You put a lot of time and money into your skin care and makeup. You want to make sure you store your products and your beauty tools the right way to protect your investment and your skin. But, what's the right way?
Skin Care
Where you store your skin care products impacts their shelf life and potency of active ingredients. For optimal effectiveness, make sure you:
- Keep your skincare products out of the sun or direct light (a dark location, like a closed medicine cabinet, is best).
- Keep your skincare products cool, but not frozen (think refrigerator, not freezer).
- Avoid keeping your skincare products in a steamy environment (like near your bathroom shower).
Light, heat and excess moisture can permeate the product's containers, and once your products are exposed, important compounds start to break down, making the product less effective (possibly even fostering unhealthy microbial growth. Take special care when storing products with Vitamin C or other antioxidants, which are extremely vulnerable to deterioration from heat and light.
Makeup
You can extend the shelf life of your favorite items by:
- Making sure liquid products, like concealers or foundation, have a pump. This minimizes the transfer of bacteria and other microbial pathogens from your fingers into the product, which is an ideal environment for them to grow.
- Keeping all your makeup products away from direct light, heat and moisture. This will keep the compounds from breaking down.
- Using applicators correctly. Instead of dipping a doe-foot applicator or brush directly into the product, use the applicator to transfer some product to a palette or the back of your hand. Use another applicator or brush to then transfer the makeup to your face. This minimizes the dirt and bacteria that get stored with (and incubate in) you're your makeup bottles, jars and pots.
Also, store your makeup on a stable surface where they won't accidentally fall and break.
Beauty Tools
Your beauty tools are the items in your beauty regimen that will be with you the longest, so you want to ensure you store them correctly. The best way to do this is upright in a jar filled with pebbles, coffee beans or rice so they stand up and won't touch. Separate your face brushes, powder brushes and brushes for your eyes so you can find what you need easily. Finally, make sure you clean your brushes with gentle soap and water or better yet, cleanser designed specifically for makeup brushes often (about every two weeks) to ensure they last and don't contribute to breakouts. Clean your makeup sponges regularly and store them on a base to ensure they dry properly.
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