Can you bring deodorant on a plane?

Deodorant on flights in and from Japan

On a domestic flight only the quantity limits apply. On an international flight the liquid rule comes on top.

Domestic flights in Japan

The 100ml liquid limit does not apply.

International flights from Japan

Each container 100ml or less, all of them inside one transparent re-sealable bag of 1 litre or less, one bag per person.

Deodorant by form: spray can, liquid, gel, stick and powder

The answer for deodorant changes with the form it comes in, and the lists name the forms one by one.

For the body, for clothes, for the room

Japan's main list puts antiperspirant, refreshing and cooling sprays, including those for clothing, in its cosmetics table, next to fragrance and deodorising sprays for the body, clothing and rooms. On international flights the Japanese liquids list is narrower: it lets only spray cans put straight on the skin into the cabin, such as antiperspirant, cooling and body deodorant sprays, so a can for clothes or rooms goes in checked baggage. CASA gives room deodorant as an example of household aerosols with a flammable gas label, which are not permitted.

Gel and liquid are named, a solid stick is not

Besides sprays, the Japanese liquids list names antiperspirant gels, in a row shared with hair gels. A solid stick has no row, and the opening note limits the restriction to liquids, gels, aerosols and things that lose their form outside the container. The TSA makes the split explicit with separate entries: Deodorant (aerosol) and Deodorant (liquid) at 3.4oz/100 ml, and Deodorant (Solid) with no limit stated.

Powder deodorant on flights from Australia

Australia screens powder as a separate class. Its security page gives some powdered deodorant as an example of an inorganic powder, and on international flights caps those at 350 mL or 350 g per container and at the same amount per person overall. Powders may be asked for separately at the checkpoint, and they do not need to go in the re-sealable bag.

Spray cans in a suitcase, and the crew

Narita Airport's FAQ takes the suitcase question head on: an antiperspirant spray meant for the skin may be packed in checked baggage. Taiwan's CAA and Hong Kong's CAD add a line about the people on board: whatever gas a toiletry aerosol lets out must not cause crew members such extreme annoyance or discomfort that they cannot do their duties.

Deodorant: the rule country by country

The carry-on answer for deodorant is the same in all 7 other places we checked. The limits themselves are not identical, so read the row for the country you fly from.

Each row comes from that authority's own page. Airlines can be stricter, and the screening officer has the final say.

If security in Japan will not let deodorant through

What to do

Move deodorant to the bag you check in before you reach security, within the checked-baggage limits above. Narita Airport states that anything given up at the checkpoint is discarded and cannot be returned.

Buying deodorant in Japan

Where to buy

Drugstores.

Related items

• Sunscreen (cream and lotion)
• Sunscreen spray
• Toner and lotion
• Make-up (foundation, lipstick)
• Face wash
• Perfume and cologne