How long will your handmade creams and lotions last?

Now that we know when to add Germaben II to our lotion, you can expect to have our handmade creams and lotions last for two or three years. I have bottles of lotion that are still good after three years, which is when I learned that adding Germaben II after the lotion has cooled to 140ºF (60ºC) is essential.

I am using proven manufacturing practices when I’m making my handmade lotions. This helps to extend the life of the product.

In addition, there’s one thing you can do to extend the life of any lotion or cream you purchase from us. Do not allow the lotion to reach melting temperature. (Don’t leave these products in your car on a sunny day!)

We learned this through taking our products to the Milton-Freewater and College Place Farmer’s Markets. The outdoor temperatures were in the upper 90s, which meant my car interior easily reached the 140ºF (60ºC) danger zone the few days I packed up in the morning for the afternoon market. (I don’t do that anymore!)

To give you an idea of how hot things got, a customer opened one of my samples, and it slopped out all over the table. (It was one that depended on agar for thickening.) Then I got a call from one of my customers saying she had found mold growing on top of the jar of barrier cream she purchased. “Is this normal?” she asked. I said, “No. I’ll replace it.” Needless to say, I have tossed the products I was carrying to market last summer!

Cooler storage is a good idea for any of our lotions and creams. It will keep them fresh longer. However, you may not find the consistency is soft enough if you store your lotions and creams in the refrigerator. Cold can also aggravate inflammation for some of us. So unless you have a super hot bedroom in the summer, it’s probably one of the best places to store your lotions and creams.

The lotion and cream formulas are at the right consistency at between 50–75ºF (10–24ºC). You will notice some of the creams become noticeably runnier over 85ºF (30ºC) because the stabilizing agent agar melts at this temperature.

Fortunately, all our lotions and creams return to their proper consistency when they cool off. However, the shelf life goes down.