Everyone knows the liquid rule. Almost nobody knows the tool rule, which is why the thing confiscated at security is usually not a bottle.
The liquid part, briefly
Containers of 100ml or less, in a single transparent bag of about a litre, one bag per person. The size printed on the container is what counts — a half-empty 200ml bottle is still a 200ml bottle and it is going in the bin.
This is why travel bottles exist, and why refilling them is worth the two minutes: hotel shampoo is a lottery and buying full-size at the other end defeats the point of hand luggage.
The part that catches people
Razors are where it goes wrong, and the rule is not intuitive.
A cartridge razor is fine in hand luggage. A safety razor is fine only with the blade removed — the handle is not the problem, the loose double-edge blade is, and it will be taken. If you travel with one, the blade goes in the hold or gets bought at the destination.
Nail scissors and clippers are generally allowed under about 6cm of blade, but enforcement varies by airport more than any other category on this list. An electric clipper avoids the question entirely, because there is no blade to measure.
The bag itself decides whether you lose things
Hotel and hostel bathrooms have no surface. A flat wash bag gets emptied onto a wet counter, and the small things — the clipper, the charger, the spare blade — are what get left behind.
A bag that hangs from a hook keeps everything visible and vertical. This is the single change that stops things being forgotten, and it is why they are worth more than they look.
The one hair tool that actually travels
A cordless straightener is the exception to almost everything else on this page — no cable, no adapter, heats in under a minute, and narrow plates that work on a fringe without needing a full counter. It is built to live in a bag, not sit on one.
The one thing worth its space
A mirror with its own light. Hotel bathroom lighting is almost always behind you, which puts your face in shadow in the only mirror in the room. A small lit mirror solves that and takes the space of a phone.
What we would leave at home
Full-size anything. Aerosols, which are restricted by volume and by pressure. And a hairdryer — every hotel above hostel level has one, and it is the heaviest thing people pack for no reason.
The rest is in the Bathroom.
More like this
- Grooming Tools Worth Buying Once
- Why You Look Different in Every Mirror
- Storage in a Small Flat That Is Not Just More Boxes
Common questions
What's the liquid rule for a carry-on toiletry bag?
Containers of 100ml or less, in one transparent bag of about a litre, one bag per person — the size printed on the container is what counts, so a half-empty 200ml bottle still gets binned.
Can you bring a safety razor in hand luggage?
Only with the blade removed — the handle is not the problem, the loose double-edge blade is, so it needs to travel in the hold or be bought at the destination.
Why does a hanging toiletry bag work better than a flat one?
Hotel bathrooms have no surface, so a flat bag gets emptied onto a wet counter and small things get left behind — a bag that hangs from a hook keeps everything visible and vertical.
Is it worth packing a hairdryer?
No — every hotel above hostel level already has one, and it is the heaviest thing people pack for no reason.
