Mascary Is More Like It!

To those of us in the beauty world, it comes as no surprise that makeup goes bad.  As do face creams, lotions, etc.  The rule is simple, when water is introduced it becomes a breading ground for bacteria.  This means that any wet product you have is harboring bacteria. Ewwww. Most of it is harmless as long as you resist the urge to become a bag lady collector of your old makeup.  There is one massive exception. Mascara.  Mascara has no more than a three month life span from the date is is opened.  Even if it has only been used once, it doesn't matter.  The second you introduce air to that baby, you have introduced bacteria especially if you've used it.  Think about it: you're taking whatever bacteria lives on your eyelashes (and there are a ton even if they're clean) and putting into a damp, dark environment at room temperature. In Chandler's voice, "Could there be a more hospitable breading ground for bacteria?" I think not.  This is why after three months it should be thrown away. When mascara goes bad it can also smell different.  This can be a good way to find old mascara, however it only smells once it's really old.  The three month rule is a much better indicator, but if your mascara smells OH-MY-GOD-WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING-THROW-IT-AWAY! The health effects can lead to eye infections, but most commonly styes and swollen lids that then contaminate your other makeup.  For this reason I'm not a huge fan of expensive mascara: it gives an incentive for people to hang onto rancid makeup that can harm them.  I'm not joking, I've seen women need skin grafts and have scars from infections due to bad makeup.  It's serious, so don't be crusty!  Change that sucker out!

Below is a link to an article on WedMD about makeup going rancid.
http://www.webmd.com/beauty/makeup/have-beauty-products-gone-bad