Expired oil?

[Cimorene]

So, having read on this board and elsewhere about the wonders of coconut oil for one's hair, I picked some up today during my weekly grocery outing. Being a cheapo, I just got the 31 oz. tub of LouAna Coconut Oil at Wal-Mart (oil is oil, right?).

However, before excitedly opening it and trying a bit on my crunchy ends, I noticed that there's a "Best By" date on the top...and it reads "6/01/09" :justy:

So uh...should I return it, or can I still use this stuff? I haven't opened it yet, just in case I do decide to return it, so I don't know what it looks like or anything.

I was SO looking forward to trying this out tonight! :wail: And if I have to return it, that's another trip out in the cold...and if the one other tub I saw on the shelves is out of date, too (probably -- I can't imagine they sell much of it around here), then I'm fresh out of ideas for where to buy coconut oil. Maybe Whole Foods, but I'm sure theirs is WAY more expensive.

I can't believe I didn't even check the date. Would it still be alright to use, or do I need to suck it up and return it?

[Harriet]

I think you'd have to open it and have a look and a smell. Oil can go rancid and you should be able to smell this if it is. If you found it smelt odd then you'd be well within your rights to take it back as it is past its sell by date. My coconut oil is a solid and is a whitish colour, some bits are more see-through than others.
it should smell pleasantly of coconuts, if it doesn't then I'd take it back. I don't see any harm in using it if it smells ok as it's been sealed, and best before dates often are way before the product is actually "gone off".
Definately don't use it if it smells odd, as rancid oil contains acids that could damage your hair.

[Madame J]

Honestly, you should return it for a refund, simply so the store knows to check the sell-by dates of the items on their shelves. Once you open it, you might run into trouble trying to return it (even though they should not try to resell it!).

Oh, and great user name. My favorite princess.

[Anje]

Like Harriet said, you're just going to have to stick your nose in it. If it smells nasty, don't use it.

If it smells like coconuts, great! If it just smells a little like oil, it'll be fine, but it means that you've got refined coconut oil rather than the unrefined stuff. (I don't know whether LouAna is, off hand.)

My Walmart sells a virgin unrefined coconut oil among the supplements. It's more expensive than the cooking stuff, but it might be cheaper than Whole foods. Other places to look are the natural foods sections of other grocery stores, and at asian food stores.

[sibylla]

I´m not afraid of using expired oils (I do it often).I´m sure it´s OK. Can´t damage your hair. Now try it!!You would be surprised of how many expired coco-,olive- and flaxseed oils I use. They´re all good for my hair.

[reishka]

If it's honestly a 'best-by' date, then you should be safe to open it; open it and test it to see if it is unspoiled. Stores are allowed to sell foodstuffs beyond their 'best-by' dates, because that's simply the manufacturer's way of saying 'this food will taste the best before x date". It should still be unspoiled for a time after the best-by date. If it *is* spoiled, you should be able to take it back to Wal-mart (with your receipt, of course) and either get an exchange (which may not help you if all the other oil on the shelf is bad) or a refund.

However, if the date you're looking at is the 'sell-by' date, return it immediately and contact your state's AG. It's illegal to sell foodstuffs past their sell-by dates no matter where you live. Though, usually only fresh meats, dairy, medication, and baby food are branded with a 'sell-by' date - in the US, the FDA doesn't require 'sell-by' dates for any other foods (and fresh meats is a special case - they actually stamp the meat with a 'packaged on' date, and food is only allowed to be sold for a certain number of days past the packaging date).

[SHELIAANN1969]

It should be ok, but since it's going to last you a good long while, you want the freshest product that you can obtain, and I would gather that if you go back to the store and get the jars way in the back, they should have a different expiration date.

I would return it for a more up to date product.

[Cimorene]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I think I'm going to play it safe and just return it. It does have a "Best by" date, and not a "sell by" date, so it might be okay, but like Sheliaann1969 pointed out, I do want it to last awhile, so the fresher, the better. Although, given that there was only one other bottle on the shelf, in a very hard-to-find place, I'm guessing I'm going to have to try a different store (or check out the supplements section as Anje suggested).

Maybe I'll be in the mood to explore tomorrow! :D

@Madame J -- Glad to see I'm not the only Patricia C. Wrede fan here! :)

[Fractalsofhair]

For the record, whole foods 365 brand in their cooking section that's organic is pretty cheap. I think $6-7 for a giant container?(Well for hair) Wonderful stuff. Some things at WFs are cheaper than at other stores, though a lot are more expensive!

Coconut oil does last a while, the best by date is mostly for cooking. But, I'd suggest returning it.

[Cimorene]

Ooh, I didn't know there was a 365 brand of coconut oil! I recently bought some mint-scented shampoo and conditioner in that brand, and not only was it cheap, but so far as I can tell after 1 usage, my hair seems to like it. (Except for my fried ends, which need a little something extra, hence my coconut oil quest.)

Thanks for the info! :thumbsup:

[hoosiermama]

Even though you've decided to return it anyway, I'd just like to add that it wouldn't matter if it was openned or not. If you bought it at Walmart, they'll take it back. Walmart has a VERY liberal return policy. Mostly because they don't own anything in their stores. Anything you buy at Walmart is purchased by them from the supplier at the same time you purchase it from Walmart. (does that make sense?) Basically, the store is a holding tank for product. For example, at the moment a $10 item is purchased by you, they pay the supplier the $5 it actually costs and Walmart pockets the difference. Ain't business grand? :eyebrows:

[Cimorene]

Update: I returned the "expired" oil today with no problems, and found some at Whole Foods for $7 that will be fine until May of next year. So I think I'm good now. :) I haven't tried the oil yet, but I think I may wait until after I wash my hair tonight. Or maybe I should do a before and after? Guess I need to go searching through some old posts about coconut oil.

@hoosiermama: I figured I wouldn't get any grief about the return, but I tend toward a bit of paranoia and like to prepare myself for multiple eventualities. I actually used to work at a Wal-Mart close to where I grew up, and during my time in the clothing department we'd get returns with stains on them, articles of clothing that smelled horribly of smoke, gasoline, you name it. We even got a few things that Wal-Mart didn't actually sell. :laugh: So yeah, you're definitely right about the liberal return policy -- from what you said I guess they can afford to be that way about it.

[Cimorene]

So I just soaked my hair in coconut oil -- ohhh...SO relaxing! Maybe it's because the smell made me think of lying on the beach sipping a pina colada or something. :toast:

I'm going to give it awhile to soak in before I wash my hair, but my ends feel so much softer already! This was definitely a good idea. Thank you LHC! :bowtome: