While families and friends get ready to hang out this summer, it may seem easy to grab an old bottle of sunscreen from the cabinet rather than buying a new bottle.
Anyone who throws an old bottle into their beach bag should double check its expiration date, according to Dr. Michael Dannenberg, chief of dermatology at Huntington Hospital in New York.
“Almost all sunscreens do have a stamp on the back of the tube or on the bottom of the bottle,” said Dannenberg, who joined WCBS Radio’s Newsline with Brigitte Quinn. “Usually they’re dated for, you know, about three years after they’re manufactured.”
Quinn noted that sunscreen bottle expiration date labels can often get smudged during long days at the pool or beach. Dannenberg has some pointers for those who aren’t sure if that bottle from last year is still good.
“As I tell most of my patients, if you are concerned about the expiration date, it usually means that you’re not using enough sunscreen,” he started. “You know, usually if you’re buying a bottle or two bottles of sunscreen, you’ll go through that in a season.”
Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, which skin is exposed to when bared in the sun, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. UV rays can be present all year and in all types of weather. They tend to be strongest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daylight saving time (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. standard time) in the U.S.
To keep skin protected from UV light, the CDC recommends wearing sunscreen, lotion measured by solar protection factor, or SPF. Per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “SPF is a measure of how much solar energy (UV radiation) is required to produce sunburn on protected skin (i.e., in the presence of sunscreen) relative to the amount of solar energy required to produce sunburn on unprotected skin.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, expired sunscreen will not protect against UV rays properly. Active ingredients in sunscreen that contribute to SPF are typically zinc oxide and titanium oxide.
While out in the sun, people should reapply sunscreen every three to four hours – or more if they go in and out of the water – Dannenberg explain.
“If you have something that’s left over from… last season, there is no problem bringing it out again this year. But if you have a bottle that’s been sitting on the cabinet for… a couple of years, that’s one that you probably let go,” he added.
Dannenberg also said that most sunscreen should have a milky white color. If it turns yellow, gets chunky or separates, sunscreen should be chucked in the garbage. When purchasing new sunscreen, he said lighter-skinned people should go for bottles with at least 30 SPF and people with darker skin should go for bottles with at least 15 SPF.
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