Caring for Beauty

Oddly enough in my family I’m known as the “tech” person. The person mom calls when she makes the jump from a cell phone to a blackberry. The person who’s supposed to know the magic button that makes the new flat screen go from wide screen to full screen… over the phone. And the “go to girl” who installs and sets up new electronic toys in under 30 minutes. So you can only imagine the irony when I received a supped up juicer, decided to not waste my time reading the manual and instead start juicing! Well it only took me 5 minutes to blow the poor little machine up! What a humbling reminder that no matter how much of an expert you may be it’s not a blow (literally!) to the ego to just brush up on the “how to’s.”

When it comes to the world of beauty we often discard the box with the instructions and prefer a roll up your sleeve and do it attitude. This may work sometimes but it’s the finer print on the box detailing how you should use and care for your products to maintain maximum efficacy for the best results. Since I know all your beauty instruction boxes are in a recycling center somewhere (yes all boxes, bottles, tubes and jars are recyclable so please do your part to be eco-fficient) I thought it would be good to review the fundamentals.

Top 3 Ways You Should be Caring for your Beauty Products:

1.Close the cap!

Basic, right? Well in the wee hours of the work day morning or after an exhausting evening it may seem too challenging to full screw the cap or to firmly close the flip top but if you don’t you risk “deactivating” your precious product. Some products contain air sensitive ingredients like retinoids or vitamin C and if the formula is exposed to oxygen the ingredients oxidize rendering them inactive. So rather than apply “dead” cream night after night thinking your skin is becoming ageless just close the cap

2. Keep it cool!

What happens when you don’t keep your produce, dairy or veggies in a cool, refrigerated environment? It goes bad! Well the same logic applies for your beauty products. Hot, steamy showers don’t equal efficacious products. Instead extreme temperatures can cause the product to “age” faster and inevitably lose it’s mojo. So store your products in a dry, room temperature (no higher than 67 degrees). If you’re an over achiever and want extra credit, store your products in the fridge to maintain their freshness (side note I keep my nail polishes there too!).

3. Know the age!

Some time sensitive products like sunscreens or retinoids are labeled with expiration dates. Be sure to adhere to these dates because not only does an expired product not work but you risk experiencing an allergic reaction to the spoiled formula. If you’re product does not have an expiration date then look on the back panel for the open jar symbol. That tells you how long the product will remain active after opening.

Usage tip: While you’re getting refresher in caring for your beauty products why not also glance through the 101’s of beauty care.

The result: Now at least you will be using products that “do something” and deliver on their advertised promises.