Make Travel Size Toiletries with a Heat Sealer

Last week, I showed you what I keep in my purse kit, and a bunch of you asked me about how I managed to seal SPF and makeup inside straws for tiny transport.

Most of the secret lies in owning a heat sealer. I own one by accident for a project I did a couple years ago, but the sucker is so damn handy that I do encourage you to get one. (Here’s a mini heat sealer for $25 on Amazon, or you can get a more versatile one for $10 more.) That’s said, if you don’t feel like buying one, you can apparently do the same thing with a lighter. I would obviously burn myself, so I’ll leave that to the pros.

Here’s how I make my own travel-sized toiletries.

YOU’LL NEED:

– a few plastic straws
– a heat sealer
– Q-Tips
– scissors
– bottles of whatever you’d like to repackage (works much better if the bottle has a small hole and is squeezable)
– a small plastic bag or extra straws

I use the plastic bag or extra straws to “clean” the sealer if product leaks onto it. I just clamp down on the plastic and most of the sunscreen or whatever lifts off with it.

OK, let’s do this! Turn your heat sealer on, then squeeze the desired amount of product into the end of the straw.

Use a Q-Tip to push the product into the straw a bit. If the head of your swab isn’t big enough, you can puff the cotton up until it is.

Place the open end of the straw in the heat sealer and press down lightly until you hear it click. Voila, sealed. Then repeat on the other side of your product, remove from sealer, and use your scissors to clip your newly sealed packet off of the straw.

I like to label mine with tape because I find that Sharpie rubs off if I try to label the actual straw. To use the packets, you just pinch one of the ends to open, like a honey stick or plastic Pixy Stick, or if it’s stubborn you can stab it with a safety pin. I keep them in a dark place, because sunlight can get through the straw and damage things like sunscreen and makeup.

It’s so easy to do, and so useful. Also, I use my heat sealer for lots of other things, mostly repackaging food into smaller portions for Hank’s lunches on the cheap. Cool, right? Low fives.

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