How long do toiletries last?

[Gryfon]

Just found a load of Avon stuff which is a few years old now, will they still be ok?
I have shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, bubble bath and loads of samples. The samples are more shower gel, eye creams, facial masks etc. Just seems such a waste to throw them all out. However I don't want to use them if I'm suddenly going to break out in a hideous rash!
Thanks :D

[unixgirluk]

They'll probably be fine, the samples as long as they're still sealed they'll be ok too.

[Gryfon]

Great thanks :)

Saves me a bit of money!

[teedy23]

I would be a bit concerned with the eye cream, I would use everything else.

[unixgirluk]

if anything has been opened a quick way of testing it is wipe a little on the inside of your wrist and leave it 24 hours. No reaction perfectly fine to use.

[lil_me]

Newish ones should have a little picture of a pot on them with a number in it. 12, 24 etc means how many months from opening they are ok for. Sealed, they should be ok, only one I've ever found gone 'off' was a bottle of shampoo we found behind a bath panel (at least 7 years old) it'd seperated and was yakky!

Eye creams etc - use a clean applicator to take it out of the tub to prevent infection, then usually use within a year max.

As someones already said you can test for sensitivity before using on a large/sensitive area.

[Gryfon]

Thanks again :)

[Pink-winged]

Hi Gryfon,

This is a good thread for the Health and Beauty board so I've moved it across.

Pink

[got-it-spend-it]

Give it a sniff, and if it smells okay I would use it. I've found that things tend to smell stale if they're off.

Things like shampoo and bubble bath seem to last ages- it's make-up that tends to go off. This is lucky for me as I am a hoarder and have just counted ten pots and bottles of body lotion:eek: .

[somewhere sunlight]

I would get rid of them if I were you.

[5erendipity]

Don't they have use-by dates on them?

[lynseydee]

I used to be an Avon rep and have surplus amounts of shower gels, bubble baths and shampoos/conditioners. I am currently using stuff that I bought before I lived with my husband (nearly five years ago) and haven't had any trouble with using any of the above.

[Marty J]

if anything has been opened a quick way of testing it is wipe a little on the inside of your wrist and leave it 24 hours. No reaction perfectly fine to use.

Not necessarily.

I'd be more concerned about bacterial contamination, which might not cause a reaction on your skin, but might give you a nasty eye infection or similar. Most problems would be due to bacterial or fungal growth as opposed to one of the ingredients themselves.

It's best to treat cosmetics like food and you wouldn't rub a chicken breast on your wrist to find out if it's safe to eat. ;)