Product expiry!

Generally yes they do last longer… But if it is claggy or off colour or smells funny, I’d bin it…

I too am guilty of having so many products that are almost as old as my grandchildren. Ha ha, my oldest is 15 and youngest is 3 so some of my products fall in between that range. I also have some very old lipsticks which I eventually intend to blend into a pot to make a ‘favourite’ colour using all my favourites.

Getting products to trial and review also builds up the supply but the really good stuff gets used up far too quickly, then I resort back to the left over stuff and try to work my way through that. Most products are far too expensive to just throw away but I agree, the smell is a good giveaway as no one wants to put something on themselves that smells awful.

This is another reminder for me to do another cull of my beauty stuff.

I’m guilty of using products way past their use by date. Especially some styling products. I only use tiny amounts of smoothing serums so they last me years. I go by smell, if it still smells nice it must be ok to use. I’ve had some lovely natural fragrant hair oils that have gone rancid quite quickly so I threw them out but my synthetic silicone based products seem to last ages. I have one product that I’ve been using since 2013 and it still smells fine and works the same.

Go by the smell! haha 😉

The number inside the jar icon is not use by date. It is Life After Opening. If it is unopened, it is called “shelf life”. Shelf lives vary, for most products it could be 3 years even “natural” ones e.g. Sukin. I think Trilogy says their products have shelf lives of 2.5 years. Grown alchemist said 3 years but in my experience much shorter.

I didnt know that they expire in 12 months i have one product that i haven’t used in a year that ive been wanting to use i might check it and see what happens

I didn’t know hair product’s expired in 12 Month’s might have to take more noticed from now on although I don’t have a whole heap of them to get through so nothing to worry about there, thanks for posting anyway now I know.

I agree with those who says natural products are more likely to go off.

I never have any problem with product going off with brands like clinique, estee lauder, dermalogica, redken, KMS, Kerastase etc. They always look, smell and work the same whether they are 3 months old or 3 years old. I used to score bargains from strawberryNet on discontinued stock and they worked just as well.

Then, there are products like Essano, Trilogy, Antipodes and Grown Alchemy – i had something from each brand going off either before the recommended shelf life or the printed expiry (in some cases, a short 6 months). Nowadays I do not stock up on so called natural products. I make sure I use them immediately after purchase as it’s a gamble if I leave them in my cupbaord or vanity.

I had Natura Siberica Oblepikha shampoo & conditioner go runny after a while. It’s mostly natural ingredients. I’ve never had other hair products go funny.

My mother reckons hair colour doesn’t cover greys as well if the box isn’t used quickly after being bought. I always buy a couple of boxes of hair colour at a time, when it’s on sale for half price. I’ve never noticed a difference in grey coverage, even when the box is months old.

I think our system needs to be overhauled and follow along the lines of other countries and put the date of manufacture on the products. My Kbeauty products have this and I prefer it.

Our current system of “after opening” use-by is not good. The raw ingredients to make the products could have sat for who knows how long, then it’s manufactured and transported to warehouses then distributed and more sitting around on shelves. Who knows how old it actually is by the time I open it?

The recent fiasco with the Jaclyn Hill lipsticks highlighted this. There are no laws governing it and I’d personally like to know how old my lipstick (which I will ingest) or my eye cream is before I use it.

There are apps or websites that can give you an idea of when it was manufactured based on the batch code but not all companies give this information out.

Expiry dates were introduced in Australia in 1978. Before then you opened the product and see if it still works – maybe even sniff it first.
I have many products that I have had for years and still use from time to time. I don’t throw anything out because of the use-by date unless it’s milk or meat because I definitely know that it will be dangerous to consume.