English Version | Expired

09 Dec 2021
By Mariana Silva

The warning “use before” has become a sort of a navigation system helping us control the shelf life of food and medicine. What about beauty products? The face cream that we use everyday, the mascara that we can’t live without: do they also expire?

The warning “use before” has become a sort of a navigation system helping us control the shelf life of food and medicine. What about beauty products? The face cream that we use everyday, the mascara that we can’t live without: do they also expire?

Well-being, self-confidence, self-esteem… The concept of self-love is more than ever on our world’s agenda. Maybe it’s not such a bad moment to talk about the impact that the cosmetic industry has on our health. Most of the Beauty products that we use are in continuous contact with our skin and, for that reason, they deserve to be treated as carefully as the food we eat. And no, this is not another article about the importance of opting for a more natural and organic Beauty. After all, what is the point in buying products filled with green labels if we keep using them after they expire?  

It’s true, just like the food we keep on our pantry, Beauty also expires; the difference is that, with these types of products, deadlines are not followed as religiously as they should. Nonetheless, for Helena Ribeiro, coordinator of the postgraduate degree in Advanced Cosmetology at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon, expiration dates in Beauty products are essential, since they guarantee “the quality and efficacy of cosmetics” only, and we must highlight the only, “until they reach “the limit date of usage.” Establishing expiration dates is the job of the entity which sells the products, even though there are “guidelines that indicate which tests should be followed in order to calculate them.” As a matter of fact, there are several factors to be considered when defining the expiration date of a Beauty product. Helena Ribeiro raises four elements to be taken into account: the “category”, since products like perfumes can be more durable thanks to their high composition in alcohol; the “type of packaging”, like unitary packages, which have an extended shelf life than those that end up being continuously exposed to air after opening; the “area of application”, because more sensitive areas, for instance, the contour of the eyes, need more care and attention; and, lastly, the “target audience”, with products targeted to children, for exemple, also presenting reduced expiration dates, given the higher risk of this age group. 

Knowing how expiration dates are defined, we still need to understand what consumers should do with them. Generally speaking, “there are two ways to identify the durability of cosmetics”, clarifies the specialist, referring to the symbols that can be found in the packaging of Beauty products. Firstly, there is the date of minimum durability, that is the concept in the cosmetic industry closest to the common saying “expiration date”, which is represented by an hourglass symbol. According to Helena Ribeiro, the date of minimum durability “is the date that is written on the packaging and that indicates the period of time during which the product should be used.” Being that the majority of Beauty products have a shelf life bigger than 30 months, these need an additional symbol able to inform the user on the time during which the product can be used after opening. When a cosmetic product gets in contact with the air, in most cases the date of minimum durability needs to be replaced by the period after opening (PAO). The PAO is identified by the symbol of an open cosmetics pot and it corresponds to the number of months or years during which “the product can be used without any risks after being opened.” For skincare products, this period is usually between 6 and 12 months, as it’s the case for face lotions and cleansing products. In makeup, there is a bigger variation depending on the different categories. Foundations and lipsticks can have a PAO up to 24 months, while mascaras tend not to surpass 6 months. It is a matter of looking in each product, since this will be the most reliable source of information for learning the period of time during which a product can be used without any risks. 

That Beauty products have an expiration date, that is something that many of us already knew. But when the conversation becomes about how many of us actually follow those dates, that is when the story changes course. Is there any magical trick that makes it impossible to ignore the dates presented on the packaging of our products? Helena Ribeiro guarantees: “For safety reasons, consumers should follow the establish deadlines.” In every product and in every circumstances, there are no exceptions. Using an expired Beauty product can have consequences not only concerning its performance, as it can also be a risk for the health of consumers. Mainly in more sensitive areas, like around the eyes, applying expired products can cause irritation and redness, or even stimulate infections in extreme cases. As a result, and because expiration dates can be impacted by the way we store our products - according to the specialist, these must be ideally kept “at room temperature and without big light exposure” - we need to be on the look out for changes on the color and scent of cosmetics, as a way to guarantee maximum safety. 

Originally published in the Time issue of Vogue Portugal, from December/January 2021/2022. Full credits and story on the print version.

Mariana Silva By Mariana Silva

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