Beard oil is carrier oils, like jojoba, argan and sweet almond, with a little essential oil for scent, and no water, so nothing grows in it; what ends it is the carrier oils going rancid and the scent fading. Jojoba barely oxidizes; sweet almond and grapeseed go rancid much sooner. Vitamin E slows it, and amber dropper bottles kept out of a sunny barbershop window do the rest. In the example below, a Boulder personal care maker's sealed bottles passed every test through day 480, and they're dated 360 days from the batch, a 25% margin. Below is what ends beard oil's shelf life, how storage changes it, the study, the date on the bottle, and a free template.
The short version
- Beard oil's carrier oils go rancid; nothing grows in it.
- Jojoba lasts longest; almond and grapeseed go sooner.
- Vitamin E slows rancidity.
- Scent from essential oils fades over months.
- Amber dropper bottles, out of the sun.
- Run a real-time stability study and leave a margin.
- TaroStack gives every batch its date from the shelf life you set. More below.
What ends its shelf life
| What ends it | What happens | What slows it |
|---|---|---|
| Rancidity | Carrier oils oxidize; stale, crayon-like smell | Stable carriers like jojoba; vitamin E; fresh oils |
| Scent fading | Essential oils evaporate and oxidize | Tight caps; full bottles |
| Light | Speeds both | Amber glass; out of windows |
| Heat | Speeds both | A cool shelf, not a hot shop window |
The year's numbers are in beard oil business plan, and what goes on the bottle in cosmetic labeling requirements.
How it's stored
| Stored | In the example's tests | On the label |
|---|---|---|
| Sealed amber dropper bottle, room temperature | Passed every test through day 480 | Dated 1 year from the batch |
| Clear bottle in a barbershop window | Rancid notes by day 150 in a side study | Amber bottles only |
| Opened, in daily use | Not part of the study | Period after opening: 12 months |
The barbershops keep their testers out of the window now; the window bottles were the first to turn.
An example: a shelf life study
Juniper & Ash, the made-up personal care maker in Boulder, Colorado, I use in these examples, kept sealed 1-ounce amber bottles of cedar beard oil from one batch on a shelf and opened one at each pull:
| Test | Pass if | Day 0 | Day 120 | Day 240 | Day 360 | Day 480 | Day 600 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancid odor, 1 to 5 | at most 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Scent strength, 1 to 9 | at least 5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 |
| Peroxide value, meq O2/kg | at most 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| All pass? | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Fail |
Everything passed through day 480; at day 600 the rancid odor rose, the scent faded below 5 and the peroxide value passed the example's limit. Taking a 25% margin off day 480 gives 360 days, a year. How the pulls and margin are planned is in shelf life testing.
The date on the label
No federal rule requires an expiration date on a cosmetic; the maker is responsible for the product staying safe for as long as it's sold and used, and a stability study is how a small maker knows. Many print a batch code, an expiration or best-by date, and the open-jar symbol with a number of months, the period after opening. What MoCRA asks of a small maker is in mocra small business.
Get the template
Download the beard oil shelf life study template. One sheet: the product, the lot tested, the day it was made, how it's stored and the margin to leave; then each test with its limit and the result at each pull. It marks each pull pass or fail, finds the last day everything passed, takes the margin off, and gives the shelf life for the label and the date for a batch made today. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The study gives one date for one oil. Four scents, batches every month, bottles at barbershops and online: someone has to date each batch and send the oldest bottles first.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack gives every batch its date from the shelf life you set, and sends the oldest out first.
Dates from the shelf life. Each oil carries its shelf life in days, and each batch's lot gets its production date and the date that follows from it.
First-expired-first-out. Orders take the oldest lots first by default, and a barbershop can be set to take only stock with enough days left.
What's coming up. A forecast shows what will expire unsold and what it costs, and anything thrown out is recorded with its reason, expired or spoiled, so waste shows by item.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| The date on a batch | Worked out by hand | From the shelf life, on the lot |
| Which batch goes out first | Dates on tape | First-expired-first-out |
| Stock with enough days for a barbershop | Checked by hand | The customer's shelf-life rule |
| What expired last month | Not counted | Waste by reason |
Lots, dates, first-expired-first-out and the expiry forecast are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.