The reason for this is for many products with active ingredients the ingredients will not stay active indefinitely, they may become weaker over time or just simply be ineffective. For other products such as lotions, face creams, serums etc. They are not meant to last forever. Even those with preservatives have a life span, preservatives can give a product a longer and safer shelf life but it does not make it indefinite. My rule of thumb for my bathroom is that if it is more than one year old it gets tossed and that's it.
On some products you may notice a little picture of a container with the lid propped open and a number and letter next to it, this indicates that the product is good for XX time frame once opened. Usually the letter designation is M which stands for Months, I find that to be very helpful when I can actually remember when I bought and opened that item.
Another thing to remember is that the ingredients themselves have a lifespan let alone the mixture. Certain oils have longer shelf lives than others. Jojoba for instance can last for a year or slightly longer, but if that same product has an ingredient with a super short life span such as hemp oil then the product may not last for one year and may not smell so pleasant after awhile. I have also found that certain fragrances and essential oils tend to fade over time, leaving me with a non-scented item or just the sad reminder of how great it once smelled.
The moral to this story is to purchase things in quantities that you know you can use in a reasonable amount of time. If you are slow to use a certain something or like to have multiple scents around buy small so you don't have to throw your dollars out. It is better to be safe than sorry.
Happy spring cleaning!
~Your friendly neighborhood Soapsmith
Really interesting article! Thanks for the info! Now I really need to go through my closets. I did thow out some stuff, but probably not enough!!!!!
ReplyDelete