I knew that Scotland would be a different matter. My skin and hair are particular about what products I use, and my scalp especially will break out if I use a bad shampoo. A lot of hotels and hostels provide a generic body wash and shampoo, but I didn't want to trust them.
The first thing I bought was a cheap generic travel pack. I threw mine away in Scotland after emptying them (to save every ounce in Chicago), but you can usually wash them out and bring them home if you wish. The ones I bought aren't sold any more, but for now here is an equivalent pack:
Here's what I packed: One pump bottle of Nutragena T-Gel coal-tar shampoo Two regular bottles of clear laundry detergent Two of the makeup powder bottles full of toothpaste I should have packed a second bottle of shampoo (I almost ran out). If the hotel or hostel provides laundry detergent, then 2 bottles is overkill. However, you will want one for handwashing clothes, or two if the hostel washer under-soaps (like the Glasgow hostel did). A bottle of Tide stain remover or Shout wipes would have been useful