There’s a Secret Number in Beauty Products that You Have to Know

Last Updated on 2022-07-24 , 6:45 pm

If you use beauty products at all, you really need to check this out.

We often forget the fact these products are not made to last forever. That’s right: there’s an expiry date.

While you might not want to pay attention to the expiry date (because these babies are so damn expensive), using expired products can have some really bad implications.

There’s a secret number in beauty products – the expiry date, and you have to know that!

You know how sometimes your skin itches or you develop acne and rashes after using your makeup or facial moisturizer – even if it is your everyday product that you’ve used for a long time?

If it isn’t the result of using the wrong type of product for your skin, it can only mean one thing: the product’s shelf life is up.

Expired makeup and facial products can cause some rather serious issues, such as giving your face a massive outbreak, or even bacteria infections. If you’ve got bad eye infections before, you should start paying attention to the expiry dates.

Also, expired products would not work effectively as well, hence resulting in your sunburns even when after using that SPF 60 sunscreen.

So, how do you check the “expiry date” of these expensive babies?

The little symbol and number

The little jar and number symbol situated on the back of the bottom of your products represent the duration of effectiveness – ONCE IT’S OPEN.

If the number stated says “9M,” it means that your product will expire in 9 months from the day you open it and start using it.

And that is the reason retail staff only allow you to use testers. But there’s a downside if you purchase your makeup items in stores such as Sephora since they will open your products for you to check even if you’re not planning to use them right now.

And remember, once these products are opened from their packages, the clock is running.

Every beauty product should have the jar and number

If you’ve been analysing your beauty products and see that there’s no such number, it’s probably because the symbol and number might have been on the plastic wrappers or box packages that you have tossed away.

If you’re still uncertain if you should toss that long-ago-expired lipstick, you need to think again.

Even though it may still look brand new and smell odourless, consider this: You consistently put bacteria from your lips to your lipstick, and bacteria continue growing inside that tube. You then redeposit it back onto your lips. The same applies to your dried out mascara.

Do you realize how gross that sounded?

The easiest way to make sure you don’t use expired products

Write the date on the tube or jar lid of your product when you open a new one (or the moment you buy it if you have opened it to test it in the shop) so that you know clearly when it expires.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll definitely start doing this from now on because I just realized how freaky the bacteria part sounded.

What you can do for your existing products

If you have a bunch of existing makeup that you don’t know the expiry dates, fret not. While most of us can’t remember when exactly they were purchased after tossing out that box package or plastic wrapper, there is still something you can do to determine if your products are expired or expiring soon.

You could refer to the sample guide above to check if your makeup items are still in good condition. It might not be totally accurate but you know, you can’t use that 2-year-old mascara anymore because it’s been so way too long past that due date in the guide.

We’re sure you can roughly come up with your purchasing date – either a storewide sale that made you shop till you dropped or a gift during Christmas.

And oh, you’re welcome.