Glossary · Regulation & Compliance
What Is PAO (Period After Opening)?
PAO is the period-after-opening symbol on a cosmetic label — an open-jar graphic carrying a number of months — indicating how long the product stays stable and safe once the consumer first uses it. It is used where minimum durability exceeds thirty months, so no expiry date is printed instead.
Why it matters when you source
PAO is set from stability and microbiological data, not from marketing preference, so it has to be consistent with the testing your factory actually ran. If a retailer questions a claim of twelve months, the stability file is what answers it.
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