Should You Keep Your Beauty Products In The Fridge? 6 Items That May Need Some Chill

While chilling beauty products is by no means a new phenomenon, mini skin care fridges are having a major moment. Aside from looking adorable, those fridges can allow you to keep your products cool without seeing them next to your oat milk or faintly smelling like leftover takeout. Which raises the question: Should we be chilling our beauty products at all? And if so, which ones?

The answer isn't so clear-cut: While a few products could benefit from a little chill, you don't really need to refrigerate any of them. It might prolong the shelf life if the product is sensitive to light, temperature, and air, but it won't make the ingredients any more potent than they already are. The main reason people chill their products is because of the lovely cooling sensation (which is valid!).

Vitamin C, despite all its antioxidant benefits, is notoriously unstable: When exposed to air and light, this active ingredient can oxidize and turn brown rather quickly. "Consider keeping it in the fridge to maintain more stability and effectiveness," says board-certified dermatologist Loretta Ciraldo, M.D., FAAD.

These masks—think hydrating, quenching formulas—already have a cooling effect on the skin, and placing them in the fridge can enhance their calming effect and help soothe inflamed skin. "It gives a cooling experience post-workout to lower the skin's internal temperature to reduce visible redness," says celebrity esthetician Renée Rouleau. Toss a mask in the fridge right before an at-home HIIT session, and you'll revel in the cooling sensation post-sweat.

Similar to a cold jelly mask, a face mist has the same appeal. The cooling sensation is pretty soothing for inflamed skin (whether it be post-workout or post-treatment), and can calm any redness or flare-ups you've got. Even for conditions like rosacea, notes Ciraldo, a chilled spritz can not only be a refreshing relief but a remedy itself for the redness. "You'll have a more refreshing and effective experience on application," she says. 

Those with a strict gua sha game know it well: Those de-puffing tools tend to feel better on your face when cold. Especially in the mornings, when your face may be more swollen than usual, a chilled facial tool can help you carve those cheekbones. 

The under-eye area, in particular, can benefit from that cooling sensation; the area is most vulnerable to puffiness and signs of aging, which is why Rodrigues keeps her under-eye wands in a mini-fridge for a refreshing under-eye treatment. Aside from the skin care benefits, it's a nice sensation: "There hasn't been one client who hasn't commented on how amazing it feels," she adds. 

In the case of refrigerated skin care, you don't necessarily need a nifty beauty fridge to get the most out of your products. They may look pretty sitting on those mini-shelves, but chilling them won't exactly make the ingredients more potent. As long as you keep your easily oxidized ingredients out of the light and replace them regularly, you should be just fine.