We all want our skincare and make up to stay fresh, effective and safe to use. But how often do you actually check when a product was opened, whether it is still in date, or how clean your favourite face cream or mascara really is?
This is particularly important when using natural skincare and make up, where formulas may have shorter shelf lives and can be more sensitive to heat, light, air and contamination.
At Blomma Beauty, we believe there is something rather lovely about using skincare while it is fresh. So, as well as choosing brands and products carefully, we think it is important to understand how to look after your beauty products once they arrive in your bathroom cabinet. Read on for our top tips!
Is your skincare still in date?
There are two important symbols to look for on your skincare and make up packaging: Best Before End and Period After Opening (PAO).
What does Best Before End mean?
The Best Before End (BBE) date tells you how long a cosmetic product should remain safe and perform as intended when stored correctly.
Look for the little hourglass symbol or words such as “Best used before the end of”, followed by a date. Products with a durability of 30 months or less generally need to display a best-before date.
What does the open jar symbol mean?
If you see a little open jar symbol, this is the Period After Opening (PAO).
You might see 6M, 12M, 18M or 24M inside the symbol. The number tells you how many months the product is intended to remain safe to use after you first open it.
For example, a jar marked 12M should ideally be used within 12 months of opening.
This is particularly useful for products with a shelf life of more than 30 months, where a traditional best-before date isn't necessarily required.
Top tip: When you open a new product, make a little note of the date somewhere – on your phone, in your bathroom cabinet or even on a small sticker on the packaging. It makes remembering your PAO date much easier.
Which is more important PAO or BBE?
It's important to know which date to follow when using your skincare and makeup safely.
Once you open your cosmetics, the PAO kicks in so no matter how far into the future the expiry date is, you'll need to use the product within the time stated on the PAO.
The exception to this is if you are opening your product for the first time and the product is near expiry. For example, your product has 3 months to go before it expires but a period after opening of 6 months, you could still only use that product for 3 months before it becomes compromised.
Why freshness matters to us at Blomma
One of the things we love about natural skincare is that it doesn't have to sit on a shelf for years. We visit big beauty stores in the UK and see products with really long shelf lives. This makes us think that we don't know how long it's been sitting there, or indeed, how long it's been sitting in a warehouse prior to that. And then, it makes us question what ingredients are being put in there that is something we put on a living, breathing organ like our skin to take care of it.
With this in mind, we carefully select the brands we stock and pay attention to product freshness and stock rotation. We don't want beautiful botanical skincare sitting around for months and months before it reaches you. If something is reaching the end of its life, you'll find it in our bargain box at the studio.
Many natural products are made with ingredients such as plant oils, butters, botanical extracts and essential oils. These ingredients can be susceptible to oxidation and changes in quality over time, particularly when exposed to air, heat and light.
That is why freshness, storage and stock rotation matter.
And there is another reason we like shorter shelf-life products: they encourage us to think about skincare as something to use and enjoy, rather than something to collect and leave unopened in the bathroom cupboard.
Does a shorter shelf life mean a product is better?
Not necessarily, but we do believe there are benefits to choosing fresh, well-formulated natural skincare.
Natural skincare doesn't automatically mean preservative-free, and preservatives aren't inherently bad. Preservatives can play an important role in protecting water-based cosmetics from microbial contamination and extending their safe shelf life.
Our preference is to choose products where the whole formulation makes sense: carefully selected ingredients, appropriate preservation where needed, suitable packaging and a shelf life that reflects the nature of the formula.
For us, a shorter shelf life isn't something to be afraid of. In fact, we see it as an opportunity to use your products while the ingredients are fresh and at their best. This makes it a more sustainable choice too, because we are motivated to have fewer products and use them all up.
Of course, the most important thing is that a cosmetic product has been properly formulated, safety assessed and manufactured according to appropriate standards.
Sustainable packaging vs hygiene: can we have both?
This is something we think about a lot.
We love refillable, recyclable and minimal packaging but packaging also has an important job to do. It needs to protect the formula from contamination, air, light and moisture.
A beautiful glass jar may be easy to recycle or reuse, but repeatedly dipping your fingers into an open jar, or refilling it when it's not been properly sanitised can introduce bacteria, water and other contaminants into the product.
That's why airless pumps, tubes and pump dispensers can be a great option for certain formulations. They can help minimise contact between the product and your hands while also protecting the contents from unnecessary exposure.
There isn't always a perfect answer. We believe the best approach is to consider the whole lifecycle of the product; the ingredients, formulation, packaging, how it is used and how easily the packaging can ultimately be recycled or reused.
How to keep your skincare fresh and hygienic
Once your products are home, a little care can make a big difference.
1. Wash and dry your hands before applying skincare
It sounds obvious, but clean hands are one of the simplest ways to prevent unnecessary contamination. Wash and dry your hands before dipping into creams, balms or masks.
2. Don't add water to your products
Avoid using wet fingers or adding water directly into a cream, scrub or powder product. Water can introduce microorganisms and alter the carefully balanced formulation.
3. Use a spatula where appropriate
For products in open pots, a clean spatula can be preferable to repeatedly putting your fingers into the product. Wash and dry reusable spatulas thoroughly between uses.
4. Keep the lid tightly closed
Air, moisture and light can all affect certain cosmetic formulations. Close jars, bottles and tubes properly after every use.
5. Store products somewhere cool and dry
Your bathroom may seem like the obvious place for skincare, but the combination of heat, humidity and temperature fluctuations isn't ideal for every product.
Keep skincare away from radiators, direct sunlight and particularly hot or steamy areas. Always follow any specific storage instructions on the packaging.
6. Keep your make up and brushes clean
Make up palettes and brushes collect oil, product residue, dead skin cells and bacteria. Give frequently used brushes a regular clean with a suitable brush cleanser or gentle soap, and allow them to dry completely before using them again. And freshen up lipsticks and pressed powders by scraping them to reveal fresh product every once in a while.
7. Don't share make up
Sharing mascara, eyeliner, lip products and other cosmetics can transfer bacteria and other microorganisms between people. Keep your personal make up personal, particularly products used around the eyes.
8. Be especially careful with eye make up
Mascara and liquid eyeliner deserve particular attention because they are used so close to the eyes and are repeatedly exposed to air and contact with lashes or skin.
Don't pump your mascara wand repeatedly in and out of the tube, as this pushes more air into the product which can oxidise it. And if the product has reached its PAO or has changed in smell, texture or appearance, it's time to replace it. Generally its recommended to replace your mascara every 3 months.
9. Don't keep products you no longer use
We've all been guilty of keeping that beautiful lipstick or face cream just in case.
But if you haven't used something for months, check its PAO or best-before date. If you're unlikely to use it before it expires, consider whether it is time to let it go.
Buying fewer products and using them up before buying more is one of the easiest ways to reduce beauty waste.
10. Keep your containers, bags and drawers clean
The Sun newspaper quoted our founder Karen's advice about how to keep your beauty products clean and hygienic.
Karen said: "There’s also no point in putting all that effort into weekly and monthly cleaning to put your products away in a grubby make up bag.
"Buy one that can be wiped clean or put in the washing machine and give your whole make up bag a regular cleaning overhaul, so it stays fresh and bacteria free"
This goes for your bathroom drawers and dressing tables too. Keeping the environment around your products clean is just as important at the tools and products themselves.
How do you know when a beauty product has gone off?
Dates and symbols aren't the only things to look for.
If your skincare or make up has developed a strange or rancid smell, changed colour, separated unexpectedly, developed mould, changed dramatically in texture or feels different on your skin, stop using it.
Don't try to rescue a product simply because the date on the packaging hasn't passed. The way a product has been stored and handled can affect its condition too.
And remember: if something doesn't look, smell or feel right, it's better not to take the risk.
Our simple beauty hygiene checklist
- Check the Best Before or PAO symbol
- Make a note of when you open products
- Wash your hands before applying skincare
- Keep water out of your products
- Close lids and caps properly
- Store products away from heat and direct sunlight
- Clean make up brushes regularly
- Don't share eye make up
- Look, smell and feel your products before using them
- Use products up before buying more
Fresh skincare is happy skincare
Looking after your skincare doesn't need to be complicated. A few simple habits can help your products stay fresh, hygienic and enjoyable to use for as long as they are intended to last.
At Blomma Beauty, we're big believers in buying thoughtfully, choosing well-formulated products and using them while they're fresh. We'd rather help you find a handful of products that you genuinely love and use to the last drop than have a bathroom cabinet full of half-used skincare. If you need help spring cleaning your skincare or makeup bag, why not book one of our consultations so we can help.