Let’s talk about essential oil travel tips!  After traveling with my oils and other doTERRA products for years, I’ve learned a few tricks to keep everything I need handy but still streamlined and organized.

By the way, thanks for your patience as I was out of town last week for a full seven days of essential oil education and inspiration at of doTERRA’s annual convention in Salt Lake City.  It wasn’t just any convention, it was our 10th anniversary celebration, complete with a surprise appearance by Hugh “Frankincense” Jackman!  What??

I’ll be sharing lots more about all the new oils and products in the days ahead, so be sure to follow my oils feed on Instagram and my youtube channel for all the details.

Essential Oil Travel Tips

As I unpack and settle back into “normal” life (ha), it seems like an appropriate time to talk about traveling with essential oils.  I’m excited to share these essential oil travel tips with you!

Grab & go

One of my biggest travel tips, the practice that saves me tons of time and trouble, is to keep a separate travel stash stocked at all times.

Meaning, I keep a bag of travel-sized versions of most of my toiletries.  This translates into less time spent gathering toiletries before a trip.

When it’s time to pack for a trip, all I have to do is toss in a few additional items like my glasses, hair diffuser, additional essential oils, and my Veráge hydrating serum.

When I get home, that’s the perfect time to refill or replace my empties so my travel case is ready for my next trip!

Do you do this too?

Here’s what I keep in my travel toiletry case:

See “Size down” list below for more details.

• face wash
• body soap
• shampoo
• conditioner
• hair gel
• hair spray
• body lotion
• razor
• saline solution
• contact lens case
• small toothpaste
• toothbrush
• earplugs
• small tin of hard lotion
• comb
• small mirror
• finger nail clippers (airport safe)
• small pack of q-tips
• mini vials of most-used essential oils
• small pack of bobby pins

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Divide and conquer

This is another one of my favorite essential oil travel tips!  Just like at home, it’s best to keep each oil where you plan to use it.  For this reason, I pack several different essential oil bags or cases, each bag to be kept in a specific location upon arrival.

The number of cases and locations depends on who’s coming with me and where we’re headed.  If it’s just me and I’m at a hotel, I only need the first three: bathroom, nightstand, purse.

For trips with the entire family, each kid (and husband) has their own case and we also bring a small stash for the kitchen of a rental house.

Here’s a quick list of where each separate oils case or bag goes once we’ve reached our destination:

1. bathroom: for all the oils I need to get ready in the morning and at night
2. nightstand: for all my bedtime oils
3. purse: for the oils I want to keep handy on the go
4. kids’ rooms / bathroom: each kid has their own favorites
5. kitchen: for trips to rental houses where we want a few specific oils handy in the kitchen

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Size down

Bring mini versions of all the things!  Full sized essential oil bottles and toiletries take up way to much space, add weight to your bags, and aren’t always TSA approved for carry-ons.

So shrink all your oils and toiletries into the tiniest size you can get by with for your travels.

Here’s what that looks like for me:

Check out my YouTube video to see these items in action.

• tiny vials: 5/8 dram or 1 dram
• tiny rollers: 1ml, 2 ml, or 3ml
• 10 ml rollers: I do pack a few favorite 10 ml rollers because they’re so easy to transport
• shampoo & conditioner: sample packs for short to medium hair or travel size bottles for long hair
• Veráge cleanser + hydrating serum: for my face
• baby wash, small foamer: I keep the Veráge cleanser by the sink for washing my face at night, and the baby wash in the shower for washing my face in there
• hand wash, small foamer: to avoid sketchy ingredients in hotel soaps
• toothpaste: sample sticks or small tubes (if you were fortunate to stock up, and if doTERRA decides to bring them back as a permanent product)
• hair gel: repurposed squeeze bottle of doTERRA’s hair glaze
• lotion: squeeze bottle of doTERRA’s unscented lotion or baby lotion
• small soap: travel size bar from Christmas 2017 or use a sharp knife to cut off a small piece from a regular bar

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Airport security

Technically, I should advise you to place all your carry-on oils in a quart sized plastic bag.  But practically speaking, I seldom do this and I’ve always made it through TSA security with no problem.

I often travel with my on-the-go collection of several key chain cases or walletsof sample-sized essential oils, and I rarely place them in the quart-sized bag.  I just leave the little cases in my carry-on and send the bag through security.  No one has ever said anything!

I do recommend carrying tiny bottles (see “size down” list above) and not 5 ml or 15 ml bottles.  If you have bigger bottles in your purse or carry-on, I do advise you to place those in a quart sized bag.

And by the way, Dr. Hill (doTERRA’s Chief Medical Officer) and essential oil chemist Dr. Robert Pappas have assured us that the efficacy and potency of our oils is not damaged by airport security x-rays.  Whew!

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Must-have oils for travel

This is not an exhaustive list but just a few essentials to get you started.  The following oils are what I consider to be the bare minimum for traveling.  For a more comprehensive look at the oils I love to bring along on trips, check out Must-Have Essential Oils for Travel.

• Peppermint
• Peppermint beadlets
• Wild Orange
• Purify
• On Guard (or favorite immune support oils)
• Lavender
• Correct X
• AromaTouch
• Mood blend: Balance, Peace, or custom blend

More travel tips:

• Scent your suitcase: Tuck a wool dryer ball or small clean cloth in your suitcase with a few drops of your favorite essential oil to keep everything smelling fresh.  Dryer ball tip from the “LaMayzing” Hillary LaMay.
• Bring a diffuser:  doTERRA’s AromaLite diffuser is compact and perfect for travel.  To maximize space even further, stuff the cord inside the diffuser or fill the diffuser cavity with a few bottles of essential oil.
• Drink your oils: Use a stainless steel water bottle when traveling so you can add essential oil to your drinking water without the weight of a glass bottle.  Don’t drink essential oils from a plastic water bottle.

Even more travel tips:

• Essential Oil Survival Kit for Anxious Flyers
• Must-Have Essential Oils for Travel
• Essential Oils for Road Trips
• 8 Best Paleo Travel Foods

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