Over a recent lunch date with my work bestie, she voluntarily admitted she’d been using her ‘trustiest’ foundation brush for six years straight and, um, that it had never once been washed. Yes, I did gag on my sandwich. This blasé admission sparked my fight or flight response and, being the noble beauty journalist that I am, only one solution was going to be satisfactory – to write up a comprehensive guide on how and why you should clean your beauty stash, tools ‘n’ all. I mean, what better time to get stuck into it than now? ‘Tis the season of new beginnings and spring cleaning, after all.

Bin your ageing beauty buys

Just like food, our make-up, haircare and skincare products are all perishable. However, cosmetic products in the UK and EU markets don’t have ~official~ expiry dates. Instead, there are guidelines to help you understand how long your beauty products are good to use for, sort of like a ‘best before’ date. To know when it’s time to bin your ageing beauty buys, products display a ‘Period After Opening’ symbol on the back of their packaging.

Why is it so important to stick to the guidelines? Well, dermatologist Radmila Lukian says that using old or expired makeup can have several negative side effects on your skin. “The preservatives present in make-up products have a shelf life and after a certain period, these can break down, allowing bacteria to grow. This bacteria can lead to skin irritation, breakouts, rashes and even infections!”

Have a toolkit cleanse

In my bestie’s case, and I’m sure in most of ours, keeping on top of our tools is another issue altogether. Yes, regularly washing our everyday makeup brushes and sponges can seem like a chore, but before you know it, six long years go by.

Dr Lukian tells Cosmopolitan: “As a general rule of thumb, it’s recommended to wash your make-up brushes at least once a week.

“This can vary depending on how often you use each tool, but regularly cleaning them can help prevent breakouts, as well as helping to maintain the quality and effectiveness of your brushes for longer,” she adds. If they’re not cleaned on the regular, make-up brushes can be a breeding ground for bacteria, oil and dirt. Let’s put it like this: you wouldn’t apply your skincare without washing your hands first, so try to think of your brushes in the same way.

Heads up, this also goes for other tools, too – because beauty doesn’t stop at our necks. “For shower loofahs and body brushes, it’s recommended you wash them at least once a week,” says Dr Lukian. You can wash them with fresh, warm water and your usual body cleanser. When it comes to replacing these tools, Dr Lukian recommends doing this “every three to four weeks to ensure that they’re effective and hygienic.”

How to safely dump your old stash

Now you’ve sorted through what to wash, what’s expired and what’s still okay to use, let’s talk about discarding those old beauty bits, in the best (and the most sustainable) way possible. First, unless a product’s formula is completely natural, you should never flush or pour your make-up or toiletries down the drain.

According to an article published in 2023 and authored by the National Institutes of Health, “PPCPs [pharmaceuticals and personal care products] in wastewater are not normally removed by typical treatment processes and require advanced treatment methods for removal.” Therefore, in order to avoid water contamination, the best practice is to decant expired formulas into a disposable container and place them in your normal rubbish bin.

Packaging, however, is a very different story. Just like reusable water bottles, to reduce waste, we encourage you to reuse or repurpose containers where you can. A surprising amount of plastic packaging can’t actually be recycled, so you should always check the label. Things such as foundation pumps and the magnets and mirrors found in makeup palettes should be binned. But if you have any empty glass jars or tubs, you can create a pretty set-up by repurposing them as storage for cotton wool, hair grips or your freshly washed make-up brushes. So, there you have it. Now your spring-spruced beauty shelfie is up to date, sparkling clean and totally snap-worthy.

As a general guide, cosmetics should follow these expiration dates from opening…

Some products may have best-before dates, and you’ll see these along with the letters ‘BBE or an egg-timer symbol. Be sure to check them: once a product’s date passes, its efficacy will be affected.

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