4 Best Skincare Fridges for Tired, Puffy Mornings

Though our Lab has not yet tested skincare fridges, Nicole Papantoniou, Director of the Kitchen & Cooking Lab, regularly tests full-sized kitchen fridges throughout the year. We also turned to board-certified dermatologists for their favorites and took into account real user reviews to evaluate each pick for its capacity, footprint, features and extras. We also considered any consumer gripes before making our selections.

To find the best skincare fridge for you, keep these factors in mind as you shop:

✔️ Size: You'll have to make sure you have the space for your new skincare fridge! Take a look at dimensions before buying, and compare its footprint with the capacity inside to ensure it suits your needs.

✔️ Capacity: Look at what products you have and how many you’re working with. A four-liter fridge can fit six 12-ounce cans, which is plenty of room for sleeker serum bottles of the same height, but if you have more skincare you're looking to store, go for a larger 6-liter or 10-liter option.

✔️ Temperature: Pay attention to how cold the fridge can get. Most skincare fridges tend to operate the same as mini portable fridges for food, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that foods be stored at 40ºF or below. "For beauty products, just make sure the fridge doesn't run below 32ºF so they don't freeze," Papantoniou says. Some fridges have adjustable temperature ranges and even warming capabilities, depending on your needs.

✔️ Brand: “It is wise to go with brand names that are well-established, or those newer brands that have [a] significantly high volume of user reviews,” says Brian Moore, M.D., a board-certified Cleveland, Ohio-based dermatologist and advisor to Illuminate Labs.

✔️ Adjustable shelving: "Look for fridges with removable shelves, as you can use these to customize the space," Papantoniou says. That way, you can ensure every product has a home.

✔️ Additional features: Keep in mind useful extras that suit your needs, like interior lighting, exterior mirrors for skincare application, or additional power adapters for usage on the go.

Since the majority of skincare products are created to be stored at room temperature without any issues, keeping skincare products in the fridge isn't expressly necessary unless a company advises it. So while most people probably don't need a skincare fridge, "storing some skincare products in the fridge can help protect the longevity and stability," Dr. Frieling says.

"Generally, refrigeration doesn't change the ingredients of the product, and it doesn't make them more or less effective," says Dr. Moore, but "if your skin is irritated, a soothing cream or mask can feel good. Aloe vera in particular that comes from the fridge is a cold relief for sunburnt skin."

Products that can be stored in a skincare fridge include serums, masks, eye care, products with hydroquinone, and vitamin C-based products, according to Angelo P. Thrower, founder of Dr. Thrower Skincare and a dermatologist with over 25 years of experience."These products benefit from refrigeration because the cold enhances stability and minimizes oxidation, both causes for loss of power of their formulations," he says.

Dr. Moore adds that vitamin C serums and products get "the added benefit of protection from UV degradation" when you keep them in a skincare fridge because "it protects [Vitamin C] from light, which degrades by photochemical oxidation at 254nm." He also shares that face rollers, facial mists, essences, and toners are safe to keep in your skincare fridge.

A general rule of thumb is if the skincare product formula is thick, you may not want to store it in a mini fridge. “I do not recommend keeping products with high viscosity refrigerated as the cold will make them even thicker and it’ll be hard to squeeze them out of their bottles,” Dr. Thrower says.

Dr. Moore says you shouldn't keep any cosmetics in a mini fridge. “These are meant to be at room temperature or body temperature to be able to go on the skin smoothly and spread evenly,” he says. If you do apply these products straight out of the fridge, it may result in uneven coverage. Use your discretion, but you may want to keep things like your foundation and concealer at room temperature.

Nope, keeping beauty products in the fridge doesn't necessarily extend their shelf life, says Dr. Moore. However, Dr. Thrower argues that cooling your products can “maintain the potency.”

This article was written by Contributing Editor Shanon Maglente and updated by contributing writer Danielle James. For this story, we performed extensive research and sought expert insights from Gretchen Frieling, M.D., a certified dermatopathologist at GFaceMD, Angelo P. Thrower, founder of Dr. Thrower Skincare, and board-certified dermatologist Brian Moore.