Your tray goes through the scanner. Then it stops. A hand reaches into your bag, pulls out the wash kit, and half of it goes straight in the bin — sun cream, muscle rub, lip balm, all gone, because none of it fit in a 100ml bottle or a clear plastic bag.
A carry-on skincare kit doesn’t have to mean rebuying half your kit at the airport shop before you’ve even boarded. Build it right and every tin, bar, and balm clears security without a second look, whatever the destination and whatever the trip.
Here’s how the 100ml rule actually works across UK and EU airports in 2026, which formats count as solid rather than liquid, and a week-long packing list ready to go in your carry-on.
The baseline hasn’t changed. Liquids, gels, and pastes over 100ml per container aren’t allowed through UK or EU airport security, and every container has to fit inside one clear resealable bag.
What has changed is the technology behind the scanner. New CT scanners produce a detailed 3D image of your bag, which means security staff can see exactly what’s in a container without opening it. Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham and London City have installed these scanners and scrapped the 100ml limit entirely — containers up to two litres now travel straight through, no bag, no decanting.
Manchester, Stansted, Luton, Glasgow and Liverpool haven’t made the switch yet. They still enforce the standard 100ml limit, and airports across the EU are just as mixed — Dublin and a handful of others have upgraded, most haven’t. Your return airport sets its own rules too, and they can change at short notice.
Flights to the US are the one exception worth remembering. Whatever scanner your UK airport has installed, US-bound routes still apply the strict 100ml limit.
For an active trip involving more than one airport, the safest move is to pack as though every leg still runs the old rule. Everything at 100ml or under means you never have to think about which terminal you’re standing in.
Security staff classify by form, not brand or bottle size. Anything that pours, spreads, or smears counts as a liquid, gel, or paste — and that includes creams and balms in tins, even though they don’t look much like a liquid.
That’s why tin size matters. Balmy Fox tins are 60g or 15g, well under the 100ml allowance, so they pass through security without a flag. The screw-top aluminium seal is doing real work here too — it won’t burst under cabin pressure or pop open loose in a rucksack, which a snap-lid plastic tub sometimes will.
The Balm Bar sits in a different category altogether. It’s a solid — no water, no liquid base — so it isn’t classed as a liquid, gel, or paste at all. It doesn’t need to go in the clear bag, it doesn’t count towards your 100ml allowance, and it never leaks. For anyone travelling with hand luggage only, it’s the simplest item in the kit to pack.
A full skincare kit for an active trip fits in a jacket pocket or a rucksack side pocket, not a wash bag of its own.
Anti-Chafe Cream goes on friction points before you move — thighs, underarms, bra lines, collar points on a pack strap. The tea tree oil base also works as a mild antiseptic, so it covers cuts and grazes too. One tin, two jobs, and one less thing to pack.
SPF 25 Mineral Sun Cream uses non-nano zinc oxide, which reflects UV rather than absorbing it. It’s marine-safe, so it won’t cause problems if your trip includes reef or lake swimming, and it’s gentle enough for kids’ skin and sensitive eyes.
Muscle Rub earns its place after a long day on the trail or the slope. Camphor, eucalyptus and menthol handle the warming and cooling, arnica does the rest. On a ski trip it doubles as a chest rub if a cold catches up with you.
SPF Lip Balm covers the one bit of skin people forget until it’s cracked and sunburnt — a 15g tin small enough to clip to a bag or drop in a jacket pocket.
The Balm Bar rounds out the kit as an all-over moisturiser for hands, face, and anywhere dry skin shows up. For anyone packing ultralight, it can stand in as the only item in the kit.
A full week of trail running, hiking, or general outdoor activity, packed entirely in hand luggage:
Five items, none of them over 60g, none of them needing a plastic bag or a second look at the tray. That’s a full week of skin protection and recovery, and it still leaves room in the liquids allowance for everything else in the wash bag.
Pack it once and you won’t be standing at the security tray working out what’s about to get binned. Browse the full travel-ready range, including the Trail and Slope kits, at balmyfox.co.uk.
