Mind the Bacteria in Your Face Cream Jar, Experts Warn

Face creams can do wonders for our skin, it has often been said, especially if they have the right combination of ingredients. As it happens, it’s these ingredients in the creams that also make them extremely good for bacteria growth – which is why applying them with the tiny spatula they come with, and not with the fingers, is highly recommended, specialists point for the Daily Mail.

Bacteria thrive precisely in the kind of moist environment that a jar of cream can provide. If we also happen to leave the container in a cabinet in the bathroom, where it’s also warm, then we’re almost certain to get some sort of infection or, at the very least, render the cream inefficient. Moreover, this is only possible if, instead of using a tiny spatula, we put our fingers inside the jar and scoop out cream that we apply to the face, because this is how we introduce bacteria into an environment where they can only multiply, health experts and beauticians warn.

“Most of us carry bacteria, such as staphylococcus aureus, on our skin. Most of the time it does us no harm at all. But introducing it to your face cream by putting your fingers in the jar can transform your cream into a culture medium, allowing these bacteria to reproduce.” Dr. Susan Mayou, consultant dermatologist at Cadogan Clinic in London, says for the Mail. What this means is that we should avoid thrusting our fingers into the cream at all costs unless we want to get a skin infection or have thrown the money down the drain.

What happens in such cases, experts also say, is that the bacteria can create an unbalance in our skin, which can either lead to a breakout or an overall deterioration in its aspect. If not, then we will surely alter the PH level of the product, wherein its many benefits also rely. This means that, once we have put our fingers in the jar and introduced bacteria in it, the cream will no longer do what it was supposed to, so we might as well have thrown our money in the wind.

“So if you’ve contaminated it, you may have wiped out any of the potential benefits that the cream could offer your skin.” Los Angeles-based facialist Kate Somerville, who has her own range of products, says for the same publication. “Having worked as a facialist I understood the importance of sanitation and I really wanted to make a concerted effort to ensure that my products, as far as possible, upheld the same hygiene standards that I insist upon in my clinic. Not only are the products protected from bacterial contamination, they’re also protected from oxidation, which would make them less effective. Due to this, we can use fewer preservatives.” Somerville adds, explaining how pump containers are ideal to protect the contents from exposure to bacteria.