What should I do if my cosmetics are expired? How to calculate the shelf life of cosmetics?

The characteristics of girl makeup should be natural, giving people a sense of youth and vitality without modification. Because the skin of girls is delicate, tender, elastic and shiny, it is better to highlight the cheeks and lips when applying makeup, and it is not advisable to draw eyebrows, apply eye shadow and exaggerated foundation. In terms of technique, it should be light and natural, and avoid heavy makeup, which will lose the natural beauty. So what should I do if the cosmetics expire? How to calculate the shelf life of cosmetics? Let's take a look at the introduction of Encyclopedia Knowledge Network below!

Contents of this article

1. What to do if cosmetics expire

2. How to calculate the shelf life of cosmetics

3. How to store cosmetics

What to do if cosmetics expire

1. Expired lotion can nourish nails and protect hair. Dip a small piece of cotton pad in lotion and wrap it on the nails. Remove it after 15 minutes. This can promote nail growth and shine. After shampooing, apply lotion on the ends of the hair as a hair lotion to prevent split ends and soften hair.

2. In addition to rubbing hands and feet, expired cream can be applied to the ends of hair to replace hair conditioner; it is also very effective for leather care. Applying expired cream on leather wallets, leather handbags, leather shoes, and leather sofas can maintain the leather. It is also suitable for leather products of various colors.

3. It is also a good choice to spray expired perfume in the bathroom, room, and car as a freshener, or spray it on washed clothes to add fragrance. Spray it on cotton pads to wipe to remove the marks left by tape. It can also be used to wipe lamps, which can not only remove stains, but also help the fragrance spread through the heat of the lamps, which feels like an aromatherapy lamp!

How to calculate the shelf life of cosmetics

Normally, the shelf life of cosmetics is 3 years. After opening, the shelf life can be as short as 3 months or as long as 2 years. Generally speaking, solid cosmetics with a single ingredient have a longer shelf life, while liquid cosmetics with complex ingredients have a shorter shelf life.

The main problem with cosmetics that have exceeded their shelf life is microbial contamination. After opened cosmetics are exposed to air for a long time, the active ingredients in them may undergo chemical changes, posing potential harm to the skin. Therefore, from the perspective of safety, effectiveness and comfort of use, it is emphasized that cosmetics should be used within the shelf life.

Foundation shelf life: 6-12 months

Concealer shelf life: 6-12 months

Eyeliner cream, eyeliner liquid shelf life: 3 months

Eyeliner: 1 year

Mascara shelf life: 3-6 months

Eyeshadow: 6 months

Eyeshadow powder: 2 years

Pressed cake or loose powder: 6 months to 2 years

Lipstick: 2 years

How to store cosmetics

1. The shelf life of cosmetics after opening is indicated on the product packaging. Pay attention to the pattern of the lid being opened, which indicates the shelf life of the product after opening in months. For example, the "12M" in the picture means that the shelf life after opening is 1 year. However, such data is not an absolute value. A cautious beauty control enthusiast will reduce the period marked by the merchant by 1-2 months. After all, the changes in chemical substances are invisible to the naked eye.

2. Sort your cosmetics stock every two months. It will be easier to use if you place them into different categories: water, essence, lotion, eye cream, face cream, makeup, hair care, and body. Regular sorting will also remind you which products have been rarely used in the past two months. The next time you go shopping, you will be careful to avoid impulse purchases. If facial skin care products have not been used for 4 months, you can throw them into the trash.

3. Opened cosmetics are not suitable for storage in the refrigerator. There are a lot of debris in the refrigerator, which is easy to breed bacteria. When taking out and putting back cosmetics, it is easy for the cosmetics to deteriorate in the temperature difference. Therefore, the method of storing cosmetics in the refrigerator is only suitable for unopened cosmetics or disposable masks. If you want to keep a cool environment, you can put unopened cosmetics in a backlit storage room, and pay attention to keeping air circulation in the storage room.

4. Cosmetics should not be stored in the bathroom. The long-term high temperature and high humidity environment in the bathroom undoubtedly provides an excellent environment for the growth of bacteria. In addition, the space in the bathroom is usually relatively narrow, and the accumulation of bottles and jars makes it easier for products to leak and the bottles to break.

5. If you put cosmetics on the dressing table in the bedroom, please avoid facing the air conditioner directly. In winter, the warm air from the air conditioner will blow directly on the cosmetics, and the high temperature will easily cause the cosmetics to deteriorate. A more compromise way is to place the dressing table between the bathroom and the bedroom, which can avoid moisture problems and avoid direct air conditioning.

6. Don’t throw away the small spoon that comes with eye cream and face cream. Many people are lazy and discard the tools that come with skin care products after using them a few times. Using canned skin care products directly with your hands will allow bacteria on your hands to enter directly, greatly shortening the shelf life of cosmetics.

7. Expired cosmetics can also be used. For example, applying expired face cream on leather wallets, leather handbags, leather shoes, leather sofas can maintain the leather and is suitable for leather products of various colors. It should be noted that you should not use those with whitening effects.

8. If some cosmetics are purchased abroad or for other reasons, and the expiration date is not marked, you can observe whether they have stratification. Because the proteolytic and lipid-hydrolyzing enzymes contained in bacteria can decompose the proteins and lipids in cosmetics, destroy the original emulsified form of cosmetics, and separate the water originally included in the emulsified structure. Sometimes, even in a sterile state, such as a long-term temperature difference between hot and cold, cosmetics will also show oil and water separation.

9. There are many ingredients that are not stable and easily oxidized once they are mixed, such as vitamin C and vitamin A. Therefore, some brands separate the two ingredients that are easily oxidized when mixed together into a double-tube design. Only by pressing and squeezing out the two ingredients and mixing them can the problem of oxidation and deterioration be avoided.