If you bleach or dye your hair, you know the importance of using a hair developer. For example, the developer lotion will interact with bleach so that your natural hair becomes a lighter color.
If you plan on bleaching or dyeing your hair at home, you must have all the proper products. A part of ensuring that products are proper is controlling the expiration date of those products.
Will Hair Developer Expire Eventually?
Like many hair care and beauty products, hair developers will lose their efficacy if stored for too long a period. Proper storage and attention to product expiration are fundamental to your success and to protect your hair’s health.
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What Does Hair Developer Do?
A hair developer is designed to interact with bleach when you dye your hair. It contains the chemical hydrogen peroxide. This product is available in both a cream and a liquid form.
Bleach will not affect your hair if hydrogen peroxide is not a part of the formula because it is alkali. Bleach is used to soften hair cuticles making them more receptive to coloring or lightening.
Once the cuticle has been softened and lifted by bleach, the hair developer is applied, and the chemical hydrogen peroxide enters your hair shafts. Your natural hair pigment will be oxidized as a result and your hair color will be lightened several shades.
After this step is completed, you can opt to apply your preferred hair dye color or you can use a hair toner to remove brassiness from your newly lightened color.
Will My Hair Developer Eventually Expire?
Yes, the hair developer does expire. Generally speaking, hair developer, when properly stored can last several years and as many as three.
For your developer to last, it must be properly sealed. Once you have opened the product, it has a maximum duration of 24 weeks or approximately 6 months.
The hair developer does not contain hydrogen peroxide alone but includes other ingredients that improve its texture and stability. Depending on the brand you select, phosphoric acid, sulfates, and caprylic glycol may be found among a variety of ingredients.
Surfactants and preservatives are usually a part of the formula to contribute to the product’s duration. The better quality the developer is, the longer your developer may last.
Once I Open My Developer How Long Will It Last?
Much will depend on the product’s storage when verifying the duration. Hair developer that is maintained in an airtight bottle or container and protected from heat sources and light can generally last as long as six months.
Cheaper hair developers that are not particularly high-quality should not be expected to last a full six months.
How Can I Tell That My Developer Has Expired?
The easiest way to know that your hair developer is expired is to examine the consistency of the cream or liquid. It will most likely have changed. The expired developer also has a different smell to it.
1. Evaporation
Both creams and liquids contain water. Over time, the water may evaporate so the developer will appear thicker due to the evaporation.
If the product has dried out considerably, it may appear crusty, or there may be dried-out residue. The amount of product may also have decreased significantly.
Never attempt to add water to the hair developer. If the original water content has evaporated, the product is too old and should no longer be used.
2. Developer Residue Appears Oily
Oily ingredients are usually included in developer formulas to make them creamy and easy to apply. If your developer is past its prime, these oils may rise to the top of the developer liquid or cream and appear darker in color.
If oil residue is apparent, consider your hair developer as expired. It is too old. If you stir the product, oil residue may blend in once more, but the chemical formula has changed due to age, so it should no longer be used.
3. The Hair Developer Appears Watery
Liquid hair developers can become extremely watery when expired. Chemical compounds break down causing a liquid developer to appear watery. If your developer seems runny, don’t use it.
4. The Hair Developer Is Smelly
One method for immediately evaluating if a hair developer has expired is to smell it. Often the smell of the product may become rancid or musty. This means your developer has gone bad and bacteria or fungus may already be developing inside the container.
Undoubtedly, hair developers will have a natural chemical smell, but chemicals are not the same as a musty or rancid odor.
5. The Hair Developer Changes Its Color
If during storage, your hair developer has been exposed to heat or light, it may change its original color. Any hair developer that changes color should not be used as bacteria or fungus may have already developed.
Never apply bacteria or fungi in an expired hair developer to your hair or scalp as this can lead to infection.
6. The Container Becomes Pressurized
With time hydrogen peroxide will develop into oxygen and water. If left for too long this transformation will occur. When stored in an airtight container, the amount of oxygen within can build creating pressure.
7. The Hair Developer Doesn’t Appear to Work
If your hair developer is too old, the efficacy of the hydrogen peroxide will decrease. Your developer may no longer contain enough peroxide to get the job done. If your hair developer does not lighten your hair, it most likely has expired.
See also: How to Make a Homemade Hair Developer?
What Happens if I Apply for an Expired Hair Developer?
Maybe nothing at all will happen. If the developer is only a 10 or 20-volume blend and has expired, nothing will happen to your hair. If you are using an expired 40-volume developer, there may be some peroxide left to lighten the hair.
Still, you may damage your hair due to the other ingredients in the developer that have aged past their usefulness.
If you apply more bleach, nothing may happen in terms of color, but the hair will dry out potentially becoming brittle and susceptible to breakage.
The Bottom Line
Unopened hair developer that is properly stored can last up to three years before expiring. Opened quality hair developer that is correctly stored will last a maximum of 6 months. Cheaper quality developers will last less.
Expired hair developers should not be applied due to insufficient hydrogen peroxide content or because bacteria and fungi have had an opportunity to affect your product.
To dispose of expired hair developer, go to a local waste facility that recycles or disposes of chemicals or toxic substances.
