Do cosmetics expire? Of course they do! The products don't last forever. The time is ticking on once the cosmetics are made. The texture, the smell, the color, etc., will start to deteriorate once the products are expired.

Before talking about the shelf life of cosmetics, we need to know that there are two different dates we need to be noticed while producing the products: Production date and expiration date.

The production date is also known as the manufacture date. It's not obligatory to print it on the packaging.

The expiration date is the date after which the product shouldn't be used anymore. Usually, the shelf life period for cosmetics is 30 months or less. If you would like to print it on the packaging, it should be presented as month/year or day/month/year.

You might think the expiration date means that the products can be used until that date. Well, that's the case for unopen products. Once the product is opened, that's another story.

For opened products, PAO is what you need to check. PAO stands for the period after opening. Counting from the day you open the product, PAO is the period the products are suggested to use. Try finding “open jar” sign with a number followed by the letter M. That's how PAO is marked. For example, if you see an open jar with 6M, this means the product can be used for six months after opening.

So, now we know, there are two ways to determine the exact expiration date for the cosmetics: either they expire as soon as the expiration date is reached or the end of PAO is reached.

How to determine the cosmetics shelf life? Contact us!