Shelf life of cosmetics: verification methods and storage rules

Every woman strives to be irresistible. Ladies constantly purchase new cosmetic products and put them on the shelf, while they rarely look at the expiration date of the purchased products, and even more so they do not get acquainted with the information about the sale date. But the ability to read the terms provided by the manufacturer allows you to understand not only the permissible terms of use, but also the originality of cosmetic products.

By purchasing the cosmetics they like, women get acquainted with the proposed annotation, namely, the sections "Composition", "Method of application" and "Expiration date". If the cosmetics do not come with paper inserts, all the necessary information can be found on the packaging. The fair sex should have a lot of questions when buying cosmetics, for which a full description of the product is indicated in an unknown language. However, the guarantees from the seller about a three-year period of use reassure women. But naive gullibility can backfire.

According to trade rules, all cosmetic products must be labeled with the date of manufacture and shelf life in a sealed state. All this time, cosmetics can lie in warehouses, stand on shop windows or on home shelves. Some manufacturers fix the total shelf life on their products, after which the cosmetics can be thrown away.

The standard shelf life of cosmetic products is 3 years from the date of manufacture. In this case, information about the exact day of manufacture of the composition is indicated on the label. Each country of origin indicates the date stamp in the most appropriate format. For example, Asian companies indicate the date of manufacture in a variant unusual for the Russian people - YY / MM / DD.

After opening the sealed packaging, the expiration date changes. The contact of the components of the composition with air leads to a gradual loss of all properties of the cosmetic product. To determine how long the product can be used after opening, it is necessary to carefully examine the packaging and find an image of a jar with an open lid.

In women's society, there is an opinion that the expiration date of cosmetic products can be determined by the barcode number. But this is a huge misconception. In fact, the barcode number allows you to determine the country that produced the cosmetics, the company and the product code itself. In addition, the originality of the purchased cosmetics can be identified by the 13-digit digits of the barcode. But this will require some calculations. For example, take the cosmetic oil barcode number 4607086566831:

• for a start, even ordinal numbers are added together: 6 + 7 + 8 + 5 + 6 + 3 = 35;
• the resulting amount is multiplied by 3: 35 * 3 = 105;
• then the numbers from odd positions are added: 4 + 0 + 0 + 6 + 6 + 8 = 24;
• the product of even numbers is added to the resulting sum of odd numbers: 105 + 24 = 129;
• the last digit of the received number must be subtracted from 10: 10-9 = 1;
• then we look at the last digit of the barcode: if the value matches the calculation, then the product is original, if not, it is a fake.

Batchcode indicates the batch number in alphabetic and numeric form. On foreign cosmetics that do not have Russified information, one should look for this value or its analogue - lotnumber. There are no graphics in this code cipher. The number of digits in the code ranges from 2 to 10.

Batchcode is more for office use rather than consumer interest... For this reason, batchcode decryption has no specific standards. Each manufacturer indicates information in a form convenient for him.

In puzzles so incomprehensible to an ordinary person, information is hidden not only about the batch, but even about the shift that worked during the release of the goods. This uniqueness helps solve many of the problems associated with marriage. For example, when the tube lid is scrolled or there is no protective film on the neck. In case of violations of any nature, it is enough to select the goods of the defective batch and withdraw them from sale.

But the main, The batchcode helps the consumer determine the shelf life of the cosmetics, as it encrypts the product creation date. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a standard form, it is impossible to read batchcode without the help of modern technologies. And not all manufacturers indicate so much important information on the packaging of their products. However, well-known world brands do not see anything reprehensible in this and are ready to indicate batchcode data in a prominent place.

Today there are three ways to decrypt the data specified in the batchcode. Each of them has certain advantages, although a close examination can reveal some disadvantages.

When choosing the right beauty products, you should not neglect the help and advice of sales assistants. They can also ask for documents on the selected products, which will indicate the batch code with detailed decoding and the original manufacturer's seals. Unfortunately, if a small company turns out to be a cosmetics manufacturer, most likely it will not be possible to see documents of this kind.

If the consumer's choice fell on the cosmetics of an international brand, it would be more correct to look for detailed information about the product on the manufacturer's official resource. Batchcode data can be presented in the form of tables, specially designed sites and applications for the phone with the possibility of free use. In the case of decryption of the table, each individual digit and letter will have a certain meaning, which can only be compared with the data indicated on the product.

Specially designed sites for decrypting batchcode are a little more complicated than tables, and this is all because you have to go to more than one portal page. But there is no need to carefully study the table values ​​and look for letters to parse the mysterious algorithm. It is enough to select the brand of the product and specify the batchcode value in the free field.

For convenience, it is proposed to get acquainted with several online services, allowing you to quickly view all the necessary information about cosmetics.

• Checkfresh. The English interface may seem inconvenient, but despite this, the portal has a huge advantage: choosing a brand from the list, an image appears on the screen with a sample of the product and an indication of where to look for batchcode on it. And this is very convenient, because the search for the required code on the packaging with the information indicated in small print is very difficult. The only drawback of the service is the lack of a quick search.
• Checkcosmetic. The interface is also English, but there is a quick search function. With the help of this site, each consumer will be able to calculate the date of manufacture of the product, correlate it with the general characteristics of a given product group and determine the expiration date.
• Cosmeticswizard. The resource is entirely in English, but, despite this, is understandable to every user. Only supports resource a limited number of brands. With its help, it will be possible to determine only the production date, the portal does not provide other information.
• Makeupreview. Most consumers like it much more than the previous ones. It is Russified and looks a bit like the Checkcosmetic resource. The disadvantage is the lack of a quick search, due to which the time for checking the goods significantly increases.

To get the most complete information it is advisable to decode batchcode for all resources. You can download many applications on your smartphone to determine the expiration date of cosmetic products. In this case, you do not have to demand from the seller documents for the goods or "walk" on the Internet in search of batchcode decryption.

This method should be used when the first two options were unsuccessful. Today, many companies try to avoid consumer requests through intermediaries and are ready to talk directly with the buyer, answering all the questions that interest him. To do this, just go to the official website of the manufacturer and fill out the feedback form. At the same time, it is important to indicate in the appeal all information about the product, and if possible, attach photos.

It is impossible to guarantee that the answer will come within 3-5 minutes. Similar requests from other users are constantly coming in, and they all need to be processed. In most cases, the response comes the next day. And if you have additional questions, you no longer have to fill out the application form again. It is enough just to answer the existing letter from the managers of the company.

Each cosmetic product has a specific shelf life. However, formulations of synthetic components can be used for much longer than mixtures of natural substances. At the initial opening, such cosmetics reacts with oxygen, due to which all elements of the composition begin to lose their properties. For this reason, it is not recommended to open the original packaging of cosmetic products without further use.

However, do not be afraid that natural formulations will deteriorate faster than the expiration date. The manufacturer takes this factor into account when calculating cosmetic formulas, which is why the product can be used for several more weeks after the expiration date.

Usage times for most cosmetics:

• shadows, powder, blush - 15-18 months;
• foundation - 12-18 months;
• ink - 4-6 months;
• lipstick - up to 3 years old;
• lip gloss - up to 2 years;
• pencils for lips, eyes - up to 3 years;
• nail polish - up to 2 years;
• cream - up to 2 years;
• lotion - up to 2 years;
• shower cosmetics - up to 5 years;
• perfume - no more than 5 years.

The main thing is to carefully read the information on the packaging. One can indicate the expiration date from the date of production of the goods, on the other - from the moment of opening. The presented data on the shelf life of cosmetics is valid in case of correct storage. Do not forget that all cosmetic products do not like heat and sun. For them, a dark place with a maximum permissible air temperature of +25 degrees is preferable. If a cosmetic product, for some unknown reason, has acquired a strange shade and an unpleasant odor, it should be thrown away.

If you are constantly using mascara or your favorite lip balm, check the bottom of the containers regularly. If the makeup is over, it is better to throw out the bottle or tube. The residues on the walls after the expiration date lose their properties and begin to negatively affect the skin. For example, expired mascara provokes allergies, dermatitis, conjunctivitis.

In the next video, you will find additional information about the shelf life of cosmetics.