Hands up who’s guilty of buying products only to put them into the cupboard and forget you actually bought them. Well the good news is that contrary to what you read, they don’t go off quite as fast as you would think.

Using products that have gone bad can result in infection and cause all sorts of problems, so you need to be aware of how long they actually last. Lets face it, none of us like throwing out things we have bought and haven’t used. So here is the scoop on what’s good and what’s not.

Mascara

Best before: in my experience Mascara is the one product which doesn’t last very long at all. They go dry and flake off onto your face when they are too old. These should definitely be replaced every 3-4 months after you have opened it, this cuts down the risk of infection.

Self-tanners

Best before: this is one of the products which most of us underestimate how long it’s good for, around 4-6 months. Why such a short time? Well once you have opened them and they are exposed to air they over time loose their ability to darken the skin. So you are best to choose your self-tanner and use it all up then go and buy another.

Natural Products

Best before: 6-8 months obviously these don’t contain any preservatives so you really do need to be careful when selecting these products, they are more likely to discolour, have a strange odour or in some cases they can separate. Without preservatives they will be a breeding ground for bacteria when past their use by date.

Nail polish

Best before: around two to two and a half years. Having said that, I have nail polish that I have had for years and it’s still good. It’s also very obvious when the colour in the bottle changes and it can also separate. Give it a good shake and if this doesn’t help, then it’s time to throw it out. Do store all your nail polishes out of the sun. This definitely prolongs their life.

Moisturises/Antiaging products

Best before: anywhere for 6 months to 3 years and it will vary according to what type of product you buy. These days a lot of the antiaging products contain extras like retinol and vitamins which when exposed to light are not as effective. Also any creams packaged in a tube are much better than those in a jar, as the product has significantly less exposure to   light.

Hot tip always check for an expiration date, all product these days should carry them. If a product has been sitting on a store shelf for a long time then you are behind the eight ball before you even start. Check the dates.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Beauty, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.