With the Easter holidays, the beach season begins for many lucky people. When preparing your travel bag, you will surely find a bottle of cream from last year and be tempted to incorporate it into your luggage, but can you really take advantage of it? The truth is that, even if you feel sorry to throw it away, the sunscreen may have lost its effectiveness, with the consequent risk to your skin that using it would have.
Sunscreens have an expiration date that ranges from 1 to 36 months of use after being opened, so if it’s sealed you won’t have a problem at all. If the bottle has already been used and the recommended period has expired, it is best not to take any risks and discard the cream. On the contrary, if the bottle is still dated, you can reuse it if you verify that it has not been damaged.
Consider the color and texture of the cream. If it was originally white and has now taken on a yellowish tone, or has become hard or pasty, you should discard the product, because even if you apply it, it will not fulfill its protective function at all, which can cause skin injuries. These are factors that you can observe with the naked eye, so if the cream appears to be in good condition, you can use it perfectly.
Sun cream tends to be expensive and that is why many users are reluctant to get rid of them until they are completely spent despite being out of date. The truth is that you should not skimp when purchasing a quality protector and the right size, so as not to waste the product to guarantee the protection of your skin and your face. For example, surely you will use a large bottle if you buy it at the beginning of the season, but towards the end of the summer, it is best to opt for a small one to avoid the risk of expiration.
On the other hand, experts in dermatology recommend getting rid of these products from one year to the next due to the risk of injury that their use would have on the skin. A cream that does not guarantee protection from the sun exposes us to the appearance of spots and diseases such as skin cancer. In addition, a protector that has expired can have aggressive effects on the skin and cause allergic reactions, itching, rashes or redness that demonstrate its inefficiency.
