Tag: skincare

When to throw out cosmetics

When to throw out skincare and cosmetics

Posted on by Lydia D

You may find yourself asking when you should throw out skincare and cosmetics that you may have been using for awhile. After all, not all products have expiration dates. Naturally-derived products, while more appealing to many, can be even more difficult to determine when it’s past its prime.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate cosmetics, which include most personal care products that we use today. Exceptions to this rule include products that function like drugs (e.g. sunscreens and acne medications). These types of products are regulated by the FDA and, as such, require expiration dates on their packaging. Once they expire, their effectiveness is not guaranteed, and they should be tossed.

Most other products do not require expiration dates, so it’s the consumer’s responsibility to track when a product was purchased, and when it’s no longer safe to use it. As a rule, products in tubes and pumps will maintain their integrity longer than products in jars. Products that come close to the eyes should also be thrown out sooner than other cosmetic products. Product composition is also important. Natural products with little or no preservatives should be refrigerated if they contain water, and will have a shorter lifespan than oil-based products. This is because products containing water are breeding grounds for bacteria and mold. Bacteria and mold, while they may be present, do not grow in oil-based products. However, you should not allow water to enter these products or they will go bad.

Regardless of what types of products are used, here are a few guidelines for knowing when to throw out your skincare and cosmetics products:

  • Mascara – 3 months
  • Liquid eyeliner – 3 months
  • Liquid foundation – 6 months
  • Cream formulas (water-based) – 6 months
  • Cream eye shadow – 6 months
  • Products in pumps – 1 year
  • Sunscreen – 6 months-1 year (after expiration date, not after opening)
  • Hair products – 1 year
  • Nail polish – 1-2 years (or when separation occurs)
  • Powders – 2 years
  • Pencil/powder eye shadow – 2 years
  • Lipstick/Lipgloss – 2 years

Regardless of the products used, it’s always a good idea to use common sense. If a product is causing redness or irritation, itching, or signs of infection on the skin, throw it out! Factors like high heat or dirty fingers can affect a product’s stability. Don’t use other people’s products. If you must use a lipstick or eye pencil, for example, use a knife or sharpener to remove the top layer first. After all, safety should be uppermost in our minds whenever we use a product on our skin. Huffington Post article on makeup expiration dates

In order to make this easier for our customers, we have created labels that can be used to mark the date for a product to be replaced. We will be sending them out with new orders for customers to test. Please let us know if you like the idea! You can visit us on Instagram or Facebook for a sneak-peek. We want to make using skincare as safe as it is uplifting.

References:
FDA regulations on cosmetics
Good Housekeeping magazine article on expired cosmetics

Nanoparticles are now found in skincare

How Safe is Nanotechnology?

Posted on by Lydia D

There’s been a lot of attention paid to the possible benefits of nanotechnology. In fact, nanoparticles can be found in an increasing number of personal care products, from toothpaste to sunscreen. Chances are good that you’re using products containing nanoparticles without even knowing it.

How safe is nanotechnology?

We’ve been doing some digging into how well this new technology is regulated. The fact is that nanoparticles are too recent a development to have been adequately tested for safety, much less regulated. Consumers using common personal care products need to do their homework in order to know whether or not a product they are using contains nanoparticles.

A nanoparticle is defined as a microscopic particle measuring between 1 and 100 nanometers. One nanometer is approximately one one-hundred-millionth of a meter – the size of an atomic particle. It may have useful applications in the medical and electronics fields. It has, however, been used already in skincare products which are easily absorbed through the skin. The effects of using ingredients the size of atomic particles on the skin are not well known. Some studies have shown that nanoparticle toxicity increases as their size decreases. Another popular use for nanoparticles is in sunscreens. However, it is known that the lungs are vulnerable to inhaled small particles. None of these concerns have been disseminated to the general public. An ingredient like Titanium Dioxide, for example, may not cause you to normally react, but when used as a nanoparticle, this change could cause an adverse reaction. The cumulative effect of such ingredients could become problematic.

In the meantime, consumers may want to learn which products contain nanoparticles if they fear any possible allergic reactions or other adverse effects. A useful iPhone app called “FindNano” can help consumers identify products that they’re using that may contain nanoparticles. If you cannot access the app, you can visit the Consumer Products Inventory to search for consumer products using nanoparticle technology.

We at WEBA Natural Products have no plans to go in this direction. We are proud to say that all of our ingredients are derived from natural products as close to their natural state as possible. Given the fact that nanoparticles can penetrate the body fairly deeply, there is no telling what the consequences might be. We prefer to avoid potentially harmful synthetic materials that do little to enhance a product’s performance, especially when other natural options exist.

We believe that when it comes to personal care, you can’t improve on nature. For thousands of years, people have been using natural ingredients with bioactive compounds to improve their health and wellbeing. We will always strive to develop new products that utilize all the benefits of nature’s bounty in a sustainable way.

References:
Guardian article on nanotechnology
Safe Cosmetics article on nanomaterials
The Nanotech Project
Smart Skincare article about nanoparticles and skincare