Sack or salvage: How to tell when it’s time to toss a beloved beauty product

Sack or salvage? Find out now »

Knowing when to toss out a beauty product can be tricky. Between expiration dates, PAO labels and your own fickle fondness for a certain shade or finish, there are a lot of factors to consider. Not to mention, the physical act of throwing a product into the garbage before it’s completely empty just feels wrong. (Especially when you consider how much money is being tossed out with it!)

However, when it comes to the health of your skin, lids, lips, lashes and hair, it’s important to clean out your beauty bag on the regular. Just like food and medicine, the symptoms of expired beauty products range from ingredients that no longer work (goodbye, skin-firming promises!) to becoming an attractive place for bacteria to settle. That being said, expiration dates “mean nothing if the product isn’t cared for correctly,” says Pierce Rees, a manager with Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutique. “Bathrooms and cars are a big no-no and never refrigerate a product unless indicated, as it can break down actives.”

While there are a lot of tricks you can employ to extend the shelf life of favourite items (screw lids on tightly to prevent cracked powders, keep brushes away from mildew-prone towels) it’s important to know when something has gotta go. “Always trust your senses, smell, sight and feel,” says Rees. “If it smells off, looks off, or feels off, do not use it.” To help you know what’s what, we’ve come up with a list of products that you should either sack or salvage.

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