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Waterless Beauty: 20 TSA-Approved Products to Pack Now

Waterless Beauty: 20 TSA-Approved Products to Pack Now featured image
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We’re finally back to travel, and if you’re anything like us, all the time away has had an impact on your toiletry bag. If you’re not one for a dozen travel-sized bottles clogging up your carry-on, we’ve got you covered. Plus, waterless skin care is the more sustainable and earth-friendly option. Our editors combed this year’s skin-care essentials for the best in waterless, easy-to-travel-with skin care and beauty.

Why Waterless Beauty?

According to Precedence Research, the global waterless cosmetic market size accounted for USD 10.55 billion in 2023 and is expected to hit around USD 24.27 billion by 2032.

The environment is a huge factor behind that rise, as the World Wildlife Organization notes that ongoing climate change will lead to more water scarcity. Many clean beauty brands feel they have a particular call to action to mitigate their water-use as they strive to go greener than ever before.

With climate concerns being the major driver behind waterless beauty and cosmetics, it’s also fair to note that these formulas are stronger and tend to be longer-lasting. The high potency of waterless beauty formulas means you use way less product at a time. Plus, solid and powder formulas for makeup and skin care are TSA-approved for travel without having to worry about volume limitations.

Waterless Skin-Care Routine

Whether you’re looking to reduce your impact on our planet or just trying to make the TSA line a little more bearable, waterless skin care is the answer you’re looking for. From cleansers to serums to moisturizers, there’s no shortage of solid skin care to indulge in, significantly lightening your carry-on load.

1 / 6

DAMDAM Snow Mushroom Pore Cleanser with Exfoliating Glove ($47)

This cleanser bar uses snow mushrooms to restore your skin’s natural pH and eliminate oil and grime. Lathering easily with just the smallest amount of added water, this bar and its included plant-fiber Cloud Glove are a luxurious cleansing experience in a travel-friendly package.

BUY NOW – $47

2 / 6

Bonjout Le Balm ($120)

Powered by 68 active ingredients including hyaluronic acid and peptides, this solid serum is a highly potent formula that can be almost anything in your skin-care routine. Use it as a serum, moisturizer, skin salve, eye cream, lip balm, or mask, and take it with you anywhere in the convenient palm-sized tin.

BUY NOW – $120

3 / 6

Ethique Quench Lightweight Solid Face Moisturiser ($26)

Balancing niacinamide provides deep nourishment without leaving skin greasy or weighed down in this easy-to-apply solid roll-on. A little goes a long way, as the formula melts into skin for a quick application and powerful hydration.

BUY ON ETHIQUE – $30

BUY ON AMAZON – $26

4 / 6

Dew Mighty Bloom Jelly Serum Bar Starter Kit ($45)

A concentrated serum in a jelly solid, this vitamin C– and amino acid–powered bar is a brightening, redness-reducing skin savior. Bloom will strengthen your skin barrier with jojoba and squalane, while gardenia soothes and calms skin for a high-impact, long-lasting glow.

BUY NOW – $45

5 / 6

KORA Organics Noni Glow Face Balm ($26)

Packed with essential fatty acids, this solid moisturizing face cream is a traveler’s dream. Packaged for easy swipe-on application and safe to toss straight into your carry-on, this solid cream is powered by coconut and rose oils to deliver powerful moisture to dry and chapped skin.

BUY ON AMAZON – $26

BUY ON KORA ORGANICS – $26

6 / 6

True Botanicals Everything Rescue Balm ($38)

This multipurpose balm is perfect for use on dry skin, dry cuticles, dry or callused heels, elbows and even split ends. Powered by eucalyptus oil and shea butter, this formula is clinically proven to soothe rough and dry skin.

BUY ON TRUE BOTANICALS – $38

BUY ON NORDSTROM – $38


Body Care Without Water

What is waterless beauty without the best in body care? These are the solid balms, lotions and potions that will have your skin smooth and nourished from pre-check to landing.

7 / 11

Kitsch Solid Shave Butter Bar ($9)

Take the plastic out of your shaving experience with the nourishing shave butter bar for a smooth, hydrating shave. Applied to wet skin, this vegan formula glides on to cushion and protect skin for a close shave.

BUY ON AMAZON – $9

BUY ON ULTA – $9

8 / 11

Hanni Mini Shave Pillow Moisturizing Body Gel ($16)

This hydrating, travel-friendly gel stick preps skin for shaving while providing essential moisture. The mess-free application provides a cushion pre-shave through adaptogenic mushrooms, cactus water and glycerin.

BUY NOW – $16

9 / 11

MIRROR WATER RUB Solid Balm ($42)

A 70 percent shea butter formula delivers the ultimate nourishment with a blend of fatty acids and vitamins A, E and F. Soothing natural fragrances provide notes of vetiver, Canadian black spruce and bergamot for a ritual experience.

BUY NOW – $42

10 / 11

Éminence Organic Skin Care Camellia Glow Solid Face Oil ($84)

Soften and soothe skin with this camelia oil–powered solid face oil. This formula focuses on enhancing the skin’s ability to retain moisture revealing a glowing, supple and rejuvenated complexion.

BUY NOW – $84

11 / 11

Jones Road Hippie Stick ($32)

Build your skin’s barrier with this on-the-go balm with a buttery texture that melts into skin. Powered by sunflower seed oil, which is rich in fatty acids and vitamins, this beeswax and coconut oil formula provides luxurious and deeply nourishing moisture.

BUY NOW – $32


Waterless Hair Care for Travel

Say goodbye to hotel shampoo bottles and hello to the efficient, TSA-approved waterless hair care of the future. Sustainable, convenient and easy to transport, these water-free hair-care options provide potent, high-intensity nourishment in bar form. Shampoo, conditioners and even hair treatments can be made into solid products that save on space and on water waste.

12 / 15

Peach not Plastic Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner Bar ($15)

A 2-for-1 deal and a water-free hair routine? Look no further than Peach not Plastic, which has options from volumizing to strengthening, plus sulfate-free formulas guaranteed to leave your hair healthy and nourished.

BUY NOW – $15

13 / 15

arey WAIT A SEC Dry Shampoo ($36)

This non-aerosol formula is a volumizing and cleansing dry shampoo spray powder formulated to absorb excess oil while stimulating and preserving pigment. This dry shampoo has no white residue and leaves hair instantly refreshed.

BUY ON AMAZON – $37

BUY ON AREY – $36

14 / 15

The Crown Affair The Dry Shampoo ($42)

Give your hair the instant pick-me-up it needs with this oil-absorbing dry shampoo that won’t dry out your scalp or strands. Persimmon Powder acts as a natural deodorizer, leaving hair smelling as lovely as it feels.

BUY ON VIOLET GREY – $42

BUY ON SEPHORA – $42

crown-affair-dry-shampoo
15 / 15

Superzero Instant Shine + Anti-Frizz Serum Treatment Bar ($29)

Traveling means unfamiliar conditions, and your hair might hate that. In comes the Treatment Bar—an anti-frizz, high-shine formula to soothe your strands no matter where your are. The solid formula is high-powered and infused with vegan keratin.

BUY ON SEPHORA – $29

BUY ON AMAZON – $29


Water-Free Beauty for Travel

Perhaps one of the most important parts of traveling with beauty is streamlining. You don’t want a thousand little glass bottles rattling around in your carry-on case and you certainly don’t want to coat the inside of it with a bunch of makeup. Every misplaced cap and squeezable product becomes a potential landmine of wasted product, and the easiest way to avoid it is to reach for waterless options that are compact, mess-free and multitasking.

16 / 20

Supergoop Sunnyscreen 100% Mineral Stick SPF 50 ($24)

Baby-safe and with a new and improved vegan formula, this fragrance-free, all-mineral sunscreen is the perfect and necessary addition to any travel beauty routine. This travel-safe, mess-proof sunscreen is water-resistant for up to 80 minutes of lightweight sun protection.

BUY ON AMAZON – $24

BUY ON SUPERGOOP! – $24

17 / 20

ILIA Skin Rewind Complexion Stick ($48)

Doubling as skin care and makeup, this complexion stick gives you the best of foundation in an on-the-go formula while anti-aging ingredients work overtime to boost your skin’s glow. Blur pores, redness and texture with a natural-matte finish in one any of the 42 shades.

BUY ON ILIA – $48

BUY ON AMAZON – $48

18 / 20

Glossier Stretch Balm Concealer ($22)

This balm concealer delivers the pigment you need with the nourishment that keeps it from caking and cracking. Avocado and jojoba oils work to keep skin soft while the medium coverage pigment boosts your glow with a radiant finish.

BUY ON GLOSSIER – $22

BUY ON SEPHORA – $22

19 / 20

Dior Rosy Glow Blush ($40)

This award winning blush provides a natural, instant healthy glow with a formula that reacts to your skin, for a flush unique to you. The pressed powder formula is weightless, long-lasting color that will have you feeling radiant.

BUY ON NORDSTROM – $40

BUY ON SEPHORA – $40

20 / 20

Subtl Stak Triple Threat Stak ($36)

A travel-themed stacking collection of key makeup essentials in a compact, on-the-go packaging. Containing a blush, bronzer and highlighter, the Triple Threat Stak is a multifunctional makeup collection offering tones that can also double as eye shadows. Subtl also offers concealers, eye shadows and lip colors in the same stacking, interlocking packaging.

BUY NOW – $36

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