What does the open jar on your bottle mean? Explaining cosmetic shelf life
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
12M, an open jar, or 'best before': this is how to read the label of your care products, how to store them wisely, and how to know when something needs replacing.
Almost everyone has a jar of body butter in their bathroom cabinet, and no one remembers when it was opened. On the bottom, there's a small drawing of a jar with its lid next to it and the text 12M. This symbol is not decoration or marketing: it's a mandatory label, and it tells you exactly one thing. Knowing what it means leads to less unnecessary waste—and simultaneously less prolonged use of expired products.
Two ways to indicate shelf life
Cosmetics in the European Union fall under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. The NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) summarizes the labeling rules in a checklist for manufacturers. In short, regarding shelf life: indicate the minimum durability date ('best used by'), and if the product is durable for longer than 30 months, then specify how long it can be used after opening.
This is where the difference you see in your own cabinet comes from:
A date on the packaging. The product is durable for less than 30 months. The date applies regardless of whether you have already opened it.
An open jar with a number and an M. The product is durable for longer than 30 months, and the countdown only starts from the moment you open it. 6M is half a year, 12M is a year, 24M is two years.
This also means: an unopened jar with 12M that has been in the cabinet for three years is not automatically at its end—but an opened tube with a date from last month is, no matter how full it still is.
What 12M means in practice
The period after opening is an indication from the manufacturer, based on tests with normal use. Two things determine whether you meet that deadline: how much air and light get in, and how much you use your fingers in the product.
A jar that you empty by hand will use up its term faster than a pump or tube that only dispenses outwards. This is no reason to avoid jars—an Oriental Body Scrub Hammam in a 500-gram jar (€5.95) or the Oriental Body Scrub Coconut of 400 grams (€9.95) are actually pleasant in a large jar—but use a clean spatula or a dry hand and don't let shower water get into it.
The bathroom is not the ideal storage location, and almost everyone knows this but almost no one does anything about it. Three factors do most of the work:
Heat and fluctuating temperature. A cabinet above the radiator or right next to the shower experiences daily temperature peaks. This can cause emulsions (creams, lotions) to separate.
Light. Direct sun on a transparent bottle accelerates the discoloration of dyes and fragrances. Dark glass helps against this: an amber glass spray bottle of 50 ml (€7.95) is not just decorative.
Water and fingers. Everything that gets into the jar stays there. For scrubs and butters, this is the most important factor.
Practically speaking: store your supplies in a cool, dark cabinet and only keep the bottles you use daily in the bathroom.
When is something truly expired?
In addition to the stated period, there are signs you can observe yourself. A cream or lotion that visibly separates into a watery and an oily layer and doesn't become homogenous after shaking. A scent that smells distinctly different from when purchased. A color that has changed. A consistency that has become grainy or, conversely, watery. In all these cases, replacing is wiser than finishing the product.
Also pay attention to product types where this happens faster. A banana-scented body butter of 200 ml (€9.95) has a rich base that is more likely to smell rancid than a watery gel. Bath bombs, such as the rainbow bath bomb of 180 grams (€9.00), are primarily affected by moisture: keep them dry and packaged, otherwise, they will partially fizz out in the cabinet. A bar of soap like the Rose Soap per piece (€5.00) actually benefits from being kept dry between showers.
Smaller sizes and refilling
If you notice that you consistently don't finish large bottles within the indicated period, buy smaller or split smartly. A Treaclemoon body spray Frosted Candy Angel (€4.95) is a size most people will finish; a large pack is more likely to leave a remnant.
If you work with a stock bottle at home or behind the counter, decanting is an excellent solution—provided it's done cleanly and with a tight seal. A refillable soap dispenser of 500 ml (€9.99) or a black foam pump bottle of 50 ml (€2.99) keeps your working stock small and the rest sealed. When refilling, note the date on the bottom with a permanent marker; then you won't have to guess later. And to truly empty a tube to the last drop, a tube squeezer (€5.95) does more than squeezing and hoping.
The same principle applies to products on the counter or in an office kitchen: a small size that rotates regularly is more practical than a large bottle that sits for months. Disinfecting hand gel with 70% alcohol of 150 ml (€2.95) is a typical example of this.
A fifteen-minute tidy-up yields the most
Once a year, empty your entire cabinet onto the bathroom floor, turn every product over, and look at the symbol. Make three piles: keep, use first, discard. Place what's in 'use first' at the front. Often, half of what you've kept for years turns out to be unused—and that's useful information for your next order.
Replenish what's used up
Need to replace something that's at the end of its term? Check All in Drugstore for the wide assortment, Body Care for scrubs, butters, and shower gel, and Bathroom & Accessories for refillable bottles and dispensers. Questions about sizes, content, or larger quantities for your business? Feel free to email info@verpakkingdeals.nl.
Source for labeling rules: NVWA, 'Checklist labeling requirements cosmetics and aerosols' (nvwa.nl), based on Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. This article is about labeling and storage; it is not medical or health advice.
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