Forget the cobwebs and windows for a minute. Are your beauty products past their prime? Follow this spring cleaning checklist to a spruced up beauty kit.

A change of season always feels good. Spiffing up your home and wardrobe helps to freshen things up. The poor beauty kit, though, often goes neglected. You wouldn’t wear worn out clothes or eat expired cookies, would you? Ok, maybe the cookies. But expired beauty products can be hazardous to the health of your skin.

You know how we like to avoid synthetic preservatives? These chemicals may have health risks, but they are also what make conventional beauty products last for, like, ever. Super long shelf life, however, is not the end goal in a beauty product.

Proper preservation is important where beauty products are concerned. It prevents bacterial growth, which can cause breakouts, irritation, rashes, or even infection. Natural preservatives are effective but usually come with a shorter shelf life. Might be time to pitch your old beauty products.

We’ve stocked up on some springtime items, like hot makeup multi-taskers and sassy susty sneaks. Put your credit card away. Today…we purge.

Spring Cleaning Checklist for the Beauty Kit

✔Natural beauty products, like food, have an expiration date. The European Union requires all cosmetic products be stamped with a date of expiry. Here in the U.S., this is not a requirement. If the package is not marked with an expiration date, check the brand website for suggestions on product shelf life.

✔No expiration date or manufacturer recommendations on when a product is past its prime? Give it a sniff. If a cosmetic product smells of mildew or rancid oil, pitch it.

✔If you are still unsure of a product’s freshness, check this handy list on beauty product shelf life.

✔Replace all sunscreen products each year. Sunscreens break down after opening and become less effective. Don’t risk it. Pitch and get new.

✔If you haven’t already, wash those makeup brushes and tools. This will cut down big time on oils, dirt, dust, and bacteria.

✔Find a safe spot for your natural skincare and makeup items. A cool place, out of direct sunlight is best for keeping cosmetics fresh. Steamy bathroom windowsill? No. Out of the way cabinet or drawer? Yes.

✔Take a conservative approach with seasonal products and clear the clutter year to year. That light facial serum you loved so much last spring? Throw out the opened bottle and get new. Tinted mascara you used religiously a year ago? Again, time to go.

Spring cleaning your beauty kit not only ensures product effectiveness, but keeps skin healthy and clear too. Checklist in hand, you are ready to conquer your bathroom cupboard.

Related on EcoSalon

20 Ways to Spring Clean Without Spending a Cent

4 Liquid Lipsticks to Rock this Spring

More Pleats Please! Spring’s Must-Have Look is in the Fold: On Trend

Image of basket of beauty products via Shutterstock

The post Spring Cleaning Checklist: When to (Finally) Toss Beauty Products appeared first on EcoSalon.