From using your regular refrigerators for keeping your skincare products “cool and dry” to considering buying a skincare mini refrigerator, you must have asked yourself if you need to place your skincare essentials in the mini-fridge.
Furthermore, you might be confused by the contrasting statements of dermatologists about skincare products and the use of refrigerators to store them. Some products need to be kept in the freezer to prolong their lives while others cannot stand low temperatures.
Therefore, let us know about the pros and cons of refrigerating skincare products, freezer-friendly ingredients, and products that must not be kept in a fright in this article today.
What are the Benefits of Refrigerating Skin Care Products?
Let us first consider some benefits of Refrigerating skincare products that became the reason behind the popularity of mini skincare fridges.
1. Preservation of Active Ingredients
Some skincare products contain active ingredients that cannot withstand high room temperature and direct sunlight. Consequently, keeping them unprotected in your room can lead to their oxidation and inactivation.
Storing such products in a refrigerator ensures that the active ingredients stay in their best form for the longest time possible.
2. Increasing the Shelf-Life
Placing skincare products in your bathroom cupboard can expose them to impurities and bacteria. These cause contamination and contaminated products expire sooner than expected.
Therefore, you can enhance the expiration time of your much-cherished skincare products by storing them away from bacteria and impurities in a refrigerator that prevents contamination.
3. More Calming on the Skin
Have you ever used ice cubes to calm your irritated skin? Any skincare product that comes straight out of the fridge can give you a similar experience by calming the skin’s redness, itching, and irritation.
4. Reducing the Inflammation
We all have tried massaging our eyes with cold spoons or even teabags to depuff the undereye bags. Cold skincare products, especially eye creams reduce inflammation by constricting the blood vessels and improving lymphatic flow.
Not only eyes, but refrigerated skincare products are good for reducing facial swelling in general.
What are the Drawbacks of Refrigerating Skincare Products?
As you might know, storing every skincare product in the fridge might not be a wise choice. Let us know why it is so.
1. Alteration in the Formula
Some skincare products contain temperature-sensitive ingredients. Keeping such products at a low temperature for a prolonged time can result in chemical reactions in the product. Furthermore, low temperatures can result in the separation of ingredients with different densities. Consequently, the product loses its efficacy.
2. Too Cold for the Skin
Applying a product that is too cold directly on the face can cause damage to the blood vessels lying just under the skin. Therefore, it is best to store the skincare products at a low temperature rather than freezing them.
3. Increases Chances of Contamination
Yes, refrigerators prevent contamination of the skincare products. However, that is not the case if your precious items are placed in any random compartment of your fridge along with edibles. Frequent opening of the fridge, and touching the products with unsanitized hands can lead to the contamination of the products and make them react adversely with your skin.
4. Alteration of the Consistency and Texture
Most skincare products contain aqua. The overall formulation may be different. However, this aqua and certain other ingredients of skincare products can freeze due to low temperatures.
Also, some ingredient tends to crystallize at low temperatures. The consistency of the product may change from liquid to thick and texture from smooth to granular.
Can you Refrigerate all Skincare Products?
No, you cannot refrigerate all skincare products. While Skincare is Important, using skincare products with altered consistency, formula, texture, or temperature might do more harm than good.
Therefore, it is recommended to refrigerate some products to preserve their effects while keeping others at room temperature to let them stay in their original form.
What Skincare Products Should Be Refrigerated?
Here are the skincare products that are better refrigerated.
1. Facial Mist and Toners
Facial toners and mists are mainly used to prepare the skin before makeup application and set it afterward. Thus, these products work best when stored at a low temperature. Not only do they shrink the pores and calm the skin, but they also give you a refreshing experience.
2. Serums
Serums can and cannot be stored in the refrigerator. It is mainly based on the consistency and contents of your serum. If it contains vitamin C or retinol, keep it in the fridge.
However, if it has growth factors or peptides, you better find a cool and dry place in your room to keep it in a good consistency and texture while maintaining the formula.
3. Vitamin C Based Products
Vitamin C is sensitive to light, heat, and UV rays. A refrigerator is the best option to keep any product that contains vitamin C, especially vitamin C serums. Low temperature and darkness of the fridges reduce the oxidation rate of vitamin C products allowing you to use them for a longer time.
4. Sheet Masks
Sheet masks are designed to give your skin an instant dose of hydration and nutrition. Moreover, they help in soothing the skin after a long day. Most often, sheet masks are kept in the refrigerator so that they are perfect to be used whenever you want. Applying a cool sheet mask on your face calms the skin, reduces redness, and shrinks the pores.
5. Moisturizers and Creams
Body lotions and creams are also compatible with the refrigerator. These products are protected from bacteria and impurities that are present at room temperature. However, take measures to provide an adequate temperature to such products as lower temperatures can make them frozen.
6. Eye Treatments
Eye treatments whether they are in the form of eye masks, ointments, creams, or eye rollers should be refrigerated. Refrigerating eye treatments help you get the best of the product for anti-aging or moisturizing while its low temperature reduces undereye bags, dark circles, and inflammation.
7. Ointments
Often we use ointments for spot treatment or treatment of acne. These ointments contain benzoyl acid, antibiotics, or salicylic acid. Such products are better refrigerated for the best results.
8. Products with Retinol in Them
Retinol is the main product to use when you want to stay young. It is an activity that is prone to inactivation in a normal environment. Thus, store it in the fridge and prolong its shelf-life. Also, check How to Look Younger Than Your Age Naturally.
What Skincare Products Should Not Be Refrigerated?
Now, here is a list of skincare products that should not be refrigerated/
1. Clay
Clay products have a very distinct consistency that requires room temperature to stay stable. Keeping such products in a fridge can harden the soft consistency of the clay and letting it melt afterward can reduce the efficacy of such skincare products.
Thus, it is good to keep them in your drawer instead of the freezer.
2. Facial Oils
Facial oils contain essential oils, shea butter, and other liquid ingredients that can freeze if you keep them at a low temperature. Furthermore, their individual ingredients might react and render the product ineffective. So, refrain from placing facial oils in the refrigerator.
3. Makeup
While makeup does not come under the category of skincare, some people might assume that refrigerating the makeup might make it more calming on the skin. However, let us tell you that it can destroy your expensive makeup items.
So, store them in The 10 Best Travel Makeup Cases and Cosmetic Bags instead of the fridge.
4. Cleansers
You need a cleanser to clean your face to remove the impurities effectively. Cleansers are both water and oil-based. Both of these ingredients are not refrigerator-compatible. Additionally, it is not practical to place a cleanser in the fridge. Therefore, you should keep it in the bathroom.
5. Balms
There are two types of balms one containing oils and liquids while others have wax. The balms having oils and liquids are prone to harden in the refrigerator while wax-containing balms can retain their consistency.
So, check the ingredients of your balms carefully before refrigerating them.
Conclusion
We often buy more skincare products than necessary and seeing them expire in the cupboard makes us guilty. Furthermore, some of them just become oxidized before their actual expiry date.
One way to prevent this is by refrigerating the skincare products with active ingredients. Also, you can do the same for eye treatments, ointments, and mists for a better experience.
On the other hand, refrigeration can change the texture, formula, and consistency of some other skincare products and they are better stored at room temperature. These include clays, facial oils, cleansers, and balms.
Now, carefully arrange your products in these two categories and place them in your drawer or the fridge.
