Taking care of your body and skin is very important. In order to keep your skin healthy for a long time, you should moisturize it regularly. But thanks to a few easily available items, people don’t have to turn to highly expensive moisturizers. With Vaseline, everyone can keep their hands and feet soft even during the harsh days of winter.

What Is Vaseline?

 Vaseline is a product of Unilever and is made of pure petroleum jelly. The waxy petroleum material on oil rigs is distilled to turn it into petroleum jelly. This is actually made up of different mineral oils and waxes.

Although various brands sell petroleum jelly, only Vaseline goes through the triple purification process before reaching customers. Petroleum jelly that is not purified properly can cause different diseases. So, whenever you decide to buy petroleum jelly, go for a credible brand that people trust.

What Are the Advantages of Vaseline?

Almost everyone has a jar of Vaseline in their homes, but there are still many individuals who don’t understand the purpose of petroleum jelly. While it can surely moisturize your skin, the product can also do a lot more.

It has multiple uses and benefits that are greatly helpful for those who invest in it.

Can Be Used as a Conditioner for Hair and Lashes: Vaseline is the perfect thing to tame your frizzy and dry hair. You don’t have to worry about Vaseline getting on your skin as it is completely safe. It can change the look of wild hair instantly. It also works as a conditioner for lashes.

Heals Dry Skin: Dry skin gets worse during winter. It leads to cracked hands and feet. It also causes inflammation and dry patches on the face. But with Vaseline, dry skin can be healed easily. Although there are a lot of skincare products for dry skin, Vaseline should be preferred as it has no harsh chemicals.

Removes Stains: Makeup stains can be quite stubborn, but Vaseline can make them go away. You can use a damp washcloth to remove makeup from pillows and clothes using Vaseline.

Makes Fragrances Last: If you rub some Vaseline on your pulse points before applying a perfume, the fragrance will last a long time.

Helps with Jewelry: Sometimes, a ring can get stuck in your finger or you might have trouble wearing earrings after a long time. Vaseline can help you with such problems too.

Does Vaseline Expire?

Even if no one in a household has dry skin, there will still be a jar of Vaseline lying around. Since Vaseline is helpful in a number of ways, people can need its help at any time. When a ring gets stuck in someone’s finger, they turn to the old Vaseline jar but they wonder if it’s still usable.

Almost everyone has an old Vaseline jar in their home, which is why people need to know does Vaseline expire or does it last a lifetime? But this question cannot be answered with a yes or no. It’s a bit more complicated than that.

Vaseline does not contain any active ingredients, which means that it does not expire. An unopened jar of Vaseline can last a lifetime. But it will lose its effectiveness over time. An opened jar of Vaseline, on the other hand, does not last that long because it becomes the home of different microorganisms and can cause infections.

Does Vaseline Come with an Expiry Date?

Each jar of Vaseline and all other products that are made of petroleum jelly come either with an expiry date or a “best if used by” written on the label. Unilever recommends that people use their Vaseline jars within three years of its production. Although you can continue to use Vaseline even after that, it will be less effective.

There are a number of reasons why Vaseline and other petroleum jelly products come with an expiry date. If the product is classified as a drug by the FDA, then adding an expiry date on it becomes a legal requirement. Vaseline is classified as a cosmetic, so Unilever is not legally required to put an expiry date on it.

The reason why Unilever asks customers to use Vaseline within three years of production is for their safety. Although Vaseline itself cannot cause any skin problems, an opened jar can become the breeding ground of different bacteria. When such Vaseline is used on skin, it can cause infections.

Is it Okay to Use Old Vaseline?

If you have to use Vaseline but the only jar in your house is five years old, you will wonder if it’s safe to use. But the first question you should be addressing is how was that Vaseline stored? If it was being kept in cool temperatures with its lid tightly closed, then you can go ahead and use it. Vaseline has a shelf life of over ten years but you must be cautious with it once it gets opened.

If the Vaseline in your house is over a decade old, you should not use it on your skin. Your cracked skin can easily become infected by the bacteria in Vaseline. However, if you need petroleum jelly to fix a creaking door, you can go ahead and use a decade-old jar. Old Vaseline won’t be harmful to inanimate objects, but it may be less effective in solving the problem.

It is worth mentioning that not all kinds of petroleum jellies will last a long time. Since Vaseline is made after following the right purification process, it can maintain its effectiveness for years. But if it’s any other brand, don’t use petroleum jelly once it has expired or it will lead to different skin diseases.

How to Store Vaseline

You can increase the shelf life of cosmetics by storing them properly. A lot of people don’t know this fact, which is why their makeup goes bad within a year.

Vaseline may come with a recommended usage date of three years, but you can make it last much longer if you store it properly. Whether your jar is open or not, you should store it in a cool and dry place. Make sure that your jar is out of direct sunlight. If you keep your jar stored in a cool and dry place, it can last longer than three years easily.

Final Verdict

As a moisturizer, Vaseline can expire after three years. So if the question, does Vaseline expire, has ever crossed your mind, that is the simple answer to it.

However, for non-topical uses, you don’t have to worry about the expiry date of this time. In the end, it is important to remember that your Vaseline will become less effective as more time passes. If you want 100% effectiveness, you should get a new jar of Vaseline every two years.