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An open jar with a number and M, giving months of use after opening.
Also known as: PAO symbol, Open jar symbol, 12M symbol, Months after opening symbol
An open cosmetics jar marked 12M means the product should be used within twelve months of first opening. It is a legal requirement in the EU for products lasting more than thirty months, and it is quite separate from any expiry date on the packaging.
States how many months a cosmetic product remains suitable for use after it is first opened — 6M, 12M and 24M being the commonest values.
Contexts: Packaging
Is defined in law rather than by convention: European cosmetics regulation sets out what the mark means, so applying it is a regulated claim rather than a manufacturer's assurance.
Symbolwise cites the regulation through reference works reporting it rather than having read the instrument directly, so this is not typed as an official definition.
Contexts: Packaging
Starts counting from first opening rather than from manufacture, so an unopened product is not governed by it at all and two identical jars can have very different remaining lives.
Contexts: Packaging
Is required in place of a best-before date for products with a shelf life longer than thirty months, which is why many cosmetics carry one and no expiry date.
Reported by reference works describing the regulation. Symbolwise has not read the instrument directly.
Contexts: Packaging
Runs from opening, not from manufacture, which is what distinguishes it from the date printed elsewhere on the pot. A cosmetic can carry both: an expiry date that applies to the sealed product and an open-jar figure that starts the moment the seal is broken. Whichever comes first governs.
Contexts: Packaging
Is required in the European Union for cosmetics with a shelf life of more than thirty months; below that the product carries a date of minimum durability instead. So the absence of an open-jar mark is itself information — it usually means the product has a short dated life rather than that the manufacturer forgot.
European Union · Contexts: Packaging
Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.
Months form
The open jar printed with a figure and the letter M — 6M, 12M, 24M — the commonest form by far.
Years form
The same jar with a figure and the letter Y, used for products with a long open life.
A cylindrical jar shown with its lid lifted off to one side, with a number and the letter M printed on its body.
The two marks in this group that are defined in law rather than by manufacturer convention, which is what separates them from the care marks printed beside them.