Your products have an expiration date: THROW THEM AWAY

Graphic products

There’s no doubt about it, I’m a product junkie. I’m in that club where I must have products, whether I know if they work in my hair or not. Especially when Ulta, Target, or Walgreens have a BOGO sale (they secretly try to keep us buying products). But the important thing about being a product junkie is knowing when to throw those unused or semi-used products away. It pains me to say this but hair products do have an expiration date. Natural Hair products are not immortal. 

 

Here’s how to know when you need to throw them away:

Expiration date:

me pointing at expired products




So of course this is the most obvious reason. Not all products have an expiration date listed, but many products do such as Shea moisture products. If the product you are using does not have an expiration date listed, most expire 1-2 years after you have purchased them.

Smell:

If you smell your products right when you purchase than you know how they should smell. You will notice if the smell of your products are becoming a little sour, if so, than it is time to throw away.

Mold:

This is gross but it does happen! Especially if your products don’t have an expiration date, or you are confused about the smell, sometimes mold will form on the top layer of the product. Mold can even form on the top ring, so before closing the product look to see if mold has formed. Also, when you are done with a product close the lid tightly, this will keep out unwanted moisture.

Product separates:

Sometimes the product will begin to separate. Notice: i.e the oils in the product will separate from the cream causing a film on the top layer. 




 

For liquid products:

Liquid products have a longer shelf life than cream based products because they can be refrigerated to last longer. Although they can be refrigerated they do expire as well. Open your liquid based products and perform the same experiments (smelling, check expiration, mold, and pour to see a color change).

 

 

Check all of your products monthly to see if they need to be thrown away. If so, please throw them away! We don’t like expired food in our bodies just as we wouldn’t want expired products in our hair. Lastly, don’t buy more products than you can handle (I know it’s hard), but it will also save you coin!

 

Let me know how you have noticed your products have expired!

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8 Comments

  1. Kaylan
    October 21, 2017 / 2:56 pm

    Hello, i purchased the shea moisture deep treatment conditioner from my local store yesterday. When I was about to use it this morning I was just randomly flipped it over to the back side and it said EX 6/18/17 and we are now in 10/21/17. So I’m taking it back and getting my money back, I’m sad because I love this stuff so much but I need to find it somewhere else! And I have used this product before in the past. And I never really knew these had expiration dates, but no wonder last time I used it I had it sitting in my shower for a long time and when I used it the smell was just horrible!! So yes people should defiantly start checking for Ex dates.

    • NaturallyNex
      October 21, 2017 / 3:20 pm

      Hi Kaylan! Thank you for commenting. Yes, so many people don’t think to look at the back of products before they buy. I’m glad you looked and are returning. That’s one of my favorite deep conditioners as well, but you’ll be able to find it again just keep checking those dates 🙂 Have a good one!

  2. Luke Ebere
    November 10, 2017 / 6:07 pm

    Hi,i just started my natural hair journey weeks ago.. i went to the store today to get Cantu shea butter deep treatment masque i didn’t check while I was in d store,i got home n decided to review the product only to find out there is no expiry date but it smells nice tho..i don’t know if I got a fake product.what do u suggest I do ?

    • NaturallyNex
      November 10, 2017 / 7:58 pm

      Hello! Sometimes products don’t have expiration dates listed, in this case, I suggest 2 years at the most is when it would expire. If using organic (without preservatives) products using the product for 3 months then throw away. Remember to keep your eyes on the smell, try to keep them in a cool place, and make sure the jar is tight. This will keep your products fresh. So, I believe the product you got is fine. Hope this helps!

  3. Bria
    April 22, 2019 / 4:00 pm

    It curdles like spoiled milk almost and gets thicker

    • NaturallyNex
      Author
      April 25, 2019 / 2:03 am

      Absolutely!

  4. Viola Martini
    December 1, 2019 / 8:24 pm

    My Shea Moisture Energizing Body Lotion has an expiration date of 10/25/17 but it still smells good…Is it OK to use?

    • NaturallyNex
      Author
      December 4, 2019 / 3:15 am

      Hi Viola! Thanks for commenting. Since you don’t notice a difference in smell then I would say it should be okay, but if you’re using it to moisturize your skin it probably isn’t as it was when you first received. Discontinue if you start noticing a smell or some skin irritation occurs.