Does soap have an expiration date or not?

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Does soap have an expiration date or not? | Healthbiztips

You may have purchased a bar of soap and noticed for the first time that there isn't any expiration date stamped on it? So, does that mean that this thing lasts forever?

Does soap have an expiration date or not? | Healthbiztips
photo credit: Steve Huntington @steve_huntington @unsplash

@healthbiztips by Arlene Gentallan

Sad to say, but nothing lasts forever, including your precious bar of soap. As time ticks by, environmental factors like temperature, bacteria, and light will eventually degrade that bar of soap. It does have an expiration date after all.

Soaps generally have a shelf life of about 2 to 3 years.

If your soap is an all-natural type, then it's shelf life will be considerably shorter than those that contains preservative.

Furthermore, if your soap contains plant ingredients such as flower petal, then it will degrade faster than preservative-laden soaps.

You may be wondering that since that bar of soap you've comes across have no expiration date, then how come it have a real expiration date. The reason behind this lies with the law that regulates these products. There are countries that require products such as soap to have an expiration date stamped or imprinted on it, while at some other states, it is not required by their regulating bodies.

What happens when you use an expired soap?
So, what if you stumble upon a soap that's been sitting on your cupboard for who-knows how long. Should you use it or not?

If you're not sure whether or not it's expired, especially when there's no date indicated on it, then it will be a safer option to throw it out. I'm guessing you're not that desperate.

But, if you'd like to give it a shot, then do a careful inspection. Is is discolored? Does it smell suspicious? You know what a rotten soap smells like do you?

For the most part, most people don't experience any unwanted side effects when they use an expired soap to disinfect their body. We'll, it's not that there's a lot of them.

Still, if you venture to use an expired soap, then you run the risk of developing skin irritation, rashes, and the possibility of toxic chemical leaching out from the soap into your body.

Remember, if you use an expired skincare product, then you're on this alone. Because of your irresponsibility of using an expired product, you can't hold the manufacturer liable for your act.