Shelf Life for High Thyme FARMacy's Natural Skin Care Products

All our products are handmade with natural ingredients. We try to minimize the number of preservatives we use in our products. This unfortunately means they do have a limited shelf life. We guarantee our products for one year from the purchase date. Please keep in mind the aroma of certain essential oils and colorants will diminish over time once exposed to air. 

For a longer storage, store products in a cool, dry place. Avoid excessive heat or exposure to direct sunlight. The last thing we want is for your skincare products to lose their effectiveness prior to their expiration date. This can happen if you store your product(s) in an environment which is not favorable to the ingredients. Opened skincare products are highly susceptible to contaminants and bacteria which end up affecting the potency and eventually lessening the shelf life of the product.

Here are some practices to implement so that your products can stay effective and fresh for longer:

1. Handle your skincare products with clean hands.

Sanitize your hands before scooping out your face creams or moisturizers. Likewise, don't "double-dip." When you double-dip your fingers into a product, you introduce bacteria from the skin to the product and the cycle keeps repeating. This poses the same threat to the shelf life of a product as handling it with unclean hands. To avoid this contamination, use a cosmetic spatula when scooping from jar containers. Cosmetic spatulas reduce bacteria contamination.

2. Avoid storing your skincare products in the bathroom.

The bathroom is a breeding ground for bacteria due to high moisture levels and fluctuating temperatures. Such bacteria and fungi, if introduced to skincare, could cause products to become contaminated, lose potency faster - thus lessening their effectiveness and shelf life. Hot showers increase the temperature of the bathroom, which weakens preservatives and leads to the breakdown of ingredients in your skincare products. This destabilizes the product rendering it useless. Also, when you flush the toilet, fecal matter and urine are sprayed all over your bathroom which results in bacteria all over your products

Most of High Thyme FARMacy's products are anhydrous (made without water), and will remain safe and effective past the expiration if they remain moisture-free.

3. Store your products away from direct sunlight.

Sunlight affects the potency and reduces the shelf life of your skincare products. Faster oxidation can occur if you keep your product(s) on the window sill where they’re exposed to direct sunlight. This result explains why one day a product may be effective, but the next it’s causing you irritation and acne.

4. Store skincare products in a refrigerator for best results.

The more organic your products are, the more likely they will benefit from being kept in the refrigerator. This is because products that do not contain synthetic preservatives are more susceptible to bacterial growth. Storing your natural skincare products in the fridge will prevent mold from growing and the cool temperatures will prevent ingredients from separating, which keeps the formula intact.