I’ve been wanting to share this article since last year when I first read saw it on Curly Nikki, but as life happens, other topics became more relevant and I didn’t get a chance until today. So what suddenly made this particular topic so relevant? Friday’s Empties post. In it I wrote a final review for Soft & Botanicals Ultra Nourishing Deep Conditioning Repair Masque, that had proven itself to be a true companion of mine. However, it wasn’t until I was snapping pics for the blog that I noticed something, it had passed the use by date of October 2017. I didn’t panic because 1) I’m not a stickler for sell-by/use-by dates and 2) the jar indicated the need to be used within twelve months (which I had done). Remembering the Curly Nikki article, I wondered if I was doing my hair harm by using something that was so far out of date.
The short answer: yes. According to the site there are no real expiration dates for hair products – similar to beauty products, but you are advised to proceed with caution. Most products should have a little symbol on them with a number and letter inside (like the image shown) which will tell you how long after opening it’s recommended the product should be used for. Again, this is just a recommendation, so in theory you could still use the product even after the time has passed, though it may not be as effective anymore. If you do find that the product has changed in colour, smell, texture or just feels different, throw it away and replace it. You can read the full article here.
