Think Twice Before Putting Your Toiletries In TSA Travel Containers — Here's Why

As we enter peak summer season, eager travelers across the country are preparing to fly away on vacation. But before you pack, experts recommend you leave this one common travel item off your travel shopping list — travel-sized containers for your skin care.

Jet setters have been using TSA-approved travel containers for years to pack their favorite skin care products into their carry-on luggage while complying with the TSA 3-1-1 rule for liquids . While you may want your favorite skin care items close at hand for a relaxing vacation this summer, cosmetic chemists interviewed warn that transferring your skin care faves to new containers could be a recipe for disaster.

Skin care packaging materials are specifically chosen to interact well with the product’s formulation

Transferring a skin care product from one container to another may seem as simple as transferring food items from one container to another. However, when cosmetic chemists are developing skin care formulas, they also must carefully select and develop the right container to deliver the product.

“Many skin care products come in the packaging they do for good reason,” said Vince Spinnato , a cosmetic chemist who’s president and founder of TurnKey Beauty Inc . “Transferring [skin care] out of their original bottles and into new ones can cause some surprising drawbacks, such as product degradation, discoloration or microcontamination.”

When a skin care product is transferred into a container made of the wrong material, things can go awry.

“Silicone containers can swell with silicone-rich formulas like conditioners, plastic [containers] are often risky with organic solvents, and metal [containers] can corrode with acidic products,” said Dr. Michelle Wong ,