Any cosmetic and medical product has a certain period during which it can be stored and used without losing its properties. When making a purchase, few people pay attention to the shelf life of toothpaste. But how correct is this? And what else should you pay attention to when choosing a quality oral care product?
Shelf life
To find out this information, it is enough to carefully examine the packaging, it indicates the period during which the product can be stored. Some manufacturers write what month and year pasta can be used. And others put the date of production of the product and indicate how long (months or years) it does not lose its properties. Usually it is 2-3 years. This information refers to the period of time during which the paste can be stored closed.
But there is another shelf life of toothpaste. As soon as the tube is opened and the protective foil is removed, it must be used within 6-12 months. This information should also be indicated on the packaging. Usually it is applied in the form of an image of an open jar, on which is the letter "M" and a number, which is the number of months during which the product should be used after opening.
Mysterious multi-colored stripes on a tube
It is believed that strips on toothpaste hide information about quality, composition and safety. Therefore, many buyers began to pay attention to its color, located at the place of adhesion.
If you look at all the products presented, you can see that the color scheme of the strips is not so diverse, there are only four of them.
- Green, which, according to many, including leading experts of various medical programs, speaks about the naturalness of the composition of the paste. Associative thinking allows you to compare green with ecology and nature. So, in such a product there should be no chemical components, the shelf life of the toothpaste should be short.
- Black is the opposite of green. It is believed that toothpaste with this marking consists exclusively of chemical elements, it completely lacks natural components. And this category belongs to the cheapest segment, since the black color indicates low-quality products.
- Red and blue stripes on toothpaste allegedly indicate that the product is of medium quality. It contains approximately equal amounts of natural and artificial ingredients.
Why can't the color of the strip serve as a guide?
If you follow this logic, then toothpastes with a green stripe should cost significantly more than with a black one. When conducting a comparative analysis of the product range, this pattern is not traced.
If this statement is taken as an axiom, then the shelf life of toothpaste should be different for products with black marking and green, since natural products always have a shorter shelf life. But if you compare the products with the labeling of different colors, then this is not confirmed.
The paradox of the opinion that color matters becomes apparent even after the analysis of tubes with children's toothpaste. A black strip on them is very common. But it is difficult to suspect manufacturers that they will produce dangerous and low-quality products for small consumers. This category of goods has increased requirements for certification.
What are strips for?
Color marking is necessary for production. It serves as a guide for machines that operate in automatic mode. From these strips, they can determine the place of adhesion or what kind of paste should be poured into a specific tube. Since the package is not completely white and contains graphic images so that the sensor can recognize the markings, it must be in a contrasting color. That is why toothpaste for children, whose tube is very bright and contains many drawings, is often marked with a black stripe.
What to look for when choosing toothpaste
There are Russian and international standards governing the composition of toothpastes and their packaging. Each product should have a full name and full information about the manufacturer, as well as contact information. Information should be provided on the volume of the tube, storage requirements and shelf life of the toothpaste in the closed state and after opening. The complete composition must be indicated, if fluorine is present in it, then its mass fraction should be indicated. It is important that the tube is made of materials that are approved for use in food products and protect the toothpaste from drying out.
Requirements for the selection of children's toothpaste
Toothpaste for children is significantly different from adult. Since babies often swallow it, a special requirement is placed on the safety of its composition. Therefore, for small family members, it is necessary to choose means specially designed for them. It should be noted that in this category there is a division into age categories. It also depends on the composition and proportion of the active substances.
Tubes with baby paste are smaller than with adults. This is due to the fact that the period of use of toothpaste after opening the package is negligible. For example, a toothpaste firm "R.O.K.S." must be used within one month. When choosing it is important to pay attention to the fact that children's products should contain a minimum amount of fluorine, but it is advisable to choose a paste without it. The best pastes are those that have a natural composition and soft abrasives, while coping well with the function of cleansing teeth from plaque.
The composition and cost of toothpaste are not indicators of its shelf life. So, expensive Jason paste (about 700 rubles), which has a natural composition, has a shelf life of 3 years. That is, it is the same as the Blend-a-med, whose price is significantly lower.