| The popularity of cosmetics in the last decade has increased rapidly. Many companies have catered to this expanding market with the delivery of new varieties of foundation, lipsticks and mascara, greater marketing and better packaging. Each of these cosmetic products have there own once opened ‘use by’ dates ranging from a few months to a year. Use by date information and awareness has been limited, however this has begun to change in recent years.
The Challenge
EU regulations have recently incorporated new Periods after Opening (PaO) rules for cosmetic products to provide consumers sufficient information on when the cosmetic products are at their best and safe to use. The open cream jar symbol with its time indication seems to be a step in the right direction towards giving consumers a good idea of how long a product will perform at its optimum level. Yet the issue of remembering exactly when the product was opened still remains.
There are few potential risks regarding the use of cosmetics. One product that has a particularly short life-span once opened is mascara. Some mascara contains an ingredient that breaks down to produce formaldehyde which prevents the growth of bacteria. Mascara that has been open for a long period of time may no longer be producing formaldehyde, allowing bacteria to proliferate. For this reason, it is recommended to replace a tube of mascara every few months.
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