Can you still use the expired sunscreen and be well protected?

Exposing yourself without sunscreen carries many risks. Skin cancer, sunburn, premature skin aging, pigment spots … The list is long. Therefore, it is important to pay special attention to this, if you have light or dark skin. Because EVERYONE can suffer from the negative effects of the sun. Like every year, we find ourselves with the same dilemma: do we really have to buy a new sunscreen or can we use the one from previous years (already open or not), even if it has expired?

The answer tends to Nounfortunately and for a very clear reason: the latter risks being ineffective if exposed to ultraviolet rays. You should know that these the filters are particularly fragile and they are very resistant to the deleterious effects of time.

Jessica Wu, a dermatologist in Los Angeles and author of Feed your faceexplains in the columns of Refinery 29 What are the risks of using expired sunscreens?

“The expired sunscreen may no longer protect you from UV rays and may even be less water resistant than indicated on the label.”

She continues:

“Over time, the ingredients can break down and cause skin irritation and allergic reactions. Expired sunscreens can also start developing mold or bacteria, which can lead to skin infections. “

What about sunscreen that hasn’t expired?

If the cream you bought in late summer last year doesn’t have an expired date and hasn’t been opened or exposed to the sun, it’s entirely possible to use it! Why such a disparity? Simply because sun, sand, heat and bacteria could infiltrate the open formula, change the stability of its filters and make them ineffective during exposure. A scenario that does not involve pipes that are still unused (unless you have them exposed anyway).

Isabelle Benoit, Scientific Director of Bioderma confirms this analysis in the pages of Marie Claire :

“Sunscreen products are specialty cosmetics, meaning they contain sunscreens whose stability can be damaged due to a wide variety of behaviors. ”

To make sure your sunscreen has held up from one year to the next, keep in mind that a formula that has been able to “turn” has warning signs.

• It shifts and often a liquid consistency comes out first.
• It smells bad.
• Its consistency changes, it can become grainy or resemble curdled milk.
• Its color takes on greenish or yellowish tones.

If, on the other hand, you have found an open tube of sunscreen at the bottom of the bag and it shows an expiration date that is still valid, we advise you not to use it. Because even if everything looks ok on paper, the formula may have been subjected to attacks that made it unstable.

What to do in late summer with the sunscreen already started?

Since throwing sunscreen in the trash can be maddening, you don’t have to get rid of it once you’re back from vacation. Always effective, it can be useful at the end of your beauty routine and become your daily SPF (because remember, even if you live in a place where the sun does not shine very much, UV rays still pass through the clouds and can be harmful to your health (even if this phenomenon is more moderate than direct exposure in the middle of summer) …

It can also be used as a substitute for a moisturizer because its rich enough formula helps the skin protect itself from daily aggressions.

Picture credits of an @Michele Nilov coming from Pexel.