Here’s How To Tell If Your Vitamin C Serum Has Gone Bad

There are three ways to know if your vitamin C serum has expired. The Go-To Guide explains that vitamin C is volatile, so it won’t last as long as your other skincare products. It must be stored in the correct bottle and location, or it will expire quickly. By paying attention to the color and smell of your serum when you first purchase it, you’ll know when it has gone bad. It usually looks clear or slightly yellow. Once it turns to a dark yellow or orange, your serum has oxidized and expired. To determine if it’s okay to use based on scent, you need to know what it smelled like when you first opened the package. This is because different brands can have different smells. You should pay attention to whether the scent has changed, not if it smells rotten.

The simplest way to decide if your vitamin C serum is expired is by the expiration date. On the bottle, there should be a date printed. Write that expiration date in your calendar so you won’t forget it. If the brand you own doesn’t have a date on the bottle, you can approximate the month and use the other factors to know when to stop using it. Vichy Laboratories explains that vitamin C serum lasts about three to six months.