Attention ladies! Are you like one of the millions of women across the United States that store your makeup in your well-lit bathroom? A Good Housekeeping study has shown that in the moist and sometimes dark environment of the typical American’s bathroom, cosmetics can harbor harmful bacteria that may cause breakouts and irritation. With correct care and maintenance, you can prolong the effectiveness and overall value of your make-up by following these safety tips.
Storage
Keep cosmetics stored in a cool, dry place like a bedroom or linen closet in lieu of the bathroom. If your bathroom has the ideal light, store your makeup in a portable organizer that you can use in the bathroom but store elsewhere. You can also locate a better area with natural lighting in your home that will provide a better environment for applying even makeup.
Expiration Guidelines
Did you know that cosmetics do expire? Once a product is opened and exposed to air it begins to oxidize and degrade. Once you touch the applicators or the product, you continually expose it to bacteria from your hands, mouth, eyes, and face. Good Housekeeping has an extensive explanation of the expiration guidelines, but below is a simple review of the important guidelines.
Every season: Toss your mascara and liquid liner.
Every six months: Toss your skin-care regimen, sunscreens, and liquid foundation.
Every year: Toss your hair products (except hairspray).
Every two years: Toss your powder-based cosmetics (such as pressed powder and shadows), lipsticks, and nail polishes.
Another important visual technique of spotting expired cosmetics is if the product is cracked, dried out, goopy, or separated. Also noting the products smell can help you determine if a product is expired. Most products cannot be revived by simply shaking or rewetting.
Most natural products may have an extra-short shelf life because they contain no preservatives. Contact the manufacturer for product specific guidelines.
Reduce Contamination
Even with keeping your cosmetics stored in a cool dry place, you can still have contaminated makeup. By taking these few steps before each use, you can easily reduce your episodes of acne, inflammation, or even reinfection.
Wash and thoroughly dry face and hands before touching the product or applicators to the applied area.
Stop using products during an infection so as to avoid contaminating so as to avoid contaminating our cosmetics and spreading the infection to other areas on the face.
Apply all products with disposable applicators and avoid “double dipping.” Use a cotton swab to apply a product to acne instead of an applicator.
Cosmetics are becoming increasingly expensive and wearers are taking more care to use every last bit. To be sure that you are staying within the expiration guidelines try placing a small (garage sale) sticker on the bottom with the date purchased. Post the expiration guidelines with your cosmetics.
For additional resources for cosmetic guidelines visit the reference article “Expired Beauty Products” at www.goodhousekeeping.com
Don’t just survive life. Thrive!
Bergstrom is a professional organizer.
