How to track skincare expiry dates: PAO, methods and apps
Last updated: 11 July 2026
The problem: skincare goes off before it runs out
Most skincare doesn't expire on a printed date the way food does. It expires relative to when you opened it. That's what the PAO symbol means: the little open jar printed on the packaging with a number inside, like 6M, 12M or 24M, meaning good for that many months after opening. Some products also carry a hard expiry date, and actives such as vitamin C, retinol and SPF degrade regardless of either.
The practical problem is that the PAO countdown starts from a date almost nobody records. Six months later, "when did I open this?" has no answer, and the honest rule of thumb becomes: if you have to ask, it's probably too old.
The blind spot: products that sit unopened for years
There is a second problem the PAO symbol says nothing about. Many Western products carry no printed expiry date at all, and the PAO clock only starts at opening. So a serum bought two years ago and left sealed in a drawer has been quietly ageing the whole time; by the moment it is finally opened, a meaningful part of its real shelf life is already gone, and the "12 months after opening" promise is optimistic.
The only defence is knowing the purchase date. A receipt records it, which is one reason receipt-based tracking helps: a tracker that stores when you bought each product can tell you "this has been sealed in your stash for 14 months, use it next" before the PAO countdown has even begun. If you track manually, note the purchase month as well as the opening date, and rotate the oldest sealed products to the front.
Manual methods, and why they go stale
- Writing the date on the bottle. Works brilliantly, for the first three bottles. It requires a marker within reach at the exact moment of opening, forever.
- A spreadsheet. Genuinely effective while maintained, but typing in every product name and date is a second job, and most inventory spreadsheets quietly die within a few months.
- A notes app. A list called "skincare" that was last updated the day it was created.
- Just remembering. See the rule of thumb above.
None of these fail because people are careless. They fail because they need upkeep at the moment life is busiest. That's the gap dedicated trackers exist to close: record the opening date once, and the countdown, the arithmetic and the reminder happen without you.
Apps that track skincare expiry
These are the established options as of mid-2026. They differ mainly in platform, how products get into the app, and how much they do beyond the expiry countdown.
FeelinMySkin (iOS & Android)
A polished skincare diary and routine planner with a built-in product tracker: log products, record opening dates, track expiration and get alerts, plus an ingredient analyzer. The right choice if you want a full skincare journal where expiry tracking is one part of a bigger diary habit.
Beauty Expiry Cosmetic Tracker (iOS & Android)
Focused specifically on inventory management: enter the opening date and the PAO, and it counts down the days of freshness remaining with alert notifications before time runs out. Straightforward and single-purpose.
CosmeTick (iOS)
iOS-only, built around barcode scanning: scan the product, log the opening date, and the app handles the countdown with weekly check-in reminders. A good fit if your products have scannable barcodes and you're on iPhone.
Cosmetic Expiry Tracker (Android)
An offline-first Android app that stores everything locally with no cloud login, sends local notifications 7, 14 or 30 days before expiry, and sorts your shelf into Safe, Soon and Expired. The privacy-maximal, no-account option for Android users.
Hadakeo (browser: iPhone, Android & desktop)
A web app rather than a store download: it runs in the browser on any device, installs to the home screen like an app, and the same account works across phone, tablet and laptop. Its distinguishing feature is how products get in: photograph a shop receipt and the whole haul is added at once, or snap a product label and the brand and name are read automatically. It is aimed at people for whom typing in a large collection is the reason spreadsheets failed. It tracks PAO and hard expiry per product with a visual time-remaining bar and email/push reminders, and adds routine check-offs, treatment scheduling and an empties history with buy-again verdicts. Data is hosted in the EU; the first 15 products are free.
How to choose
| If you want… | Look at |
|---|---|
| A full skincare diary and routine journal with expiry tracking included | FeelinMySkin |
| A minimal, single-purpose expiry countdown | Beauty Expiry Cosmetic Tracker |
| Barcode scanning on iPhone | CosmeTick |
| Offline, no accounts, data never leaves your Android phone | Cosmetic Expiry Tracker |
| No app store install, works on every device, receipt scanning to avoid manual entry, routines and empties included | Hadakeo |
Whatever you pick, the deciding factor is rarely the countdown; every app on this list can subtract dates. It's whether the app makes it easy enough to record products that you're still using it in three months. Pick the one whose input method (typing, barcodes, receipts) matches how you actually shop.
Frequently asked
What does the PAO symbol mean?
Period after opening: the open-jar symbol with a number inside (6M, 12M, 24M…) meaning the product is considered good for that many months after first opening, independent of any printed expiry date.
Do unopened products expire?
Eventually, yes. Unopened products last far longer, but printed expiry dates still apply and actives degrade over time. Once opened, the PAO window takes over.
Is there a tracker that doesn't need an app store?
Hadakeo runs in the browser on iPhone, Android and desktop and installs to the home screen like an app, with nothing to download from an app store.