This one frustrates me so much when I see people do what I’m getting ready to rant about (stock photos are great). I have taken hours of chemistry courses and had to deal with oil preservation as part of my studies and now job for some time. Maximizing shelf life of oils and fats is difficult and companies spend lots of money trying to prolong it as much as possible.
This video that Biossance posted to their IG is exactly how you DON’T do treat your face oils.
Biossance has good packaging for their products, especially their oils.
All oils and fats degrade from oxidation, light, and bacteria. This is a universal truth, and rancid fat has a very particular smell that’s rather obvious to the nose. To describe it best is that ‘It smells rancid’. It’s a unique odor.
Biossance has green glass packaging which blocks a lot of light and it’s a dark green which will work better than light green glass (think Heineken beer bottles). I’m not the biggest fan of dropper bottles for oil, I do prefer a pump; however, calibrating pumps to deliver 1 -3 drops of oil ……… good luck with that. So the dropper doesn’t really annoy me. It’s also glass, some containers react with oils/fats decreasing their shelf life. Glass doesn’t do this although plastic will.
There is a proper method to getting the oil to your face.
- Unscrew up
- Remove dropper, or lift above the oil’s surface
- Depress (squeeze) the dropper (plastic bit)
- Lower back into face oil
- Release dropper to pull oil into the dropper
- Remove dropper from container and deposit oil onto hand. Do not touch skin with tip of dropper.
- Rub hands together, warming oil and ensuring even distribution, and pat onto face
- Do not squeeze oil that’s still in the dropper back into the vessel after use.
- Put top back on fully
- Store in a cool, dark area until next use.
Doing this will keep your oils longer by not introducing air, which will allow for bacterial/fungal growth and oxidation. Also, do not shake your oil bottle as this will also introduce air into the product. As extra credit keep it in a cool, dark place (under the sink or in the drawer) as this will also keep it longer due to less light. Never store face oils in direct sunlight. It does make for a pretty IG picture but your product’s shelf life will decrease substantially.
If you aren’t going to use your face oils for some time (for example Summer is around the corner), they can be stored in the fridge. I’ve never frozen mine though, kind of curious if the plastic bit can handle being frozen.
If you follow these tips and tricks, your face oils should last about a year. I’ve been using some of mine for what seems like an eternity (it’s been about a year) and they aren’t off smelling yet.
-XOXO-
Andrea
