How long do you keep your hair products?
When it comes to food there’s one thing most people don’t mess around with and that is expiration dates. The last thing anyone wants, is to get food poisoning and get sick from the mold and bacteria growing in expired food. Tossing them when their expiration date passes is only common sense.
Just like when the body consumes expired food and there is a bad reaction. The scalp is not dead like the hair and it is sensitive, expired hair products that contains mold and bacteria can cause severe damage resulting in hair loss, scalp damage, and at times will cause the product that is expired to not work at all.
Everything has a shelf life. Body wash, makeup, skin care and hair care all have an expiration date. Since skin and hair products go on your body rather than in your body, the FDA doesn’t require them to have an expiration date.
Hair products will eventually expire, although the FDA doesn’t require hair product manufacturers to include a traditional expiration date. A general rule is to throw away sealed unopened hair product after 36 months.
Once the product has been opened, we recommend throwing it away within 6-12 months. Although, using it more quickly would be preferred. Plus, depending on the product type, the expiration date will vary.
Several factors affect how long hair care products will last after opening. Products shelf life depends on their ingredients. Homemade DIY products (using fresh ingredients) and organic products, however, may not last as long. Oil based products with no water usually last longer than products containing water.
Keep in mind that contamination of the hair product may reduce its shelf life and proper storage. It’s easy to purchase hair care products and, down the road a bit, forget precisely when you bought it. If that’s the case, and you don’t have an expiration label for help, don’t freak out.
Below are several methods you can use to make sure your product is still usable:
Appearance: Is the product the same as it was when you initially bought it? If the texture of the product appears to have altered, it's time to toss it.
Smell: Is the product's odor the same or has it changed? One of the first things to lose its potency and change is the fragrance.
Separation: Is there a breakdown in your haircare product? When it was translucent, did it appear "cloudy"? Is it now thicker than it was before? Visually inspecting your products is a simple and quick technique to see if they're still useful.
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