Are you sure your favorite cream is stored in the right place?
Most of us keep our beauty products in the bathroom, but the temperature fluctuations and humidity generated after showering can damage the active ingredients in face or body creams. Here is a simple guide to understanding how to determine the expiration date of cosmetic creams and preserve the performance of anti-aging formulations over time.
Shelf life and validity: efficacy and safety
Almost no one knows this, but according to the current European Cosmetics Regulation (Reg 1223/2009 CE), cosmetic products should have the so-called validity date, and not the expiration date, stamped on the packaging. What is the difference between the two? Expiration is a pharmaceutical concept, beyond which the product cannot be used, while validity, which is a cosmetic concept, is the date by which the product maintains its efficacy characteristics.
However, the aforementioned regulation states that if the product's efficacy is maintained for at least thirty months, the indication of the validity date is no longer mandatory. Obviously, almost all cosmetic products are formulated so that this minimum validity requirement is met.
But the same regulation prescribes that, in this case, the consumer must still be informed about the time within which the cosmetic maintains its safety characteristics for human health. This is where the PaO (Period after Opening) becomes mandatory, which represents the number of months after the product is opened during which, under normal storage conditions, the product can continue to be considered safe.