How many of you have a skin care graveyard? If you’re not raising your hand or nodding your head, I’m giving you a very questioning look. But I’m not judging you because I used to have a skin care graveyard, too!
What is a skin care graveyard?
As humans in a modern world, when we want something, we want it yesterday. Or when we see something shiny and promising, we have to have it. Or when your friend tells you she has something and insists you’ll love it, too. So we buy it and sometimes we even use if for a week or two. And then we forget. And then it gets put in the drawer.
If these bright, shiny, promising objects happen to be skin care products, this is how a skin care graveyard forms. All these products that promised us flawless skin somehow get pushed into a drawer never to see the light of day again. But we can’t seem to part with it because we paid good money for it, right? I totally hear you! I grew up in a household of hand-me-downs and upcycling before upcycling was a thing. But, trust me, it’s time to de-spookify your skin care graveyard.
De-spookify your skin care graveyard
Now is a good time to clean up that spooky graveyard! As much time as it may take and as much as it may hurt to throw out “perfectly good” products, it will be well worth it. Open up those drawers and toss any products that are:
- Past expiration – Toss any products that are one year past the expiration date. If it has an expiration date, there’s usually a reason. One reason may be that there is a limited time for that formulation to remain steady and intact. At best, you put on that expired product and it doesn’t work. At worst, it can cause an adverse reaction. I mean, if your Halloween costume is a rash-stricken teenage pop star, you may want to use expired products, but I think it would be easier and less painful to apply make-up for the party and then wash it off at night.
- Change in color or consistency – Like we mentioned above, formulations change and can even degrade over time. Anything that hasn’t been used in awhile and has changed in consistency probably isn’t going to work as it is intended. This is commonly seen with Vitamin C products. Vitamin C is is a very unstable ingredient and needs to be high quality if it is to be beneficial to your skin. If your Vitamin C product has changed from a clear or light orange to brown, it’s gotta go. Stat! Same thing with your other products….as Elsa would say, “Let it go, let it goooooo!”
- Rarely used – Toss any products that you don’t remember using within the last year. If you haven’t used it in the last 365 days, do you really think you’ll use it within the next couple months. Let’s not lie to ourselves…we know the real answer! Also, if you have to dip a wand in a tube or stick your finger in a jar in order to dispense the product and you haven’t used it in a few months, it’s time to toss. Those wands and your fingers may have been a vehicle for germs that have only had the chance to proliferate over the months. Not spreading that on this face. No way. Ew.
- Not for your skin type – If you are 37 and don’t get any breakouts anymore, there’s no need to hang onto that benzoyl peroxide that you bought when you were 22. If you do happen to get a blemish in the future, it’s probably time to replace that BP anyway. Have you had dry skin for years, but still have that moisturizer for oily skin? Toss that baby! Bought that sweet smelling lotion that has mango in it only to find out you’re allergic to mango? Bye-bye, itch-inducer!
And now for the fun!
Time to organize! Yes, I said it was time for fun. Please don’t look at me weird because I love to organize. You’ll thank me later! Now that you’ve reduced the clutter and cleared out your graveyard, you’re left with products that you are still in good health, that you like, and that you’ll use! If you’ve never organized your skin care before, this may be a good time to go buy yourself something pretty. And by that, I mean a pretty little organization thingy. I, personally, like those 3M clear caddies. I stick them right up on the inside of my vanity door. On the left, I have my general face products and on the right I have my eye and lip products.
If you have a place to line up your products, line them all up in order. One line for day and one line for night. Being organized will also help save you time and ensure you’re not missing a step in your skin care regimen.
Ahh, don’t we all feel much better now?! Now that we de-spookified our skin care graveyard, we can go out and enjoy the real spookiness of this Halloween season!