Does your skincare belong in the fridge? 

You may spend a lot of time in your bathroom getting ready, but your skincare products shouldn’t. The great fluctuation in heat and humidity shortens their shelf life — even for your perfumes and cosmetics. The steam from your hot shower can cause water to condense on the surface of your skincare products and beauty tools, generating mold (no, thank you). So, hurry up and move any product without a strong seal out of the steam chamber and into some place dry.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to move your entire collection out — shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, and body scrubs can still stay inside the shower. 

2. Away from sunlight

For many of us who live in sunnier places, it’s sometimes tricky to stop the sunlight from shining on our products that sit on our vanity tables. It’s important to keep products with Vitamin C, retinol, benzoyl peroxide, DHA, and anything organic or preservative-free far away from the sun, as this could easily destabilize the product formula and make the product go “off” more quickly. Think about leaving a carton of milk out of the fridge, and what becomes of it. The heat could cause product decomposition.

Consider keeping your skincare products in a small cabinet or drawer.

3. In the fridge

Any skincare product with retinol or Vitamin C belongs in the fridge as cold temperatures slow down the degradation of these ingredients.

If you notice any packaging that doesn’t have a solid, rubberized seal, you may want to pop these into the fridge as well. Certain active ingredients may become inactive more quickly in higher temperatures. Keeping them in the fridge can slow down this process by three times.

Do take note though that not all products can be placed in the fridge. Some moisturizers require refrigeration (it’ll say so on the packaging) and some are sensitive to freezing. So to play it safe, keep to the first two tips of keeping products away from moisture and direct sunlight.