We have always been told to check for expiration dates for food and medicine, but I often wonder about the question I posted earlier. Do shampoo and soap ever expire? If they do, how do we know? If they do, what can they do to the human body? What is the shelf life for soap and shampoo? Will an unused toothpaste expire too? The question might seem ridiculous, but I am honestly so curious about this. Any thoughts on this?
The soap it depends. If it's commercial soap, these are made in large batches and because it is for large scale retail, companies often have to use certain chemicals to make their product last longer. The longer they sit they more changes to the chemical composition of the soap. If you check there should be an expiration date which is usually six months or more prior to the actual expiration of the product because manufacturers don't want people using products that are unsafe. If it's handmade soap it depends on lye measurements (having more or less lye affects how long it will last as well as how good it will be), how much fat was put into it (this effects longetivity also), and if it has any inclusions like flowers, fruit, herbs, etc. These will shorten the soap's shelf life. Expired soap can irritate the skin. As for shampoo, I think the same applies. If it's moldy (of course) or smells bad just don't use the soap or shampoo. If it doesn't, then check for an expiration date. Shampoos will probably have a 12m or 24m. This means 12 or 24 months after it was bought. Which means you'd have to remember when that was. Why don' t they just put a date? I don;t know.
Wow, thanks for the reply. I was wondering with it too. Why can they not just put the expiration dates on shampoo, soap, and toothpaste? It just annoys me sometimes that manufacturers only do that to food and medicine, but they don't with soap. Just because we don't ingest soap and shampoo (because really, we should not, and who would?), are they not thinking what old soap could do to the skin?
Ya know, I actually went to cosmetology school and I swear we covered everything in the book but this... yeah, I don't remember this. As a precious poster @thatnewmommy mentioned, "If it's commercial soap, these are made in large batches and because it is for large scale retail, companies often have to use certain chemicals to make their product last longer. The longer they sit they more changes to the chemical composition of the soap." I would think even if there is no mold, mildew, weird smell or anything, it might not lather right or give the desired effect. I will say from experience, I used some Infusium 23 shampoo my mom had under the sink for almost a decade and it worked fine, had no adverse effects and lathered right up, smelling lovely! LOL
Once a product is opened then bacteria can seep into it which is why dispensers tend to be better. Anything with natural ingredients or extracts will go off and should be used as soon as possible. Commercial bar soaps won't go off, but things like hair dye with chemicals I would be wary of. Chemical compositions can change over time if not stored correctly too, but if unopened they can be safe, but the smell test is the best. I found some body lotion that had gone off and (the oil had separated), unopened so it can happen.
Though I haven't experienced having expired soap or shampoo, I do know they expire. Since these items have chemicals and other ingredients which I'm sure will expire, they will expire. And chemicals put into these can't last forever. I guess these products just expire really slowly and it's not usual for a person to experience the expiring of soap and shampoo because they use it a lot hence not seeing it expire.
I can't say I've ever given much thought to the expiry date of things like soap, handwash and shower gel. Obviously, if something has separated then I'll discard it but on the whole, I'm pretty sure these type of things are absolutely fine to use, even after a number of years.
