By Tonje Brennsaeter
If you haven’t noticed, your makeup and skincare products come with a “period after opening” mark. According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, your skin can react to ingredients in the product if it is expired.
There are many health issues you can experience if you use expired beauty or skincare products, including red or irritated skin due to the chemical changes in the composition of the product. Bacterial overgrowth can also cause severe illness, and trigger previously unknown allergies.
According to Dr. Bruce Brod, a dermatologist at Penn Medicine, to avoid health issues you shouldn’t use products if you can’t remember when you bought them, he told the New York Times.
‘Period after opening’ vs ‘expiration date’
Brilda Mcfarlane, 60, a technical support officer from London, said she keeps her makeup and skincare products for about six months.
Mcfarlane said; “When I buy products, I start using them straightaway.”
The “period after opening” stamp usually stands on the bottom of the product, with goods usually viable for six months, 12 months or 24 months. This means you should use up your product within that amount of time after opening.
Don’t confuse this stamp with the expiration date. Period after opening means “period-of-time that a product remains suitable for use after its primary container has been opened when maintained under the storage conditions indicated on its labeling”, according to the Consumer Product Testing Company.
The expiration date refers to the “shelf life of a product in its ‘unopened’ primary container when maintained under the conditions of storage indicated on the product’s label.”
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association it can be a good idea to wash your makeup brushes every 7-10 days. Bacterias in your makeup brushes could be the reason for your acne, an infection or other health issues.
Mcfarlane doesn’t wash her makeup brushes often, however she is careful with always washing them before she starts using a new product.
“I do wash my makeup brushes if I’m using a new product. I don’t see the point in washing it when I’m using the brush in the same product,” she said.
If you realise it’s about time to give your brushes a rinse, dermatologists suggest that you wash your brushes in lukewarm water and use a bit of either gentle shampoo or clarifying shampoo (only on the tips of your brushes) .
Make sure to lay your brushes on a flat surface while drying to avoid getting water into them, as this will loosen the glue that holds the bristles.
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