Yes, Your Skincare Packaging Does Matter

Keep these tips in mind to choose more effective and sustainable products

Stocksy / Getty Images / Design by Mehroz Kapadia

Have you ever impulse-bought a skincare product for its pretty packaging, only to find the results of the product to be pretty lacking? Or, maybe the product worked well for a while but seemed to be less effective over time. Skincare packaging isn't just about aesthetics. Depending on whether you're purchasing a lotion, serum, toner, or another formula type, the packaging it comes in can make all the difference between an effective product that lasts and one that falls short of its intended purpose.

"Packaging is the key to protecting the shelf life and stability of a product — unfortunately, it also is a major source of pollution from the beauty industry," says Gloria Lu and Victoria Fu, cosmetic chemists and founders of Chemist Confessions. Recently, there's also been concern about endocrine disruptors in cosmetic packaging—which have been shown to negatively affect hormone health.

This all sounds like a lot, but rest assured. Choosing an effective skincare product that will last, without wrecking your hormones or the planet, is completely possible with the right information. Here's everything you need to know about how to choose skincare packaging.

Let's get the scary-sounding stuff out of the way first, shall we? Broadly speaking, endocrine disruptors are any chemicals that have been linked to negative changes in our body's hormones. "Cumulative exposure to a blend of endocrine disruptors in our daily lives is associated with a wide range of health concerns such as reproductive health issues, development issues (for pregnant women and young children), and elevated cancer risks," says Lu and Fu.

Plastics, in particular, have come under fire for containing known endocrine disruptors, most specifically in plastic beverage bottles and containers. Red-flagged endocrine disruptors commonly found in plastics include bisphenol-A (commonly called BPA), phthalates, and flexible vinyl. Specifically, when found in plastic, these endocrine disruptors can leach out of the plastic bottle or container. If you've ever heard the advice not to drink out of a plastic water bottle that's been sitting in a hot car or microwave your leftovers in a plastic container, this is why.

Luckily, the risk of absorbing endocrine disruptors due to skincare packaging is low. "Types of plastics commonly used in skincare aren't associated with these materials. Not to mention, no one should be microwaving their skincare—so we'd say the risks here are slim to none," says Lu and Fu.

That said, the beauty industry has also been shying away from plastic packaging in recent years for sustainability purposes (more on that later). If you're still concerned about endocrine disruptors, Ginger King, cosmetic chemist and CEO of Grace Kingdom Beauty, recommends glass or aluminum skincare packaging as an alternative.

As a cosmetic chemist, one key part of the job is to advise on what type of packaging works best to preserve a product's efficacy and shelf-life. "We've seen our fair share of formulas that 'die' in the packaging," says Lu and Fu, as some formulas can eat away at the packaging if it's not chemically sound. Here's the breakdown of how this works — no science degree required.

A skincare product's packaging can be the difference between preserving its efficacy or quickly diminishing it. Take, for example, anti-aging creams. While skincare products that come in glass jars are certainly eye-catching, that anti-aging eye cream might not be working as hard as it could be for you if it's in a little glass jar. "Some ingredients can be very unstable when exposed to light and air, such as everyone's beloved anti-aging molecule, retinol," says Lu and Fu.

Cosmetic products that treat small areas without active ingredients (think lip balm) will do well in small glass jars. However, for air-sensitive materials like retinol, airless packaging is best to preserve efficacy, says King. Additionally, skincare products in open glass jars are at a higher risk of contamination, which can impact efficacy as well.

Skincare packaging that easily yields the recommended amount of product per use also factors into its efficacy. For example, if the directions tell you to use a dime-sized or quarter-sized amount, it's important to create packaging that makes this easy to measure, explains King. "If it's a serum, a dropper may give the appropriate amount. If the product is [thick], it may be better for a tube as consumers will not be able to use it to the last drop with the bottle," she explains.

Similar to effectiveness, the packaging of a product needs to be able to support the product's active ingredients. "Formulation and packaging need to be considered as a bundle deal when you develop a new product to make sure the product lasts for the entirety of its claimed shelf life," explains Lu and Fu. "If your product is going to sit in a packaging component that exposes the formula to light, air, and direct daily skin contact, the formulator can take that into account."

For example, the shelf-life of skin care products with active ingredients like retinol and antioxidants can be impacted by UV exposure. This includes your go-to vitamin C serum, which many brands have packaged in glass bottles for a more luxurious look and feel. However, these types of products are best kept in dark, opaque packaging that limits air exposure.

In a perfect world, it'd be easy and affordable to shop for sustainable skincare products that get the job done. That said, if you've found a product that works great for you and fits within your budget, that's what's most important. While beauty brands have been actively trying to do their part to lessen their carbon footprint, finding a way to produce eco-friendly packaging that also supports the chemical makeup of the product has proved challenging. Still, great strides have been made in many areas by sustainable, eco-friendly brands.

While there still isn't a perfect eco-friendly solution widely available on the market, here are a few of Lu and Fu's top picks and considerations:

From an environmental standpoint, sustainable skincare packaging helps reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills or the ocean. When packaging is designed with sustainability in mind, it can be easily recycled or composted, minimizing its impact on the environment. More eco-friendly skincare packaging options can also benefit the product itself. For example, glass packaging doesn't interact with skincare chemical ingredients the way certain plastics do. Aluminum packaging provides an airtight, opaque product environment that chemically supports products with active ingredients like retinol.

Knowing what's in your skincare products will help determine whether or not the packaging they’re in is best for longevity and efficacy. For skincare products with active anti-aging ingredients and antioxidants, look for formulas in opaque packaging that utilize airless pumps and aluminum tubes to minimize oxidation, Lu and Fu suggest.

If you have sensitive skin, ingredient labels can help you pinpoint what's not working for your skin. "Getting to understand your skin triggers on an ingredient level can really help avoid some painful trial and error," says Lu and Fu. Some of the most common skin irritants include products with sulfates, petroleum, glycolic acid, or certain fragrances. To avoid endocrine disruptors that exist in the product itself, products that are paraben-free are a safer bet.