how often should you change your mascara

You should change your mascara about every three months after opening it, and sooner if it looks, smells, or feels “off.”

Quick Scoop

• Most experts say: replace mascara every 2–3 months after opening.

• Three-month mark is the commonly quoted “rule” for safety and performance.

• Toss it earlier if it dries out, clumps, flakes, smells weird, or irritates your eyes.

• Old mascara can harbor bacteria and increase the risk of eye infections, redness, or styes.

• Unopened tubes can sit in your stash for a couple of years if stored well, but the clock starts once you break the seal.

Why three months?

Mascara is wet, goes right near your eyes, and the wand is constantly going from tube to lashes and back again, which makes it a perfect place for bacteria to build up over time. Each time you pull the wand out, air and microbes enter the tube, the formula slowly dries, and the risk of irritation or infection goes up while the performance goes down.

Eye doctors and beauty experts warn that using very old mascara can contribute to problems like redness, burning, allergic reactions, or even styes and other infections. That’s why “every three months” has become a kind of hygiene rule rather than just a marketing trick: it’s mainly about protecting your eyes.

Signs it’s time to toss it

Even if you haven’t hit the three‑month mark, throw your mascara out if you notice:

• Clumping, caking, or unusually flaky lashes when you apply it.

• The formula feels drier or thicker than usual, even with one coat.

• A new or unpleasant smell coming from the tube.

• Your eyes get red, sting, itch, or feel irritated soon after you apply it.

• You shared it with someone who used it on their eyes (higher germ‑sharing risk).

If you genuinely can’t remember when you opened it and it’s been “a long time,” that alone is a good reason to replace it.

What people actually do (forum vibes)

On beauty forums, plenty of people admit they keep mascaras far longer than three months, sometimes six months to a year, especially if they don’t use them daily and haven’t noticed irritation. Some see the three‑month guideline as overly cautious or influenced by marketing, while others, especially those with sensitive eyes or contacts, follow it strictly.

A common pattern in discussions is:

“I know the rule is 3 months, but I keep mine until it dries out… I just toss it if my eyes feel weird or it smells off.”

So in real life, behavior ranges from “follow the rule religiously” to “use it until it dies,” but the safest choice for eye health is still to swap it around every three months.

Simple care tips so it lasts safely

If you want to stay closer to the three‑month guideline while keeping things as safe and effective as possible:

1. Close it tightly after every use so less air gets in and the formula doesn’t dry as fast.

2. Don’t “pump” the wand up and down in the tube; twist it instead to pick up product, which reduces air and contamination.

3. Avoid sharing mascara, even with close friends, to lower the risk of transferring bacteria.

4. Store it at room temperature, away from heat or direct sunlight.

5. If you get an eye infection, stop using that tube immediately and replace it once your eyes are healed.

Quick recap (TL;DR)

• Ideal answer to “how often should you change your mascara?”: every three months after opening.

• You can keep unopened backups for a couple of years in a cool, dry place.

• Let your eyes and the formula guide you: if it looks, smells, or feels wrong, or your eyes react, ditch it early.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.