While our favorite skincare and cosmetic products sit on our bathroom shelves, they’re undergoing changes. As time goes on, the products alter, but they are still considered stable for as long as their characteristics are as the manufacturer specified.

The length of time that a product remains within the manufacturer’s specifications is known as the product’s shelf-life. To determine a product’s shelf life, it will undergo stability testing. There are two types of stability tests: real-time and accelerated.

With real-time stability testing, a product is stored in the recommended conditions, and its degradation is monitored over time. It is considered unstable when it no longer meets its specifications.

When a product undergoes accelerated stability testing, it’s stored in elevated conditions, such as at a higher temperature or with increased humidity. From the data collected from this test, a prediction can be made about the degradation of the product in recommended storage conditions based on the relationship between the rate of degradation and the acceleration factor.

Accelerated stability testing is beneficial because results are achieved far faster than when real-time stability tests are conducted. This allows manufacturers to develop, create, and test a product far faster than if they only tested the product using real-time testing methods.

Another benefit of this method of testing is that it can be used to ascertain how a product behaves when under stress. This will give the manufacturer an idea of how the product will perform in subpar storage conditions, which is crucial information if the product is destined for markets where conditions are dissimilar to those in the country of manufacturing. For instance, if a product is manufactured in the USA but destined for a country with a hotter climate, accelerated stability testing will uncover whether or not the product will be able to handle the warmer conditions.

Finally, conducting accelerated stability testing allows the manufacturer to determine what sort of packaging is best suited to the product. If testing reveals the formula is vulnerable to light, for instance, the manufacturer can opt for packaging that prevents exposure to light.

For those looking to partner with a contract manufacturer to create their next line of skincare or cosmetic products, it’s advisable to partner with a company that uses accelerated stability testing, such as Adonis. Here at Adonis, we endeavor to get our customer’s products to market as soon as possible by using accelerated stability testing to speed up product development.