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Many people will hold onto their beauty products long after they should have been tossed out.

What they don’t realize is that, just like food and medicine, cosmetics also have expiration dates.

woman looking at product label

Don’t blame yourself if you were previously unaware or guilty of holding on to some eyeshadow from 2010.

TheFDAdoes not obligate items under the “cosmetic” category to include expiration dates on their labels.

According to their website, it is legal for makeup products to be sold without any FDA approval.

assortment of natural ingredients

Most products contain preservatives to ensure that they stay marketable for long periods.

While some clean beauty products are made without preservatives, this is not the case for all.

This is likely because the term “clean” is pretty ambiguous.

hand dropping pallet in trash

However, not all preservatives are considered toxic.

However, “clean” products should not be confused with “natural” products.

This is your sign tocheck on your lotion’s expiration date and consider throwing it out.