When we returned to Ireland, we moved in with my parents until we got a place of our own. It was a lovely time spending so much time with them and I took the opportunity to clear out a few cupboards (or presses as we call them in Ireland). What I found was amazing, there were products medical and cosmetics that we so old they pre-dated me! The experience and conversations inspired this blog about shelf life and expiration dates.
Shelf Life or expiration date, of a cosmetic or personal care product is a timeframe the manufactured has identified the product is at its best and suited for use. OK you may ask yourself is this not a conspiracy to get us to buy more products and to be honest I have seen products with labels they don’t need but I would still be inclined to follow as a good practice.
It can be confusing after all there are no regulations that require manufactures to print expiration dates on the labels of cosmetic products. Fortunately, behind the scene manufacturers have the responsibility to determine shelf life for products as part of their requirements to substantiate product safety. It’s not an arbitrary number but something they must be able to prove and support during a product’s development.
Depending on the product classification (e.g., Care and Styling) it will be unlikely there is an expiration date which you can take as the shelf life is three years which means the manufacturer has been able to demonstrate product stability for at least three years. Alternatively, on some products you may be able to spot another symbol call ‘period after opening’.
Period After Opening (PAO) is, the time in months when the product will remain in good condition after opening the product for the first time. A symbol of an open cream jar is usually used instead of words and the time in months can be inside the symbol or alongside it. This is one I try to keep to especially when it comes to my own eye make-up and products I am going to use on a client. It does not mean the product has ‘gone off’, it is that the product by it’s natural and usage may not perform as well or can in the case of eyes not be as ‘clean’ as when you started using it for the first time potentially increasing the risk of irritation.
Best before dates, are usually found on products that have a lifespan of less than 30 months. Sometimes it will appear as an “egg timer” symbol followed by the date, or the words, which can be abbreviated to BBE or Exp, followed by the date. There are very few cosmetics that are labelled with ‘best before’ dates because the majority of products are known to last more than 30 months.
Some products do not require any of these time labels because the product will not deteriorate in normal use. That does not mean taking out my Mum’s Pre-EU establishment can of Elnett for an updo! It does mean that aerosols, which are effectively sealed; perfumes, which have high alcohol content; or single use packs are exempt from labelling.
Use-by is not a label you will find on cosmetics these are reserved for food products that must be used by the date on the pack for health and safety reasons.
The responsibility is ours, expiration dates are simply “rules of thumb,” and that, similar to foods, a product’s quality may decline before the expiration date if the product has not been properly stored. Manufacturers do during stability testing torture test products in extreme high to low temperatures and even shaking and rough handling to try and cover most eventualities. I remember for a Packaging colleague leaving some products for two weeks, loose in the boot of my car as I travelled across Europe in Winter to see if the samples could withstand the journey and temperatures. Some did better than others and hence why a paper carton is sometimes added to a bottle not for just for marketing reasons but also for protection and insulation.
If you are creating displays do think about products sitting in a store window or your own cosmetics in a bag on the windowsill, UV exposure, warm sunny days and cool nights could deteriorate products substantially before the expiration date. On the other hand, products stored under ideal conditions may be acceptable long after the expiration date has been reached.
A few tips both professionally and privately;
- Read the instructions carefully and take note of any warnings for use
- Don’t open the product unless you are going to use them
- Use up the bits of tubes and bottles before reaching for a new one
- Tightly close lids on products when they are not in use
- Try to use products within the lifespan indicated by the Period After Opening symbol or best before date (I like to write the date of opening on the product)
- Avoid storing products in direct sunlight or near sources of heat; choose cool (not freezing) areas where possible
- Never dilute products (e.g., mixing water into you Colour Developer or into your mascara!)
- Apply products with clean hands, gloves or an applicator to avoid contamination
- Keep equipment clean and thoroughly wash applicators & dispensers thoroughly with soap, detergent or a mild shampoo then allow to dry completely before use
- When in doubt, throw it out!
Final advice; don’t go clearing out everything in your cupboard, unless you have something in there that should be in a museum. Do try to use up older products before continuing or starting new ones.
Caroline
