November 6, 2015

The Shelf Life of Hair Color Has Been Answered

and other truths in the process pof the life-span of your hair color & cosmetics


With the recent review of a few heartfelt email questions I thought I would start out with a POST on something mellow -- yet imperative - SHELF LIFE and HAIR COLOR.
Shelf life is that length of time that food, medicine and other perishable items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale or consumption. Shelf life is the time that products can be stored, during which the defined quality of a specified proportion of the goods remains acceptable under expected (or specified) conditions of distribution & storage. "WHEW!!


       
Just like with every other food and product you deal with during the course of a normal day, there is a shelf life of hair color and cosmetics. How long should you keep that blue mascara from high school you can't buy anymore? I know I have at least a half tube of a golden brown that if I throw in some auburn ought to cancel the yellow out . . . right?        
Sound Familiar?       
It should these are right out of some of YOUR emails { the names have been changed to protect the innocent}
Here is a very short general guideline for your cosmetics, because I feel so strong about this I'm even willing to roam over into the category of cosmetics for you (HAIR is big enough for me to cover without adding the never ending category of Cos. !)



First off, if it smells, stinks, has a distinct odor that should not be, throw it away! I am amazed at how long women will keep cosmetics that have a bad odor, look like its disintegrating or logically know it should be in the trash. Do yourself a favor and trash it.  Another good rule of thumb, if you can't remember when you purchased it, trash it. Makeup should not stir up memories from ten years ago, if your makeup bag does, throw it out. I think when you purchase cosmetics you should mark it down on your calendar. 6 months is all I would keep mascara, if you aren't using it up in 6 months, you aren't using it and quit buying it maybe. Personally I permanently TINT my eyelashes - with albino eyelashes - you HAVE to.

 
Now as far as the SHELF LIFE of your hair color, the more "organic" or "natural" the product . . . the more susceptible it will be to "going bad". That IS  one of the many down side's to the whole 'la-la' GREEN world. So one of the best tools to combat this - - - you already own, that I doubt you ever use <> is right there in your home and at your disposal . Your refrigerator. Store many of your cosmetics there if you are in need of becoming more thrifty, green and to be perfectly frank > smart. Yep its a pain to go back and forth, buy a tricky cool tray of some sort - one for cosmetics, one for hair color, even putting your teeth bleaching kits in there will preserve them the their fullest. If you are going to spend the CASH, get your money's worth. 


When I give examples like this remember I am always talking about the professional Hair Color we sell at Killerstrands as our reference point. I have been using it for many years and have that 10,000 HEADS of experience to go off of that I  feel safe and secure quoting to you, you will have to make adjustments with your own colors and brands. If you have any specific questions, remember an email to our store's email address : Killerstrands.info@gmail.com is still the FASTEST way to get an answer from ME ! I will always answer to, unless its a silly question. I really think hair color is good for up to 1 year and have used successfully hair color up to 18 months and it was fine. Look at it, keep it refrigerated, don't use it if something is odd about it.

What's that called?......................Common Sense
All of you new Crib Colorists are saving so much money by learning and doing this on your own -  PLEASE PLEASE use the proper colors we have determined will be correct for you.  Once you get past that initial consultation with me about your hair color formulation - buy 6 months worth of color and relax  - -  you only have to solve the hair color questions for your own hair 
Is your hair worth it?   
YES.
How much time and effort do we all put into our hair?  A LOT

          Killer Chemist
13 comments on "The Shelf Life of Hair Color Has Been Answered"
  1. Okay, Thanks KC. So we should be keeping our color tubes in the refrigerator. What about developers they should be stored at room temp., right? + how long should they last? I am really looking forward to more in depth hair health. After my hair is colored I want to get a good haircut. Then with Thriven & my new color I should be all set. But more info would be GREAT!

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  2. Thanks for the info KC. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is curious about how to tint one's eyelashes...sounds scary...

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  3. KC, does the 6 months rule also go for the developers?

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  4. I was wondering what you think of Pureology shampoo and conditioner. What are your favorites (s&c) and also pomades...the kind you'd use for piecey (not greasy) bangs. Thanks!

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  5. Really helpful! I had NO idea about the hair color shelf life (safely disposing of some of my old stuff tonight, hanging head in shame... It is not only inferior stuff, but it is definitely past it's prime....)
    Probably need to throw out some of the body lotions, too! Thanks again....

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  6. KC,

    Thanks for protecting the innocent. :-)

    Kari,

    You can find KC's thoughts about shampoos on the post titled "SLS-Free shampoo list". The link is on the left hand of the blog.

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  7. Mad Scientist,
    Welcome back...you have been missed. Tinting my eyelsahes since 15 years old, have no gray hair at this ancient age, BUT have white eyelashes! WWWWeird I know.
    Its a special tint from Germany and I would never advise anything but having that professionally applied. Key is finding the exact tint I'm referring to that your lash specialist hopefully has tracked down.
    thanx KC

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  8. Carolyn,
    Excellent question...NO on the developers. I don't know if any of you have noticed...but on my BULLITT-PROOF packaging and how I send my products out> I continually try to teach thru labels. I find repetition in subjects that are foreign, is helpful. So I label the developers with little rules and laws to learn from. Like the RATIO - which is so important. RenColor's ratio is 1:1. 1 part color to 1 part deveoper. Wella's Color Touch Product ratio is 2:1 --- 2 parts developer to 1 part Color.
    One of th emost important little stickers I hope you noticed is the KEEP TOP ON TIGHTLY on all developers.
    That is your key to keeping Peroxide fresh and help prevent it from losing its punch.
    NEVER leave the top off..
    ...shelf life? - 9 months as long as it is tightly toppedat all times. me . . if I forget and leave that top off for more than 15minutes...I toss the developer.

    Experiencing the WEAKNESS lost from topless developer - to me - simply is not worth it.

    Luckly the developer is the least costly of all the components.

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  9. Great info on hair products! Sometimes you don't realize how long you have had a developer or bleach powder. The date stamp method is a gem. Thanks!

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  10. I just bought property with an old beauty shop in the back. Lots of perms and hair color. The perms still smell of ammonia and I was wondering about the bottles of hair color, if they are still good. Probably 3 years old or more.

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  11. "Bottles" of hair color tells me it is very very old and I would not take the chance . Hair color nowadays comes in tubes.
    Toss it!

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  12. Hi KC...I have a wella tub of powder bleach that was left in the car and probably reached close to 100 deg....Tossed the developer, but can I use the powder bleach??. it's about a year old too...

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  13. i just would not take the chance - - too many radical factors.
    I bet you love your hair, why risk it.
    BTW, who leaves hair bleach in the car for a year? What circumstance made that one happen ? ! ?

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All comments are moderated. Please do not include: references to personal information, or any profane, inflammatory or copyrighted comments. We would appreciate it if we all stick to the subject of HAIR . Have a wonderful day.

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