Do hair products expire?
Yes, yes they do! Now that we have that out of the way we can get into how to locate expiration dates and why I suggest getting new products.
What?! Hair Products have expiration dates?!
I know, you are probably still in shock that I even blatantly called out half of your product collection sitting under your bathroom sink but I promise you every bottle has an expiration. So where the heck is the date? Some hair care products have an date printed on them, usually located on the bottom of the bottle. Most, however, have a little symbol that is located next to the barcode on the back and it looks a lot like the image above!
The expiration tag will have a number followed by a letter “M”, which stands for Months. The most commonly seen are, “6 M, 12 M, 24 M”. This means that from the date you originally open the bottle your product will begin the expiring process. For example, lets say your bottle has “12 M” on it. This means that from that day that you opened the bottle it is considered “fresh” until that 12 month period has ended. After the 12 Months has passed the product is then considered expired and it will gradually begin to lose its potency and effectiveness.
Personally I recommend most of my guests to replenish their hair product collection every year as it’s good to switch out your regular products with new ones. Your hair can be very similar to your skin in the way that it does get used to the same old routine. Switching things up every year will help to keep your products fresh and keep your hair guessing.
Okay, so half of my Hair Product stock is expired, is it still safe?
As mentioned above, the product will begin to lose its freshness after the expiration date has passed but what we all want to know is if the product is still safe to use after this expiration date. Of course using an expired hair product will not kill you, but it most likely will not be nearly as effective as it was the day you purchased it.
The most important factor that will determine how long your hair products last during and past their expiration date is how the product is stored. Your hair care products should always be stored in a cool and dry place. This keeps the products from overheating, exploding, leaking, or causing extreme separation of the ingredients. Obviously the trunk or back seat of your car isn’t the best choice, but underneath your bathroom sink or a cabinet of some sort is best. You especially want to be subconsciously aware of this in the Summer months as it’s much easier to have issues in the much hotter weather!
For those of you who hate being wasteful with products and like to hold onto them as long as possible, there are a couple of things you want to look for if you decide to use your products past their expiration dates! A couple of these factors are mold, crustiness, color change, curdling, cloudiness, separation and water. Most creams will begin to curdle and separate, gels get darker, pomades and waxes tend to harden or become crusty and serums will separate. Another huge give away is the smell! Hair products always smell delicious at first, but if that beautiful floral or perfume scent begins to disappear it may be time to ditch and switch!
In Conclusion…
I ruined you, I know, and I’m only a little sorry for that because I also know that you’re a tad bit excited to go and get a bunch of new Hair Products! Now go get to cleaning out that bathroom cabinet!
xoxo,
Shelby Alexandra
