air travel and carry on toiletries (the 3oz max rule)
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » EDS Lounge

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 3:39 am

The TSA has a 3oz maximum amount per bottle of liquid and each passenger is limited to ONE quart size zip lock bag to hold them. (What if I don't have enough room in one bag?! Embarassed

)

After inspecting my bathroom cabinets I realized I have to prepare and/or buy a lot of travel sizes of everything I want to take (mostly a hassle with my skincare items since I have travel sizes of mostly every thing else like shampoo and lotion etc). I ALWAYS carry on my essentials including my makeup- I've had my checked luggage lost TOO many times.

Do you think if I have something that is 3.4 oz, they will allow it? Also, for my saline solution for my contacts I buy a 3 pack of 4 oz bottles that are preservative free. That's 4 oz- the smallest saline solution container they make. I also use Clear Care to clean my contacts over night (the solution where you fill up a cylindrical container with the Clear Care solution, place each lens in a "cage" and the neutralizing disc cleans and disinfects the lenses). I think I have seen travel sizes but I can't remember where and all I can think of is the hassle of hunting down a store that sells the travel size. But that's 4 oz too!

Does anyone have experience with traveling with saline and other contact solutions? Is it considered for medical uses so it's okay to carry on the 4oz sizes?

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 6:42 am

They can be very strict, amnis. I'd check with your airline beforehand, to make sure.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 6:51 am

I'd love to know the answer to this as I wear gas permeable lenses and the only size of solution I can find is 120ml (about 4 oz) - as it's not a huge bottle anyway they don't seem to do smaller travel sizes.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 6:59 am

OMG Amnis, you and I use the exact same contact lense products! The first time DH saw that strange cylindrical case he said to me "Liz, what manner of space ship is this???" Anyway, I wish I had some good news for you, but I don't. The last time I traveled by air I had no choice but to pack both my saline and my Clear Care in my luggage, which the airline promptly lost. Luckily, it turned up and they promised they would be able to deliver it to my hotel that very night. My low-maintenance DH just went to sleep, but I sat up waiting because I can't ABIDE sleeping in my contacts. I waited and waited.... finally, at 3 or so in the morning, I threw in the towel and went to sleep. At around 6 AM, our luggage was delivered, but as you know our lenses have to soak for AT least 6 hours or you can't put them in your eyes. (I don't know about you, but I tried to do it ONCE before the time was up and it was one of the most painful experiences of my life.) So, since I didn't have time to soak my lenses I just tossed them and put in a new pair. What a pain! I hope you have better luck than I did!!!

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:13 am

I travel a LOT - here's my $.02...

There is no uniform answer, because every TSA official is different in what they notice, look for, how picky they decide to be, etc. But they can and will confiscate sizes over 3 oz., despite how full the container is, etc. BUT, there is a special rule for saline solution and other "essentials" (check the TSA website) - you are allowed larger sizes, that do not have to be in your ziploc baggie, if you declare them to the TSA officer when you arrive at the checkpoint.

Now, it is important to keep in mind that you could encounter a TSA officer who doesn't know the rules (common) and tells you that your container is too large, everything must be 3 oz. That's why I print out and highlight the most recent copy of the rules from the TSA website before traveling. If I encounter any problems, I whip out my printout and politely ask for a supervisor.

In my experience, now that they have this stupid baggie rule, they are much less strict about checking other parts of your bag. I have on several occasions left lip glosses, etc. in my purse which have not been found.

Also, several women posted on flyertalk.com right after the rules took effect that they had products that they had decanted into smaller, unmarked bottles confiscated, and were told that all products had to be in their original marked containers. This is not correct, but I try to empty out existing travel-size containers and fill them with my products to avoid any problems. That said, I do have a few items in unmarked containers (clearly smaller than 3 oz.) and have not had a problem.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:39 am

Following along with hlg22's experience, I've never had a problem with any liquid I've considered to be medically-related so long as I've kept it in a bag separate from my toiletries bag and declared it to the TSA officer. So, in other words, I lay down two clear bags to go through the scanner, one with my toiletries, and the other with my "medicine," which includes my eye drops. I make sure there's aspirin and bandaids in the "medicine" bag to make sure they get the distinction. I also keep the TSA regs handy but never needed to show them.

As for liquid cosmetics, like gloss, I've never declared them and they've passed through the scanner in my carry-on bag without a hitch.

My experience is based 3 or 4 different airports since the "rules" came down.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 8:47 am

I myself am traveling tomorrow and have spent the past two to three weeks collecting sample containers for all my toiletries.

They will NOT allow stuff over 3 oz (with a few exceptions)...you'll have to dump it in the trash. Doing what LandB said will most likely vary between airports. A friend of mine traveled last week, did something similar and they forced her to choose which bag she wanted (she had contact solution and something else, can't remember what it was, I think it was witch hazel...) AND they caught her with her lip gloss and mascaras in her pencil case (she's a graduate student traveling for a conference) and she had to throw those out because they wouldn't fit in her bag.

I'm only gone 10 days, so my sample sizes will get me through (I've used two sample containers for some stuff I use a lot of, like moisturizer.)

It's all in what you want to risk I guess. I'm torn on whether or not I should carry on a makeup palette (which has lipsticks in it, but they are in "palette" form, if that makes sense) and other non-liquid makeup, just because I don't want them to freak out on me and throw it out.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 9:04 am

ParisTroika wrote:

Doing what LandB said will most likely vary between airports. A friend of mine traveled last week, did something similar and they forced her to choose which bag she wanted (she had contact solution and something else, can't remember what it was, I think it was witch hazel...) AND they caught her with her lip gloss and mascaras in her pencil case (she's a graduate student traveling for a conference) and she had to throw those out because they wouldn't fit in her bag.

The important distinction is saline solution vs. other cosmetic or toiletries items - over 3 oz. of saline solution is explicitly allowed by the TSA, provided you declare it.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 9:10 am

Yeah...I think the fact that it appeared she "split" her toiletries bag into two was the culprit.
She should have made an argument for the medicinal uses of witch hazel rather than just "toner." Laughing

ETA: Some of the TSA employees can be hard a**es too...I've had run-ins before with very stubborn people. The key is to arrive early enough that you have time to challenge whether or not they know what they are doing (i.e. by bringing a TSA print-out from the web)...so you aren't caught at security when your flight is boarding. I've done this before!!! Oy.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 9:25 am

ParisTroika wrote:

She should have made an argument for the medicinal uses of witch hazel rather than just "toner." Laughing

Good luck explaining that to a stony-faced TSA guy!!

Quote:

ETA: Some of the TSA employees can be hard a**es too...I've had run-ins before with very stubborn people. The key is to arrive early enough that you have time to challenge whether or not they know what they are doing (i.e. by bringing a TSA print-out from the web)...so you aren't caught at security when your flight is boarding. I've done this before!!! Oy.

Not to go too OT, but I completely agree that the passenger treatment skills are often sorely lacking - if you look at the Travel Safety & Security forum on www.flyertalk.com, you will see lots of horror stories about the nasty (and often flat-out wrong) TSA agents people have encountered. I think a teeny bit of power can quickly go to the head of some. When I last flew over Thanksgiving, there was a young Japanese girl who went through security before me at Dulles. She was traveling alone and obviously didn't speak much English. The scanner agent screamed (and I mean SCREAMED) at her for not taking her jacket off before going through the detector, and not taking her laptop out of its case and putting it in a separate bin. Then, the agent literally THREW the laptop in a bin. I felt so sorry for that poor girl - if I hadn't been running late, I would have complained.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 10:23 am

I didn't realise they still had these carry-on restrictions in force in the States. No such problems at Asian airports, however my GHD hair iron was recently removed from my luggage and brandished about like it was a deadly weapon Laughing

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 1:38 pm

manslayerliz wrote:

OMG Amnis, you and I use the exact same contact lense products! The first time DH saw that strange cylindrical case he said to me "Liz, what manner of space ship is this???" Anyway, I wish I had some good news for you, but I don't. The last time I traveled by air I had no choice but to pack both my saline and my Clear Care in my luggage, which the airline promptly lost. Luckily, it turned up and they promised they would be able to deliver it to my hotel that very night. My low-maintenance DH just went to sleep, but I sat up waiting because I can't ABIDE sleeping in my contacts. I waited and waited.... finally, at 3 or so in the morning, I threw in the towel and went to sleep. At around 6 AM, our luggage was delivered, but as you know our lenses have to soak for AT least 6 hours or you can't put them in your eyes. (I don't know about you, but I tried to do it ONCE before the time was up and it was one of the most painful experiences of my life.) So, since I didn't have time to soak my lenses I just tossed them and put in a new pair. What a pain! I hope you have better luck than I did!!!

I totally know what you mean when the lenses don't soak for a min of 6 hours. Been there, done that and it ain't pleasant!

One late night in college in my exhausted state (I hadn't slept much in days due to studying etc) I only had a couple of hours before I had to awake the next morning. Therefore, knowing very well that I didn't have enough time to soak the lenses the proper length of time, I placed them in saline solution in a normal lens case. Imagine my shock when I placed a lens in my eye only to realize I had mixed up my bottles of contact soln and actually placed my lenses in the CLEAR CARE soln the night before! Shock

You'd think I would have noticed the RED TIP- HELLO! My eye was so blood shot and irritated for the rest of the day! Ouch! I was cursing myself for forgetting my glasses at home (I was at my boyfriend's and on campus all day the day before so didn't get a chance to go home). Had I have had my glasses I would have taken out my contacts earlier the night before thus allowing them sufficient time to soak the min 6 hours in the correct contact lens case and soln!

Sometimes at night my cat will sit on the bathroom counter and listen to the bubbling, fizzing sound my contacts case makes as it goes to work on the lenses. Since I keep the case in my medicine cabinet she can't see it so it drives her crazy wondering what and where the noise is coming from. She is finally satisfied after I show her what is making the noise. Smile

I know she recognizes the noise now so it has become sort of a little game where she acts all worried and I show her the case.

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 1:48 pm

That's a good idea to print out the rules just in case.

hlg22- that poor Japanese girl! Poor thing! I can just imagine how she felt.

I think just to be sure I don't arrive to my destination empty handed b/c something gets confiscated I might take what I plan to carry on/declare and show it to the TSA officer and see what they say about it BEFORE I check my luggage. Therefore if they have any objections, I can throw it in my checked luggage and pray that it doesn't get lost by the airlines. That means getting to the airport even earlier than I plan to. Rolling Eyes

I don't know, I'll see. I'll just try to be as prepared as possible so I will visit the TSA website and read through it more thoroughly. I guess I'm just worried about my spray deodorant which is 3.4 oz...

Thanks for all your advice!

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 5:59 pm

This is quoted from the TSA website (www.tsa.gov). Hope this helps to clarify...

"We are continuing to permit prescription liquid medications and other liquids needed by persons with disabilities and medical conditions. This includes:

* All prescription and over-the-counter medications (liquids, gels, and aerosols) including KY jelly, eye drops, and saline solution for medical purposes;
* Liquids including water, juice, or liquid nutrition or gels for passengers with a disability or medical condition;
* Life-support and life-sustaining liquids such as bone marrow, blood products, and transplant organs;
* Items used to augment the body for medical or cosmetic reasons such as mastectomy products, prosthetic breasts, bras or shells containing gels, saline solution, or other liquids; and,
* Gels or frozen liquids needed to cool disability or medically related items used by persons with disabilities or medical conditions.

However, if the liquid medications are in volumes larger than 3 ozs each, they may not be placed in the quart-size bag and must be declared to a Transportation Security Officer. A declaration can be made verbally, in writing, or by a person’s companion, caregiver, interpreter, or family member."

see the entire webpage here: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/index.shtm

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 6:27 pm

oops, forgot to ad a link FYI to the entire list of Permitted and Prphibited items:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm#1

free skin care · Tue Dec 19, 2006 9:26 pm

I just traveled from Charlotte to Denver round trip lasy week. I had lotion, lipstick, etc in my handbag, and it was not in a baggie. It wasn't even an issue. No one questioned it, and my bag went through the machine right behind my shoes and coat. I guess I just got lucky!

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.