What is a skincare fridge?

A skincare fridge is one of the latest trends in the beauty industry. This compact refrigerator does not go in your kitchen but right in your bathroom specifically to store your beauty products. Women are putting anything from eye masks to face serums to lipsticks and even makeup inside. Essentially a skincare fridge is a mini version of your large refrigerator but with temperatures slightly higher than that of a regular fridge for food storage. But lets talk about if these compact fridges are really worth the hype.

The concept of skincare fridge is very appealing because owning one is like a status symbol for beauty connoisseurs. These skincare fridges look cute, fun and are super instagrammable. The size can vary anywhere from one the size of a small backpack to a small carry-on-suite case. Amazon and other online retailers have made skincare fridges very accessible, and even some of the higher-end luxury brands have rolled out their own versions of the skincare fridges.

Theoretically storing your anti-aging creams, brightening serums, retinol, and masks at a cooler temperature and away from light exposure may extend their shelf life and prevent unnecessary oxidative damage to the active ingredients. However, most of the skincare products such as cleansers, moisturizers, eye creams, antioxidant serums, and masks do not require refrigeration. If you bought a product “off the shelf” or the product is shipped to you via routine carrier, that product has gone through stability and packaging testing to ensure its shelf life at room temperature. Most skincare and beauty products can withstand a range of temperatures up to 85F or higher. Therefore, not owning a skincare fridge is not going to ruin your beauty routine.

Can you put skincare in the fridge?

For most products that we put on our face (sunscreens, moisturizers, brightening lotions, night creams, facial lotions), they’re ok to be stored at room temperature. Storing them at cooler temperatures may extend shelf life a little. On the other hand, storing them at extremely low or high temperatures ( such as 32 F in the refrigerator, in freezers, or 85 to 90F inside a car in the mid-day of summer) may shorten the skincare products shelf life by affecting the stability of its active ingredients. For certain beauty products, it may actually be counterproductive to store in the fridge as the cooler temperature may affect product consistency and texture.

What skincare to keep in the fridge?

As mentioned earlier, most of the products purchased off the shelf do not require a particular temperature for storage. However, for certain beauty products, such as vitamin C serum for wrinkles, lightening creams with AHA or BHA for uneven skin tone, and benzoyl peroxide creams for acne, the cooler temperature may decrease oxidation of the active ingredients and extend shelf life. For other products such as hyaluronic acid-based moisturizers or sheet masks with vitamins, keeping them at cooler temperatures will enhance the experienceof applying the products and level up your self-care ritual. Lastly, for certain natural and preservative-free products, such as those with active yeast or prebiotics and probiotics, storing at cooler temperature away from heat and humidity will slow down the degradation and denaturing of the active ingredients, and can even decrease potential bacterial contamination.

The best skincare mini-fridge selection

Cooluli skincare fridge is one of the best mini fridges available. You can find it on Amazon with great reviews, and the price point is very reasonable. The Cosmetics Jumbo Fridge is larger with a very luxe marble finish and wide temperature that ranges from 3C to 25C to keep your skincare products cold. This model is great for the right beauty professional who wants to customize storage for various seasons and needs. Overall, mini-fridges are harmless and a huge trend that is not going away anytime soon. Skincare connoisseurs enjoy the experience. Just remember that fluctuations in temperature can have a negative effect on the consistency of skincare products. So if you have to have one, keep the temperature around 60F.