Know When to Toss Your Makeup Products

Cosmetics, as a rule, come with expiry dates that truly make them worthy investments. However, from that to amassing countless such items just because we once paid good money on them, or in the eventuality we’ll use them some other day, is not only the wrong approach, but also quite an unhealthy thing to do. She Knows spoke to celebrity makeup artist Guy Guido, and learned that certain, if not all, makeup products must be discarded at regular intervals to avoid bacteria accumulating.

“Our skin, lips, eyes, lashes are full of everyday bacteria. If we knew what the bacteria on a mascara wand looked like after a week we would probably run screaming,” Guido says, stressing the importance of doing whatever we can to reduce the health risks we’re exposed to either way. First step in that direction is throwing away makeup products at certain intervals, depending on their composition and, naturally, frequency of use.

“The more moisture a product contains, the more it harbors bacteria,” he explains, adding that, this way, powders can be kept around for longer, as opposed to gels and creams. Of the latter category, foundations in pumps are the safest, the stylist says, since “you are not constantly exposing the makeup inside the container to bacteria on your hands or on a brush.” Guido’s recommendation is that, while there are no well-defined rules for when to throw a cosmetic product away, cream and liquid products should be replaced once every six to twelve months, while powder-based ones once every one or two years.

Mascara is, however, the exception in all this, in that it must be replaced for a new one more frequently. Guido advises us to buy a new tube of mascara every three months, for two very practical reasons. First off, after this time interval, it’s most likely dried out, that is, useless; secondly, the eye area is more prone to infection than the rest of our face so we should see that we don’t expose it when we can best avoid it.

On a final note, as imperious as Guido’s recommendations might sound, we must not forget that they only state the obvious, meaning, they’re the sensible thing to do, and we should not panic. “We as humans are natural bacteria fighters, so there is little cause to worry. If we were aware of and fear every single bacteria that is on everything we use, we wouldn't leave the house!” Guido concludes.