8 Lightweight Gym Bag Grooming Essentials

Since you go to the gym often (or you have the best intentions of doing so), you need a thoughtfully and efficiently packed Dopp kit — one that caters to cleaning and freshening up. With these products, you can transition from morning or midday workout without having to tote your entire shower caddy, or without needing to compromise on a well-coiffed style.

So, start with a durable Dopp kit, since you’re going to get lots of miles out of it. Then stock it with the following products, most of which are also travel-friendly. You can swap out one or two based on your own grooming needs, but this list should round the bases by cleaning and hydrating everything, and it should keep the entire load light enough for daily toting (or every other day, if you aren’t exactly true to your best intentions).

The North Face Base Camp Travel Canister

Tote It: Even though you’re not hiking the Rockies or setting up a basecamp, this durable Dopp is a great holster for your gym essentials, seeing as you’re going to be toting it to and from the gym frequently. It has a hook inside so that you can hang it in your locker or even the shower, and it comes with a lifetime warranty so that you never have to purchase another kit. It’s also the Dopp that can transition between different types of events, whereas you’ll otherwise need more than one to cover the gym, vacations, outdoor activities, and the likes.

Assuming you pick and choose your essentials from this list and pack efficiently, everything should fit into the 3.5-L volume. (Otherwise you can opt for the larger 5.75-L option.) It also comes with a mirror that you can velcro to the canister, should you be away from the bathroom vanity.

Native Charcoal Deodorant Stick

Stay Fresh: While harnessing the ultra absorbent and detoxifying powers of charcoal, Native’s aluminum-free deodorant stick neutralizes odors and delivers a light, crisp citrus-and-mineral scent to mask any lingering musk. Native’s entire assortment uses clean, never-perplexing ingredients that nourish and protect the skin while fighting odor; this includes probiotics, coconut oil, shea butter, tapioca starch, and milk of magnesia.

Blind Barber Shampoo and Body wash

Scrub Down: Since lightweight is the aim here, you’ve got to consolidate some products. A 2-in-1 shampoo-body wash is one obvious opportunity. (And, it’s far superior to a 2-in-1 shampoo-conditioner, which you should never use. We digress, but opt instead for a hydrating shampoo and follow it with a conditioner. Read on.)

Blind Barber’s shampoo-body wash is sulfate-free and combats dandruff with the help of hops — cheers to that — while coconut oil nourishes skin and hair. It’s got a refreshing lemongrass tea scent to lift your spirits and comes in this travel-size container so that it fits easily in your gym bag.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Styling Treatment

Style and Condition: Another opportunity for consolidation is your hair product. Forego packing a conditioner, and instead pick a styler that doubles as a leave-in conditioner. That’s the case with Living Proof’s Perfect Hair Day assortment, and this travel-size treatment gives you protection against heat and UV rays, nourishes each strand, and adds healthy shine, all while giving you smooth, touchable style — as if you styled it with a standard hair cream.

Mr. Natty Beard Oil

Prepare for a Shave: If you’re going to shave after you work out, then do so economically by packing a shave oil in place of a larger shave cream canister. Mr. Natty’s beard oil doubles as a pre-shave and a shaving agent; just leave-in on warmed skin for a minute before introducing the razor. It’ll soften and prepare both skin and hair for a smooth, nick-free shave.

Harry’s Winston Razor

Shave Face: Stay subscribed to a razor replenishment service, like Harry’s, which will ensure you swap out your blades at healthy, hygienic intervals. Their engravable Winston razor is heavy enough with its zinc body that you get a thorough, close shave, but it’s still light enough that it glides smoothly down your jawline. Get a travel blade cover as well, to shield your razor from bacteria while still allowing it to dry. (Speaking from experience, it also shields you from hazardous accidents when reaching into your Dopp kit. So stock up, because these razors are sharp!)

Marlowe Face Moisturizer

Hydrate Skin: While we’d normally advise a separate lotion for face and body, there’s no real reason you can’t apply your facial moisturizer to your hands or any other dry patches. That’s why you should tote this lightweight (on skin, that is) moisturizer from Marlowe. They use extracts of passionflower, green tea, algae and willow bark, which work together to boost moisture, stimulate cellular repair and soothe irritation. It’s an effective aftershave agent for that same reason.

Beardbrand Utility Balm

Nourish Beard and Dry Skin: If you aren’t shaving but are instead rocking a beard — or if you need to sooth your hands after a rigorous workout — then Beardbrand’s line of utility balms are an essential pickup. They soften and tame beards on the one hand, but they also double as lightweight hair stylers, triple as dry-skin nourishers, quadruple as tattoo color protectors — the “utility” here is no understatement.

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