Experts have warned of the alarming risks of using skincare products like moisturiser and serum that are passed their sell-by date — including burnt cheeks, disfiguring acne and agonising eye infections.
The specialists cautioned that such old products can be home to a cocktail of bacteria not visible to the naked eye that infest the skin and wreak havoc.
Stomach-churning images also show how these types of bacterial infections could enter the bloodstream, with potentially life-threatening complications.
Dr Anthony Youn, a Michigan-based plastic surgeon, warned this is because a preservative used in the products to keep them fresh will eventually expire, leaving them prone to bacterial and fungal contamination.
In a YouTube video watched almost 90,000 times, he said: ‘One thing you always want to look for is the expiration date on the products that you’re using.
‘If they’ve expired sometimes what can happen is their chemical composition has changed and what you’re applying to your skin is no longer what it used to be.
Stomach-churning images also show how expired skincare can leave users suffering painful burns and bacterial infections that could enter the bloodstream
Experts today cautioned that expired cosmetic products can be home to a cocktail of bacteria not visible to the naked eye, leaving users at risk of anything from a painful eye infection to skin complaint
‘The other thing that can happen is bacteria can actually grow in the product.
‘Most skincare products and make-up have some type of preservative that helps fight bacterial and fungal contamination and growth in those products.
‘After a while, those ingredients may not work so well anymore and you’ll see more and more growth and bacteria.
‘When you’re then applying that to your skin, you can get an infection, a reaction.’
Equally, skincare products that have been left unused for months may become more concentrated over time, meaning users are applying their skin with much stronger formulations than advertised.
Dr Youn added: ‘If you have an active ingredient like an acid and that has been buffered by other types of ingredients like water and oils, they can change in structure or start to evaporate.
‘That acid can then get stronger and you’re left treating your skin with something much stronger than it was before.
‘You should not use expired products on your skin.’
Dr Anthony Youn, a Michigan-based plastic surgeon, warned this was because a preservative used in the products to keep them fresh will eventually expire leaving them prone to bacterial and fungal contamination
In a separate YouTube video he shared the experience of one US-based woman who was left suffering burns and a severe becterial infection after putting expired acne treatment on her face.
‘The bacterial infection could have gone into her bloodstream, the good news is that she has healed from it,’ he added.
Cosmetic products include a ‘period after opening’ or ‘PAO’ symbol alongside a figure indicating how many months the product will last.
Industry recommendations suggest that mascara and liquid eyeliner should be replaced after a maximum of three months, eyebrow pencils within 18 months and lipstick, eyeshadow and blusher within two years.
Sponges, meanwhile, should be washed weekly and thrown out after two months.
It is not the first time, however, experts have warned about the health risks posed by out-of-date make-up.
In 2015, lab tests by scientists at London Metropolitan University on out-of-date makeup also revealed it contained potentially deadly bacteria — including a strain that causes meningitis.
The researchers tested five products including a blusher, foundation and lip gloss and found old cosmetics contain unsafe levels of potentially lethal bacteria.
Industry recommendations suggest that mascara and liquid eyeliner should be replaced after a maximum of three months, eyebrow pencils within 18 months and lipstick, eyeshadow and blusher within two years
One of the bugs — enterococcus faecalis — is a main cause of meningitis, which kills more children under five than any other infectious disease in the UK.
Other deadly bacteria detected included eubacterium, which causes bacterial vaginosis and aeromonas, one of the causes of gastroenteritis and wound infections.
Researchers also found staphlyoccocus epidermidis, a nasty bug which is resistant to antibiotics, propionibacterium — one of the main causes for acne and other skin conditions — and enterobacter, which causes urinary and respiratory tract infections.
Dr Emma Wedgeworth, a consultant dermatologist and spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation has also previously said that applying out of date products to your face ‘could be causing irritation or pore blockage’.
She added: ‘If you already have a compromised skin barrier — dry, scaly, irritated skin — or an existing skin condition, you are at a higher risk of infection or irritation.’
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, you should toss products that start to clump like mascara or eyeliner.
A change in consistency like a foundation that separates or crumbles or falls apart like powder eyeshadow or blush are other key signs.
Products smelling bad, changing color or that feel different on your skin are also among the reasons to ditch them.
