{"id":4943,"date":"2018-08-28T14:22:41","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T04:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/victoriancosmetic.com.au\/?p=4943"},"modified":"2021-01-14T11:28:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T00:28:14","slug":"3-reasons-using-expired-skin-care-harm-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victoriancosmetic.com.au\/3-reasons-using-expired-skin-care-harm-good\/","title":{"rendered":"3 reasons why using expired skin care could be doing you more harm than good"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Most of us have at least one cosmetic product in our bathroom cupboard, hand bag or in the glove box of the car that has been there for a few months too many. While it may seem completely harmless to use the product, it may actually be doing you more harm than good.<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>Step 1 &#8211; \u00a0Know when your product has passed its expiration date.<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It is not a requirement in Australia to have an expiration date on most skin care products (unless they contain an SPF). If there is an expiration date, it\u2019s most likely going to be on the box that the product first came in which you would have most likely throw away. Most skin care products contain a little symbol that tells us how long after we open that product we need to throw it away. It looks like this:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4946\" src=\"https:\/\/victoriancosmetic.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_681056023-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/victoriancosmetic.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_681056023-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/victoriancosmetic.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_681056023.jpg 600w, https:\/\/victoriancosmetic.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_681056023-225x180.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This symbol gives us the <b>PAO<\/b> which stands for \u2018Period After Opening.\u2019 If it says 6M than that means you need to throw the product away after 6 months after opening it (as an example)<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>There\u2019s a number of reasons skin care products need to have an expiry date or a PAO just like we do with food and beverages. Just like consuming food or beverages can make you sick internally, applying expired products on your face can create problems for your skin.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Here I\u2019ll discuss 3 main reasons why skin care must be thrown out after the PAO date.<\/div>\n<ol>\n<li>Preservatives<\/li>\n<li>Bacteria<\/li>\n<li>No longer effective<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>Reason #1 PRESERVATIVES<\/b><\/div>\n<div>In order to keep products active for as long as possible, skin care manufacturers must add multiple preservatives into their product. Usually, the more preservatives, the longer the product will last; simple. Nowadays however, most of us hear the word \u201cpreservative\u201d and want to run the other way. The reality is that most products need them if we want them to last longer than a few days once the jar is opened. So it\u2019s almost impossible and definitely not practical to not include any. Cosmedix products have a shorter life span than a lot of brands as they don\u2019t contain any added artificial preservatives as the active ingredients inside the product act as a natural preservative.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>So to put it simply, when you\u2019re using a product past the \u2018period after opening\u2019 date it means that the preservatives are no longer working to keep the product in its original state and what you may be applying on your skin can contact unwanted bacteria.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>Reason #2 BACTERIA<\/b><\/div>\n<div>You wouldn\u2019t think applying an expired product on your skin could mean you\u2019re applying bacteria on your skin would you?! Well guess what, you just might be. Just like in food, skin care can also harvest bacteria- the bad kind, not the good. Look out for signs such as a change in colour, texture and smell. Furthermore, when choosing products always go for the pump applicator rather than a jar because dipping your finger into the product may add extra germs from your hands which will go mix into the entire product.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><b>Reason #3 ACTIVE INGREDIENT BECOMES INACTIVE<\/b><\/div>\n<div>So you\u2019re using a particular product thinking it\u2019s treating your skin condition, well you could be wasting your time if it\u2019s past the PAO date! In most cases the active ingredient is no longer doing its job and has lost its potency. The sunscreens are no longer protecting you from the sun and your retinol is no longer giving you youthful skin. The only real way to test if your product is still working for you is to take it to a lab for chemical analysis, which most people don\u2019t have access to. So to be safe, don\u2019t use it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>Take Home Message<\/strong><\/div>\n<div>If you have skin care products at home without an expiry date (or the original packaging has been thrown out) here are some basic tips:<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>If your creams begin to seperate from the base (oil, water) and the consistency is no longer thick, the product should be discarded.<\/li>\n<li>With your SPF sunscreens, the smell will start to change first; If you smell something different please discard this as it&#8217;s not worth the risk!<\/li>\n<li>Changes in colour; If your product has changed colour immediately throw this out as this could cause unwanted reactions on your skin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most of us have at least one cosmetic product in our bathroom cupboard, hand bag or in the glove box of the car that has been there for a few<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - 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