The Dirt on Beauty: When to Toss Your Beauty & Skin Care Products

Are your cabinets and bags spilling over with beauty products? It’s time for a thorough spring cleaning. To be a timeless beauty, you have to manage your skin care and make-up stash. When products are used too long, not only are they less effective or completely ineffective, they can spread germs and bacteria.

1. Begin your cleaning by taking an assessment of your skin care products. Less is more: Simplify to no more than three to four steps in the morning and at night. In the morning, use a mild gel cleanser, an antioxidant such as vitamin C, and a sunscreen moisturizer. Before bed, use resurfacing ingredients such as AHAs and retinols, in addition to restorative peptides.
2. Purge items that are beyond their useful life and take care of products that last a long time, such as make-up brushes. Here’s a checklist:

Weekly

• Replace razor heads or disposable razors. Stretch out your razor usefulness by taking it out of the shower and letting it dry after each use.

Monthly

• Wash natural make-up brushes at least once a month (synthetic brushes should be twice a month) with a gentle shampoo. Lay flat to dry to prevent bristles from bending.
• Use a lingerie bag to wash sponges and applicators on gentle cycle in the wash, air dry.

Every two months

• Toss mascara; it has the shortest shelf life of all beauty products.

Six months

• Toss – Toners that are applied with cotton balls, moisturizers, and antioxidant products.
• Lip gloss is a beauty product that you double dip, which can spread germs; keep for about 6 months.
• Liquid foundation lasts from 6 months to one year.

Yearly

• Toss sunscreen, eye pencils, lipsticks and pencils, nail polish, and exfoliants and toners that are in pumps.

Long-term

Powdered beauty, which includes loose compact powder, blush, and eye shadow, should be tossed after one-two years.

Super Long-Term

• Fragrance lasts eight-10 years.

You have worked hard, so it’s time to shop. When you buy new products, write the purchase date on the bottom of the bottle to make future purges simple.