topic Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products. in Beauty

Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

fritzee — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 19:32:34 GMT

Seems like whenever I buy beauty products anymore it is in sets or duos. The rep always says 2 year shelf life or three year shelf life. There is also the jar icon on the back for "once it is opened shelf life. Recently found some unopened product which is probably in the unopend category. My question to you all is whether the clock starts when I open this product or when I purchased it.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

PhilaLady1 — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 19:47:20 GMT

Generally, for most products, I usually go by 3 years closed, 6 months open.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

Katcat1 — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 20:08:54 GMT

I believe when you open it is when the clock starts ticking. It is when the air hits it for first time. You can usually tell when you open something by smell if it is good. I don't see how it can rot when never opened.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

SilleeMee — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 20:42:03 GMT

I think it's confusing about the unopened shelf life because I don't know for sure exactly what date it was manufactured (production date). So my best guesstimate would have to rely on the purchase date, assuming that the product I got is fairly fresh, and use my purchase date as the start date.

I don't know how else to determine this without calling the manufacturer or go to checkcosmetic dot net and see if your product is listed there by code number for expiration dates. Checkcosmetic dot net has a tab for FAQs...good info there.

For opened products just go by what the packaging states.

This diagram explains it...sort of

The '18M' designates number of months your product is good for after it's opened. That little opened jar is what you see on the product itself.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

Drythe — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 20:24:46 GMT

@fritzee wrote:
Seems like whenever I buy beauty products anymore it is in sets or duos. The rep always says 2 year shelf life or three year shelf life. There is also the jar icon on the back for "once it is opened shelf life. Recently found some unopened product which is probably in the unopend category. My question to you all is whether the clock starts when I open this product or when I purchased it.

@fritzee

There was recently a clip about this on NPR, if the little jar has it’s lid up, (open) the number on it means good for that number of months after opening. Who knew? Well I’m sure some did, but not me. 😊

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

x Hedge — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 20:35:53 GMT

@fritzee

The clock starts ticking when the product is opened by the consumer.

Here's some PAO info:

Figuring out when you should throw away your beauty products is simple: Look at the packaging.

There's a tiny symbol on the label that most people don't even notice, which tells you how long your products will last after you've opened them.

Look out for the open cream jar icon, known as the PAO (or "Period After Opening") symbol, which includes the number of months a product is safe to use after it has been unsealed.

The PAO was introduced on cosmetics labels in 2005 by the European Commission, which requires all cosmetic products with a shelf life of 30 months or more to feature the symbol. Products that have a shorter shelf life than 30 months must include the minimum shelf life or best before date on the label.

While the US currently doesn't require cosmetics to have an expiration date by law, the U.S.Food and Drug Administration holds manufacturers responsible for ensuring their products are safe to use — and determining the shelf life of a product is considered part of their duty to consumers.

That's why, when you look through your makeup bag, you're likely to find the symbol on nearly all of your beauty products.

The shelf life varies depending on the type of beauty product.
Products for the face like primer, foundation, and blush will typically last for up to 24 months after they've been opened.
Lip products should be thrown away sooner.
And mascara should be replaced even more regularly.

In addition to your makeup, you'll find the symbol on your skin care products.

The period-after-opening symbol or PAO symbol is a graphic symbol that identifies the useful lifetime of a cosmetic product after its package has been opened for the first time. It depicts an open cosmetics pot and is used together with a written number of months or years.

PAO Symbol Looks like this:

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

Kachina624 — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 23:44:42 GMT

I wonder what happens if you use it once the shelf life has expired? You turn into an old hag?

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

blackhole99 — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 23:53:10 GMT

The unopened skin care product will no doubt not go bad after 3 years, but it will not be as effective IMO. I inherited unopened philosophy and Dr. Denese, it wasn't bad smelling, but you could tell the product was deteriorating.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

sueinsf — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 00:28:05 GMT

@x Hedge wrote:
@fritzee
The clock starts ticking when the product is opened by the consumer.

The shelf life varies depending on the type of beauty product.
Products for the face like primer, foundation, and blush will typically last for up to 24 months after they've been opened.
Lip products should be thrown away sooner.
And mascara should be replaced even more regularly.
In addition to your makeup, you'll find the symbol on your skin care products.

The period-after-opening symbol or PAO symbol is a graphic symbol that identifies the useful lifetime of a cosmetic product after its package has been opened for the first time. It depicts an open cosmetics pot and is used together with a written number of months or years.

PAO Symbol Looks like this:

This is good info. I know oftentimes you hear hosts/vendors say 2-3 years unopened, 1 year opened, but I think it depends on the product, ingredients and even brand. And I've kept things way longer then this time frame and the products have seemed fine (although yes an older product might not be quite as effective as a fresh one).

For example, I have some Laura Geller powder blushes open way more than 2 years and they are perfectly fine. I have Perlier bath and body products way more than 3 years unopened and they are fine when I open and I've opened some older WEN and found them fine too. Clearly, if you open something and it doesn't look right or doesn't smell right then it should probably be tossed.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

TY — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 00:36:14 GMT

I also look at CheckFresh.com to see if I can find out how old an item is, i.e. when it was produced by looking at the batch code number if it has one. Not all cosmetics will be represented on CheckFresh's website but most major brands will likely be there. If I buy an Estee Lauder owned brand like Clinique from the store like a sunscreen, the production date will be exactly 3 years prior to the expiration date of the sunscreen.

I just got a mini chubby lip crayon set by Clinique as a Christmas present and the coffret was made for Christmas. I looked at CheckFresh after finding the batch code on the package and they were manufactured in June 2018.

One thing you can do going forward is to inventory your skincare and makeup items so you know when you bought or acquired them so you can use up your oldest items first. If in doubt about an item - has it turned rancid, has it separated, has it gone bad, then I would toss it out.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

suzyQ3 — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 00:58:48 GMT

For repeat items, I mark them with the date of purchase; then when I open one, I mark it with that date as well.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

SilleeMee — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 01:00:37 GMT

@suzyQ3 wrote:
For repeat items, I mark them with the date of purchase; then when I open one, I mark it with that date as well.

I do the same @suzyQ3

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

JustJazzmom — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 18:17:13 GMT

For repeat items, I mark with date of manufacture so I take the oldest item first. Then when I open it, I mark with date put into use, similar to what @SilleeMee & @suzyQ3 do.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

SilleeMee — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 18:21:47 GMT

Sometimes it's hard to find the dates for when stuff is made. So I just put the ones most recently bought in the back....'rotate stock'. @JustJazzmom

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

suzyQ3 — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 19:17:08 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
Sometimes it's hard to find the dates for when stuff is made. So I just put the ones most recently bought in the back....'rotate stock'. @JustJazzmom

@SilleeMee, with maybe one exception, my basic skin products do not include the manufacter's date. And they aren't ones that would show up on checkfresh or any such site.

Re: Shelf Lfe of Unopened Products.

CelticCrafter — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 22:40:35 GMT

I never knew what that little jar meant!