


BEST SUNSCREEN FOR SENSITIVE SKIN 2016 HOW TO
And without a general sense, the risk of excess sun exposure increases significantly.” How to tell if sunscreen has expired “So you could get a good hour or two of protection or you could be applying a product with a SPF equivalent of plain moisturizer-zero. “The challenge with expired sunscreen, while it likely still retains some measure of sun protective capability, no one can know how much,” Dr. The biggest risk of all, though, is that once expired, your sunscreen may lose its very purpose. “And no one wants to come back from having fun in the sun looking like a Jackson Pollock painting,” she says. Because of this, they can be more difficult to apply, which can result in uneven coverage. According to Chung, mineral sunscreens, in particular, get grittier with age. When sunscreen goes bad, the ingredients aren’t the only things affected-the very texture and consistency of the product can be, too. “These preservatives will diminish over time, increasing the risk of bacterial overgrowth, which can lead to acne breakouts if applied to the skin.” “Sunscreens contain preservatives to keep them sterile,” Dr.

Henry says.Īnother reason you could have an adverse reaction to expired sunscreen? It could have mold, which means your face would be covered in bacteria if you were to apply it. This can show up in the form of general inflammation, rashes, or full-blown breakouts from the degraded ingredients, Dr. For starters, expired ingredients can trigger allergic and irritant reactions. “There comes a time when the product changes and, if used, may have unintended negative effects,” Dr.
