Everything To Consider Before Investing In Your Very Own Beauty Fridge

This week on Instagram, I've been seeing beauty fridges just about everywhere. Why? A popular skincare brand sent a mini fridge out to every big beauty editor in London, accompanied by some of their bestselling skincare. What followed was a stream of Instagram posts, which had me intrigued (and just a little jealous). What are beauty fridges? Do we actually need them? And do they have any drawbacks we should consider? I've looked into the trend to find the answers.

What are beauty fridges?

Beauty fridges are the latest trend to take Instagram by storm. They began to do the rounds on social media earlier this year, and have become ultra-covetable for beauty addicts and anyone in the know. But what actually are they? Well, quite simply, a beauty fridge is a dedicated fridge you keep certain products (mostly skincare) in. It is usually mini, in a pastel colour, and filled to the brim of the most talked about millennial brands, such as Drunk Elephant, Glossier, and Herbivore. They are particularly popular with beauty editors, including Allure's Michelle Lee, who is EIC of the magazine. You'll likely see them in the bathrooms of some of your fave UK editors, influencers, and YouTubers now too.

What are the benefits of beauty fridges?

So what's all the hype about? While there are many reasons to believe beauty fridges are just a fad (we'll get onto that later), there are some benefits to owning one, especially when it comes to preserving skincare. "Keeping certain products in the fridge helps to keep them stable, increase efficacy, [and] helps with preservation (just like food), so they stay efficacious longer," Joshua Ross, celebrity aesthetician and founder of SkinLab told Huffpost. “Particularly with expensive products that you aren’t using frequently, it’s great to pop them in the fridge to extend the shelf life," he added.

Beauty director Jean Godfrey-June also explained on Goop that the primary reason people like to keep their products in the fridge is to keep them cool for a more pleasant application. Puffy eyes can benefit from a nice cooling eye gel in the morning straight from the fridge, and face masks and creams feel divine on skin that's overly hot or red.

But do you actually need a beauty fridge?

However, Godfrey-June points out that "the amount of sustained cool you get from a bit of cream is minimal," meaning it's not that effective when it comes down to it.

Other experts tend to agree, with Consultant dermatologist Dr Anjali Mahto vehemently arguing that beauty fridges are just "another beauty fad doing the rounds on social media." There isn’t any specific reason why your average beauty product needs to be refrigerated," she told the Evening Standard.

As well as the limited benefits of having one, there could be some noticeable drawbacks to beauty fridges on the whole too. For one, they're not the most environmentally friendly beauty trend.

“I feel that a skincare fridge would represent a needless waste of energy," Tijion Esho, founder of the Esho Clinic and award-winning cosmetic doctor, told Get The Gloss. "We have to remember that these fridges, while small, can use a huge amount of electricity and increase the impact of our own personal footprint on climate change."

Where can you buy a beauty fridge?

Despite having obvious drawbacks and little proof to suggest they are necessary, beauty fridges do seem like the it trend to be on board with at the moment, and can help things stay fresh and cool. If you're set on buying one, I've picked out a couple of options for you to try. Just remember, things like serums, gels, creams and face masks are great in the fridge, but oil textures and fragrances should be kept away from them.