Read The Labels!

I was cleaning up my bathroom cabinet the other day when suddenly I realized I still keep lots of products in there. It's probably been ages after I last used it before I whisked myself off to London for a couple of years ago. Some I bought it and left last year during my short Easter break and returned to the house. It made me wonder... should I keep it? Should I not keep it? When did I last opened it?

Well, it helps if you could understand the labels on it. If you study chemistry, or in particular - cosmetology - then you should know that beauty products, just like your food, have their own expiration date too. You know that most products are made of polymers like the water-soluble polyacrylamide. And they degrade with time, making the chemical structure and sometimes their rheology change a bit (now I'm being technical, ahaks!). You may think it's nothing - but when it comes to how it's gonna function on your skin or better yet, will affect your body in general - then expiration date poses its own risk too. I dunno how it may affect the health in specific, but using an expired product is not recommended.

So, how to know when you must throw it away from the cabinet? See the back of the containers or tubes - if you can find the 'lidded pot' icon with numbers on it - then that's how long you can keep it. Like what I have in my bathroom closet, most of them have a time limit of '12 M' which stands for 12 months - the duration of when I should discard it. My CK Free shower gel though has expiration date of '30 M' - quite long, which I doubt I still have the thing inside since it's finished after 2 months. :)

Oh, you probably ask - is that '12 M' really stands for the shelf life from the date it's been manufactured, or the date you bought it, or the date you started opening and using it? Well, to be honest, me myself is still vague on this matter. I don't exactly know. But my own 'guide' is that - if the thing has been in my bathroom cabinet for the past 12 months without me opening or using it ... then, I'll throw it away. Easy and less risque. =)

Would the real slim 'cosmetology' please stand up, and comment on this matter... then it could helps a lot. =)