Spring is here, and it’s not just your home that deserves a fresh start—your skincare routine does too! Just like the perishable goods in your pantry, your favourite beauty products come with a best-before date aswell.
Here are our five top tips on how to declutter and refresh:
1. REMOVE
Start by cleaning out the cabinet, remove everything and give the cabinet a good wipe down.
2. REVIEW
Is your skincare cabinet looking a bit like a science experiment? Spring cleaning means saying farewell to expired or outdated products. Check those labels for an expiry date—if it’s been sitting around for more than a year, it’s time to let it go. Fresh, new products will give your routine a fabulous boost. Your skin deserves the best, so make sure it’s not being weighed down by ancient skincare relics!
As a general rule, products with active ingredients like Vitamin C, Retinol or plant extracts have a shorter shelf life, while your fundamentals with fewer actives like cleansers or toners last longer.
Generally, here is how long your skincare will be good for after opening:
- Cleansers and Exfoliating cleansers: 1- 1 1/2 years
- Toners: 1-2 years
- Exfoliating serums or toners - 6 months – 1 year
- Serums: 6 months
- Facial oils (without actives): 1-2 years
- Facial oils (with actives): 6 months – 1 year
- Moisturisers: 6 months – 1 year
- Eye creams: 6 months – 1 year
- SPFs: 1 year
- Face masks: 6 months – 1 year
You may also have some skincare that you just don’t use or that you’ve used, had a breakout and didn’t use again. Be honest with yourself about these products:
- Do you still want them or will they sit around until they have expired?
- Is there someone else that might benefit from them?
- Can you figure out a way to give them another go and incorporate them into your routine?
3. REDUCE
Once you have whittled down your collection, review how much of each product you have. For those products where there isn’t much left, can you put them into smaller containers?
4. CLEAN
Give your products a clean to make them look nice and appealing to use. Are there any applicators you use that may need a good clean? Maintaining clean tools year-round prevents breakouts and bacteria growth and also increases longevity.
5. REARRANGE
Then go about rearranging the products, separate your weekly from daily use products and organsie them in terms of your routine – cleanse, exfoliate, treat, hydrate and SPF. Rearrange your products if you are feeling like they are a little bit jumbled. Not only will this help you find everything in a flash, but a tidy space means a clearer mind—and a more effective skincare routine!
How do you spring clean your skincare? Share us your tips, we would love to hear from you!
