Natural skincare is like food for the skin. So treat your skincare like your food.
The best skincare (like food) is freshly made using fresh, natural ingredients (ideally sourced as locally as possible).
As with fresh food, this will mean skincare has a lifespan (or ‘shelf-life’), after which it is considered not suitable for use.
So how do you know how long your natural skincare will last?
When you’re making your own products from a kit, there will be guidance on that kit as to how long it will last.
This will include:
- a ‘Use by’ date or a ‘Make by’ date stating a specific calendar date (probably month/year)
- and a ‘Use within x time of opening’. This guidance is shown by an open jar symbol and a specific time period (eg, ‘3 weeks’, ‘6 months’). This tells you the amount of time you have to use the product once you’ve opened the jar (ie, begun to expose it to air and potential contamination).
Example of a ‘use within time of opening’ image for a product to be used within 6 months of opening.
Field Fresh Skincare One-Pot-Kits have a ‘Use with x time of opening’ detail on the label you apply to the finished product you’ve made. Products containing water should be used within 3 months; those without water within 6 months.
They also have a ‘make by’ date on the outer sleeve of the kit. This date relates to the use-by dates of the individual ingredients in the kit.
Each Field Fresh Skincare One-Pot-Kit contains up to 18 different ingredients, including dried herbs, plant seed oils, butters and waxes. These individual ingredients all have their own shelf lives. The dating of the kit is given to ensure that the product you make will be used within the good lifespan of all ingredients. It’s therefore the ingredient with the shortest lifespan that dictates the kit make-by date.
When you see the ‘make by’ date on the kit, you can be assured that if the product made with this kit is made by the ‘make by’ date, it will be good for the full ‘use within time of opening’ span suggested on the label. Eg, a ‘make by date’ in March on a product with a 6M ‘use within’ span would be good to use until September of that year.
You’ve a little bit of wiggle room, therefore. If your kit has a ‘make by date’ of March, but it’s now April. You can still make that kit up, and it will make a perfectly good, fresh product. But just know that the ingredients in that product are only guaranteed to be fresh for the 6 months based on the correct make by date. So making it up a month late, will take a month off the ‘use within’ span, ie, you’ll still need to use the product by September.
Take care
Even when using product that is within date, make a visual check of your product each time you use it and, obviously discard if you see any sign of mould.
There are precautions you can take to ensure your product remains in the best condition throughout its lifespan:
- Always use sterile jars and bottles to store your products in
- Ensure the lid fits well and is kept on when the product is not in use
- Keep any products containing water in the chiller section of the fridge
- Always use clean fingers to handle your products
- When possible, use a narrow-necked jar or bottle to minimise the product surface area exposed to possible contamination
- Make your products in small quantities so you use them while fresh
- Follow these guidelines for working cleanly when making skincare
