Unilever Batch Codes (YDDD): Dove, Axe, Rexona, Vaseline
Unilever's personal-care lines use a 4–5 character code: year digit, day of the year, and an optional plant letter.
4 min read · Updated July 2026
Anatomy of the code 6120X
| Characters | What they encode |
|---|---|
6 | Last digit of the production year — 2026 |
120 | Day of that year — day 120 is 30 April |
X | Plant / production line — no date information |
Worked examples
Decoded live by the same engine that powers the checker — not transcribed by hand.
6120XApril 30, 2026medium confidenceDay 120 of a year ending in 6, made on line X.
5301October 28, 2025medium confidenceThe same format without a plant letter.
How the code is built
Unilever's mass personal-care products — Dove, Axe, Rexona, Vaseline, Sunsilk, TRESemmé, Simple, Pond's, St. Ives — use the same year-digit-plus-Julian-day pattern as Coty, with an optional trailing letter for the plant or line.
The first digit is the last digit of the year. The next three are the day of that year. A trailing letter, where present, is the production line and carries no date.
Reading one by hand
- First digit: the year's last digit. Pick the most recent year ending in it.
- Next three digits: the day of the year. Divide by about 30.4 for the month.
- Ignore any trailing letters.
The exception worth knowing
A minority of Unilever skincare plants use a month-letter-first variant rather than this format. Our decoder does not read those — it would have to guess, and guessing a date is worse than saying nothing.
If a Unilever code starts with a letter rather than a digit, you are looking at that variant. Check the pack for a printed best-before date instead.
FAQ
Does deodorant really have a shelf life?
An unopened antiperspirant is typically good for around three years; the active salts and fragrance degrade slowly. It is one of the more forgiving categories.
My Dove bottle has two codes.
Common on bottles that are moulded in one plant and filled in another. The batch code is the inkjet-printed one, not the moulded number in the plastic.
Brands that use this code (10)
The format belongs to the manufacturer, not the label on the bottle — every brand below is stamped by the same plants and reads the same way.
Other code formats
- Coty Batch Codes (YDDD): How to Read Them
- L'Oréal Batch Codes: The Year-Letter System Explained
- Estée Lauder Batch Codes: Plant, Month, Year in 3 Characters
- Dior, Chanel and LVMH Batch Codes: The Date Is in the Code
Not sure which code on the pack is the batch code? How to Find Your Batch Code