Do You Need a Skincare Fridge?

No. But you're going to buy one anyway because the Instagram and Clock App algorithm has you in a chokehold.

The latest hype in the world of skin care isn't celebrity launches (though we're drowning in them). It's all about where you're storing your beloved skin care products. Suddenly, your bathroom cabinet isn't good enough anymore despite it being the premier place for your products for at least a century. 2022 seems to be all about the "skincare fridge". And if you're wondering what that is (you're not), it's exactly what it sounds like: a refrigerator for skin care.

On the professional side, refrigerating some of our back bar products may be necessary. Reasons for refrigeration in the treatment room include: temperature control, preservation, and "client experience". If you can't control the temperature within your studio via A/C then fridges are a huge help. Sometimes a backbar product (like certain peels) can be easily combustible if not refrigerated. Or you may want to apply cool masks after your more invasive treatments without buying any that contain menthol or camphor to give that cooling effect. These are all fine professional reasons to refrigerate skin care products. They make no sense for a consumer.

Why You Don't Need a Skincare Fridge

Consumers typically do not need to refrigerate their skin care products and thus don't need a skincare fridge. Most consumer skin care is packaged with preservatives to keep you safe as long as they are stored in a cool, dry place. For consumers, "cool" means room temperature. Your bathroom cabinet is a cool, dry place.

Some publications have been saying that skincare fridges help keep certain ingredients like retinol stable, but that's not true. The stability of a retinoid (or any other skin care ingredients for that matter) is primarily going to be determined by the formulation. From a manufacturers perspective, further stability via storage is going to depend upon the packaging—not what the consumer does at home. For example, my retinoid Moonshine is packaged in a dark glass, UV filtered bottle to further preserve its stability.

Need another reason you don't need a skincare fridge? They're not necessarily energy savers. So if you are concerned about climate change, energy consumption, and the environment then purchasing one of these goes against your ideals. Also, they don't even get that cold! A lot of the skincare fridges on the market only get room temperature. Which makes them pointless because your cabinet is the same temperature.

Why You Might Utilize a Skincare Fridge

The only viable reason I could think of a consumer using a fridge at home is to assist in cryotherapy. But it has to actually get cold in order for that to work. Obviously, you don't want to put your cold rollers or ice globes in your kitchen refrigerator next to lunch meat. So in this case, I guess a skincare fridge could be seen as somewhat useful. But then again you could just put your cold tools in a sealed container away from foods in your kitchen fridge (or freezer).

The Verdict

Listen, people are charging anywhere from $50-$400 for these things and they are mainly a scam. Spend that money with an esthetician or on your favorite skin care products instead.

(Cover image is of the Cooluli beauty fridge)