Expired Products?

[brittdadutchess]

Do hair products have an expiration date?
I have some conditioners in the closet that I've had for YEARS!
And I still use them every now and then.

What about you? Have you got some oldies' still lurking around or do you just chunk them?

 

[brittdadutchess]

........BUMP!

 

[brittdadutchess]

Oh well I guess I'm the only one...

 

[Pandora1975]

Nah, I have some oldies. I cleaned out about a year ago, but I kept a few. I still haven't used them since then though.

 

[Kerryann]

i still use old products

 

[*closer*2*my*dreams*]

Mine are usually oldies bc my hair did not agree with them and i normally give them away to people.

 

[crazydaze911]

i have some. scared to throw them out or give them away, b/c i know the moment i do, i will somehow need them - just like when i donate old clothes - lol.

Some products (most likely the more costly name brands) have a bunch of numbers on the bottom of the bottle. They are like a serial number. if you call the company and give them that number, they will tell you that batches expiration date - this might be too much work for some pple though - lol.

 

[Raspberry]

I have quite a few conditioners that I bought 4+ years ago as a loose natural I wanted to use up but hey may expired . I'll toss the opened ones and do a sniff/consistency test on the unopened ones.. especially my original formula Suave Milk & Honey conditioners, no way I'm tossing those unless I"m absolutely sure they're rancid

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/06/06/4-ways-to-tell-if-your-cosmetic-has-expired/

4 Ways To Tell If your Cosmetic Has Expired

Gilda’s guilty of using old product: I have a Matrix Sleek Look shampoo and conditioner I bought 3 years ago, Can I use it? Is it effective?

The Right Brain reassures her:

Three years for a shampoo or conditioner is not out of the question, so your Matrix might be fine. But what about cosmetic products in general? if you’re really worried that your product being past it’s peak, ask yourself the following questions. If the answer to any of these is YES, then you might want to splurge on a replacement.


1.Does It Fail the See and Sniff Test?
Most cosmetics are designed to last a couple of years. A shampoo or conditioner like Matrix will probably still be fine. But before you use an old product, squeeze a little bit out and look at it and sniff it. Does it still smell okay? Maybe the fragrance just faded a bit. But if any of the ingredients have gone rancid or if there’s microbial growth, you’ll smell an off odor. Also look for junk growing in the product like mold or fungus. If you see or smell anything funky, don’t use it! Likewise, if the product changed consistency and has become way too thick or way too thin, that’s a signal that something changed. And not for the better!

2. Is it past the expiration date?

Ok, this one’s tricky because most products don’t HAVE an expiration date. Over The Counter Drug products do, but most regular cosmetics won’t.
If you don’t see an expiration date but you do see another string of numeric or alphanumeric code on the bottle, it’s probably the lot code. The lot code tells the company when (and even where) the product was made. It’s meant to help the company track the product so if you call them, they can tell you when the product was made and they should be able to recommend how long you can keep it before it expires.

By the way, in Europe, a new law requires a PAO (Period After Opening symbol) on the package. It looks like a little jar with a number on it and it tells you how many months the product is good for after you first start using it. You’ll also see this symbol on some US products.

3. Was it stored improperly?

Some products are sensitive to heat, cold, and light. For example, we recently wrote about Babor’s Intelli-zyme product that contains enzymes. Enzymes are notoriously unstable at high temperatures. Products like this can easily go bad from heat exposure. On the other hand, emulsion products, like skin lotions, can crystallize, thicken, or turn to mush if they’re frozen. There`s no way to know what happened to a product BEFORE you bought it, but you can take care to store it properly once you get it home. Don’t leave products in the trunk of your car on a hot day or a cold day.

Then of course there’s the condition of the package. Was it stored in a tightly sealed opaque bottle? Then there’s less chance that light or air could have caused any problems. But if the lid is loose and it’s in a clear glass bottle that sat in the window for 3 months, forget it!

4. Does it contain any “special” ingredients that are fragile?

If it’s a regular product, like the Matrix example mentioned above, you probably don’t have much to work about. But some active ingredients are a bit finicky, and those products can expire much sooner. Products like Babor’s Intelli-zyme and even sunscreens are much more delicate. Click here if you want to read our previous post about how to tell if your sunscreen’s gone bad.

 

[JeterCrazed]

Yes, they do. Industry standard is 3 years. Natural products are about 1 year depending on they type of preservative. They're tested for mold, bacteria, and other growths. Some chemicals have a short shelf life, but plant extracts without preservative are what are most likely to break down. If you shake it and it doesn't regain its original form, I'd chuck it.

 

[lamaria211]

This is a helpful thread I was just cleaning off some of my old products wondering if they were still ok, ive had my Roux products for about 2 yrs now but they smell fine

 

[757diva]

I have sooooo many bottles of shampoo that are still under the bathroom sink. I may end up selling them. I think they are Matrix Biolage. I wish I had that much conditioner but that flies off my shelfs easy. I know that I have styling products such as gel, spritz, etc that I have had for 3-4 years lol

 

[bluediamond0829]

I'm a product junkie and need to toss some products but scared that once I toss them I'll be going looking for them. But really they are just taking up room so I just need to really close my eyes and toss them because I only have one head of hair and whats the sense of keepin products that im not going to get a chance to use anyway.

 

[Barbara]

I have very old products that still work, but they don't have an expiration date on them, nor do they look or smell strange.

My stylist said even old oils can be used even if they smell bad. They will still do the job, so I put them in my secondary shampoos and conditioners.

A few years ago, I stop buying hair care products--since I have a lot of them. I have to use everything until they're gone before I can replenish my items. If I come across old shampoos and conditioners that smell bad or don't work well, they will be mixed in with other shampoos and conditioners--which has been the case a few years ago. I'll find a use for old pomades, butters, and leave in conditioners, too.

In this economy, I refuse to throw anything out; because after I use them, they will go down the drain anyway, and I just can't afford to throw away money.

 

[lamaria211]

Right now I have a ton of stuff so im just trying to use up my oldest stuff first before opening anything new so thats why I have about 25 unopened products

 

[IDareT'sHair]

Salon Brands I don't worry too much about, but I am catious with the Handmade/Naturals *smaller companies*

Since I have alot of Natural/Handmades, I do try to keep that in mind.

While I don't dwell on Shelf-Life, I do make sure Handmades/Naturals are properly stored, kept sealed, free of moisture etc.......