Have you ever questioned how serious to take the best-before date on your skincare and make-up products?
The best-before date (bbd), a legal requirement under the EU Cosmetic Regulation, is represented by a little opened pot with the number of months inside it. This indicates that the bbd count-down starts from when you open the product.
Once the bbd has passed, your product might not seem off, and following research by We-Pack, a packing company, 23% of Brits will continue to use beauty cosmetics that have expired. In fact, a fifth of Brits ignore or don’t check the bbd at all and 1 in 6 say that are not aware that beauty products have an expire date.
Should you be more vigilant about the expiry date?
In our opinion, it depends on the type of product as to how much notice you should take of the BBD. Where it is really important to stick to the BBD is with products that have active ingredients and chemicals, like sunscreen and mascara.
These ingredients start to become less active after the BBD, and this is a risk you don’t want to take with sunscreen as it will leave you less protected.
You should never really use mascara longer than 12 months, and eye doctors are now saying that you should replace your mascara every few months. In this article, Justin Bazan, OD an optometrist and medical adviser to The Vision Council says “Long-term use of mascara has been associated with higher rates of eyelashes falling out, and mascara tubes that become contaminated with germs can lead to eye infections. The more use a tube has had, the higher potential for it to be contaminated with germs that can lead to eye infections and irritation.”
Our advice: understand the ingredients in your products and stay aware of a change in colour, smell, texture.
