplements organized, which is actually really helpful, especially when multiple supplements look the same.
HUMIDIFIER
If you are staying in a really dry area, I recommend bringing a travel humidifier. Hotel rooms are notorious for being dry and really low humidity allows viruses to spread faster and can disrupt sleep. Bringing a small portable humidifier like this can help increase the humidity to help you sleep better and avoid getting sick.
AIR PURIFIER
If you are worried about air quality where you are staying, there are small travel air purifiers. This air purifier has a true HEPA filter and has good reviews.
Beauty
It's darn near impossible to find a hotel or home that stocks its rooms with clean personal care items like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body lotion. For that reason, I like to bring my own. You can buy a small TSA-approved bottle set like this and pour in your product. For the harder-to-find travel sizes, many clean brands offer travel sizes. I've compiled a list here of brands I like that offer travel-sized skincare, haircare, body and perfume. In San Diego Shop Good has travel sets and products. Credo and Sephora do too but make sure it's marked "Clean at Sephora", even then they still allow artificial fragrance under that certification.
This is a fun luxury item, but I rarely skip a day without using my Skinny Confidential Ice Roller and Face Roller. These products help de-puff your face and stimulate lymphatic drainage. This is especially needed when traveling! The Skinny Confidential brand thinks of everything and combines the two tools into a smart small travel duo!
Dishes, Laundry, and Cleaning!
If you are going to be staying in a rental home or in an en suite hotel/condo and want to avoid entering a home with artificial fragrance attacking you from every room, here is what I recommend. Contact the host/owner ahead of time and tell them you have a real sensitivity/allergy to artificial fragrances. Request that all linens be washed in fragrance-free detergent and no dryer sheets. Ask for fragrance-free cleaning products like dish soap, and hand soap. Request that any glade plug-ins and candles be removed and put away. Most rental homes are stocked with whatever is cheapest, which means conventional cleaning products. These products, like Tide laundry and Dawn dish detergent, are filled with ingredients that are harmful to our health and always seem to contain intense artificial fragrances. Even if you don't have a sensitivity, it doesn't hurt to request it just in the name of our health. I think we should start a petition to add a "fragrance-free" option to rental homes! Until that becomes reality one day, if they aren't able to accommodate your request, BYOProducts!
Branch Basics Travel Set - Branch Basics is an effective, fragrance-free non-toxic multi-purpose cleaner. Branch Basics has this smart travel set that includes their concentrate, a spray bottle, and a foam bottle. You can use it for hand soap, dish soap, laundry, and anything that needs to be cleaned in the home.
If you are road-tripping and/or have space in your luggage, you can always bring your own sheets and towels if you are really worried about fragrance disrupting your sleep!
Snacks & Hydration
Last but not least, travel food!! I always, and I mean always, have snacks with me when I travel. I think being gluten-free has trained me to always be prepared. No one likes a hangry travel companion, just ask my husband. My travel go to's can be found on Thrive Market or at healthy grocery stores like Sprouts, Jimbos, Whole Foods etc.
-Meat Sticks
If I'm not traveling internationally, I'll pack a meal or charcuterie with fresh fruit, nuts, and a protein in a plastic travel container that I can recycle once it's empty.
If you haven't tried Thrive Market yet, here is 40% off your first order. I have saved thousands (literally) of dollars shopping for healthy food and non-toxic home products with them for years.
HYDRATION
Traveling, especially flying, can dehydrate you so I always bring minerals & electrolytes with me when I travel. My go-to brand is Quiton Minerals. Quiton normally comes in glass vials but they have these packets for traveling. I like them because they are unflavored so they don't have stevia or any sugar substitutes like almost all of the flavored electrolyte brands do. I take these daily when I travel.
Links
I have almost all the links I talked about saved here in my travel list on my Amazon shop. I also have over 30 helpful non-toxic lists for room-to-room recommendations, beauty, baby registry, first aid, and more.
What are your favorite non-toxic items to bring when you travel?? Share below!
Comments