Skin Care Packaging Matters: Why You Should Avoid Jars & Tubs

In this article:
Jar packaging & skin care ingredient stability issues
Jar packaging & hygiene: is the preservative system enough?
What to look for in smart skin care packaging
Why the skin care industry continues to use jars

If you’re spending money on skin care products that come in jars, in almost every instance you’re doing your skin a major disservice, especially when buying anti-ageing products. We reveal what years of research says about this topic, and on packaging overall, and share the kinds of effective skin care packaging required for maximum benefits (1).

Jar packaging & skin care ingredient stability issues

Research makes it clear that many of the best ingredients for skin—including antioxidants and anti-ageing champions like vitamin C and retinol— break down in the presence of air (2,3,4). Essentially, opening a jar* lets air in, causing these important ingredients to begin deteriorating, becoming less and less effective with each use (5,6,7).

Making matters worse, see-through glass jars (or clear bottles or tubes) allow routine exposure to daylight, further compromising the efficacy of these types of ingredients. You could store such products away from light, but they’ll still see light when in use, and that’s not ideal for the integrity of many ingredients.

Beyond ingredient efficacy, jar packaging can also impact product aesthetics, causing noticeable changes in colour and product texture (8).

What about delicate ingredients made more stable? Good question! There are cosmetic ingredients available, such as retinal that have been stabilised via various methods and, as a result, provide sustained efficacy—even when exposed to light and air. Vitamin C esters, such as tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, are another example of this, and even these can be further stabilised by adding supporting ingredients (like vitamin E) to the formula. In essence, formula design matters a great deal, but even these stabilised ingredients still have a shelf life and, depending on exposure circumstances, are subject to eventual deterioration.

Jar packaging & hygiene: is the preservative system enough?

Every time you dip your fingers into a jar, you contaminate a formula—even if you wash your hands first or use the “special” spatula that accompanies some jar-packaged products (9). It’s simply impossible to keep the tools and your fingers completely clean. This hygiene issue stresses the preservative system, leading to further degradation of the beneficial ingredients (10). Simply put, jar packaging is more likely to lead to unwanted microorganisms within your cosmetics (11).

As a counterpoint to the above, in water-based formulas where microorganism growth is far more likely to occur, the preservatives generally do a good job controlling their growth. This helps ensure product safety and stability, lessening worry about formulary issues from routine exposure of the contents to pathogens. But, take a look at the points below, all of which relate to the hygiene issue. Consumers don’t have access to these details at the point of sale, and brands may not be forthcoming with such information. This should give anyone pause before buying a water-based skin care product housed in a jar.

• Preservative type and concentration: The choice and amount of preservative must be appropriate for the product's formulation and intended use.​ With the ongoing emphasis on clean beauty and demonisation of many conventional preservatives with broad-spectrum activity, brands may be tempted to use lower (minimum) concentrations of a blend of less effective preservatives. In ideal packaging, this approach can pay off nicely; in jars, it’s likely more problematic.
• Product formulation: Complex formulations may affect preservative performance, especially if certain ingredients interact with the preservative system.​ Sometimes this is known ahead of time, sometimes it occurs post-market, requiring formulary tweaks to ensure effective preservation and longer-lasting stability.
• Water activity: This is about the amount of water available for microbial growth and chemical reactions. This phenomenon makes or breaks the potential for uncontrolled pathogen growth in an emulsion. Consumers cannot determine this from an ingredient list (even labs with the right instrumental equipment can have issues with user error and/or improper calibration). 
• Packaging design: Open jars are more prone to contamination compared to airless pumps or tubes, which minimise exposure to air, airborne pathogens and contact with fingers.​
• User experience: There are steps a consumers can take to minimise the risk of contamination; however, it’s reasonable to expect most consumers don’t thoroughly wash their hands before dipping into a jar, may not recap the product tightly after each use or might leave the cap off for extended periods of time, exposing the product to light, oxygen and airborne pathogens.

Summing up, although no type of cosmetic packaging is hygienically perfect, standard jars have the potential to be the least hygienic option. Yes, the preservative system, assuming it's robust enough, should ably counter the most common pathogens found on people's fingers and in the air, but our question is: why stress the preservative system when you could choose another type of packaging that better shields its contents from contaminants every time you use it?

*Airless jars (the kind where you press the top down to dispense product without opening the jar) are the exception to this rule because they restrict air flow and help keep the delicate ingredients stable.

What to look for in smart skin care packaging

Smart skin care packaging is a cornerstone of Paula’s Choice. From airless pumps, multi-layer tubes, opaque bottles, to UV-protected containers and air-restrictive openings, we make sure our complex formulas stay as potent and effective as possible.

Here are a few examples of what state-of-the art skin care packaging looks like:

• Our CLINICAL 1% Retinol Treatment uses a double-walled opaque container and is filled via a unique stabilising process, allowing for next-to-zero exposure to oxygen.
   
• Our C15 Super Booster contains a special internal stopper that prevents air from being pushed back into the bottle when you replace the dropper applicator.

The key takeaway: Minimising air and light maximises your skin care benefits.

Why the skin care industry continues to use jars

You might wonder—if all of this is true, then why do companies continue to sell expensive skin care creams in jars? Trust us, we’re just as frustrated by this as you are. It’s not like the research on jar packaging is locked and hidden away somewhere—it’s been around for years and is undeniably known among most cosmetic chemists.

Case in point, the Guidelines on Stability of Cosmetic Products, published by the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) in 2004 states: “Packaging can directly affect finished product stability because of interactions which can occur between the product, the package, and the external environment. Such interactions may include … barrier properties of the container [and] its effectiveness in protecting the contents from the adverse effects of atmospheric oxygen.…” (12).

A more recent article written by a materials development scientist and personal care scientist stated, “Oxidation of these ingredients [plant extracts and lipids] causes the emulsion to lose not only its antioxidant benefits but also its dermatological benefits" (13).

Regardless of these research-based facts about jar packaging, there remains a certain air of prestige tied to fancy, weighty jars, and many consumers still prefer them. That’s why so many brands continue to use them and why people continue to buy them.

Another factor is that it’s sometimes easier or less expensive for a company to put their formulas in jars; however, this convenience shortchanges your skin. State-of-the-art, stability-proof packaging may cost more behind the scenes and be more labor-intensive to fill, but it’s vital if the formula and its light- and air-sensitive ingredients are to work as effectively as it possible for your skin.

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References for this information:

1. Journal of Pharmacy & BioAllied Sciences, April-June 2013, pages 98–110
2. Dermatologic Therapy, September-October 2007, pages 314–321
3. Ageing Research Reviews, December 2007, pages 271–288
4. AAPS PharmSciTech, January 2018, pages 36-47
5. Journal of Food Science and Technology, April 2021, pages 879–889
6. Food Frontiers, September 2024, pages 2,275-2,289
7. AAPS PharmSciTech, January 2018, pages 60-78
8. Journal of Cosmetic Science, July/Aug 2018, pages 245-255
9. Postles, A. (2018). Factors affecting the measurement of stability and safety of cosmetic products. Bournemouth University.
10. Microorganisms, November 2020, pages 1-31
11. Molecules, June 2018, pages 1-41
12. Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association, March 2004, page 4
13. SOFW Journal, October 2022, pages 56–59