Should You Use Skincare Products After Expiry?

Most ladies have the habit of buying skincare products that they never get to use.

Opened or unopened, most skincare products become ineffective after a while. It doesn't matter if it has gotten to the expiry date or not.

Depending on usage, exposure to air and how potent the preservative that was used, face and eye creams without oxidants, retinoids or sunscreen can stay up to 18 months.

Creams and serums with retinoids lose their effectiveness when exposed to light and air. So, when packed in a jar, they are effective for only 1 or 2 months.

When in a dark/ opaque tube, it can stay up to 9 months. If you use them after this time, it's only good as a moisturiser as all the anti-aging properties have evaporated into the air.

Sunscreens don't last for more than a year.

Organic products are very delicate because they have weak or no preservative system and stay for just 4- 6 months.

You can tell your skincare product has gone bad

• When the colour changes

• When it smells differently

• When it separates into layers

• When the texture is different

• When black spots appear signifying mold growth.

To make your skincare products last longer

• Store away from light and heat as they prefer cool, dark places

• Note date of purchase so that you can know when to do away with it

• Use a spatula instead of fingers if in a jar as our hands might appear clean but carry lots of bacteria. That way you don't transfer bacteria into your cream that can infect your skin.

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