{"id":9862,"date":"2020-05-18T10:36:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T14:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=9862"},"modified":"2025-08-06T09:21:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T13:21:26","slug":"does-sunscreen-expire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/does-sunscreen-expire\/","title":{"rendered":"Does sunscreen expire?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sun is out. The temps are warm. And you\u2019re about to hit the beach…or the park…or the hiking trails for a day of fun. Before you leave, you grab a bottle of sunscreen from last summer to stash in your bag\u2014but soon realize the expiration date has passed. Or that there is no expiration date listed on the container at all. Is the sunscreen safe to use? Will it still protect you from a <\/span>nasty sunburn<\/span><\/a>? Or are you better off tossing it and <\/span>buying a new bottle<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n

Does sunscreen expire?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sunscreen does indeed expire, and may not be as effective past that date, according to <\/span>Joshua Zeichner, MD<\/span>, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe level of protection labeled on the bottle can only be guaranteed up to the listed expiration date,\u201d Dr. Zeichner<\/a> says. \u201cAfter that point, the sunscreen will likely give some level of protection, however not necessarily as much as it originally gave.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As an over-the-counter product, <\/span>sunscreen is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)<\/span><\/a> and is required to have an expiration date marked on its label\u2014or prove its shelf life to be three years past the manufacture date. That means if, for whatever reason, your sunscreen bottle doesn\u2019t have a stamped expiration date, it should be good for up to three years after its purchase date. Beyond that, it likely won\u2019t block those ultraviolet (UV) rays as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if your sunscreen hasn\u2019t expired, you\u2019ll want to make sure there are no obvious changes in the formulation since the last time you used it. <\/span>\u201cIf it does not look, feel, or smell the way it did when you first purchased it, you should toss it,\u201d Dr. Zeichner advises. \u201cI do not like anyone to take any risks when it comes to sun protection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What does expired sunscreen look like? Is it okay to use?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The biggest risk of using an expired sunscreen is that the ingredients will have lost their effectiveness and you have a higher chance of burning. But there could be other consequences for your skin, too, says Marisa Garshick, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at New York\u2019s <\/span>Medical Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery Center<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSunscreens that are expired can feel or look different from their original form with chemical sunscreens oxidizing and physical sunscreens degrading,\u201d Dr. Garshick says. \u201cIf the consistency is different, it may not feel the same way going on the skin and make the skin more sensitive or irritated. Similarly, if any preservatives have broken down with the product expiring, it can increase the chance of bacteria in the bottle, which could theoretically also lead to infections.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Is expired sunscreen better than no sunscreen?<\/span><\/h2>\n

That said, if you\u2019re in a pinch and the consistency still looks okay, using expired sunscreen may not be the worst option: \u201cI tell my patients that expired sunscreen is certainly better than no sunscreen at all,\u201d Dr. Zeichner says. \u201cHowever, I like my patients to purchase new sunscreen every season. If [you\u2019re] using sunscreen properly, the bottle that you buy for Memorial Day should definitely not be lasting until Labor Day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If your sunscreen has expired, you should throw out the old bottle. <\/span>Unlike prescription medicines<\/span><\/a>, there is no real suggested protocol for disposing of sunscreens. A local medicine collection program may take it, but many do not accept personal care products (which sunscreen is considered). If you want to recycle the sunscreen container, squirt the unused sunscreen into the garbage rather than down the drain to prevent unnecessary chemicals from entering the water supply.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do I choose the right sunscreen?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sunscreen typically protects skin against two types of rays: UVA and UVB. UVA rays are associated with skin aging, while UVB rays are associated with skin burning\u2014both contribute to your risk of skin cancer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UVA and UVB<\/span><\/h3>\n

There are two indicators to look for when purchasing sunscreen: If the label says \u201cbroad-spectrum\u201d then you know it has both <\/span>UVA and UVB protection<\/span><\/a>. The SPF (sun protection factor) measures the level of UVB protection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SPF<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201c<\/span>The current recommendation from both the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) and Skin Cancer Foundation is to choose a sunscreen with at least SPF 30,\u201d Dr. Zeichner says. \u201cI personally recommend that my patients apply sunscreen with the highest SPF possible. In the real world, we do not apply as much sunscreen as we should and we definitely do not reapply every two hours. As a result, the level of protection we get is diluted out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There are skincare products beyond sunscreen that have SPF, including moisturizers, lip balm, and cosmetics. However, these products don\u2019t always have UVA protection, which is why it\u2019s still important to wear sunscreen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mineral or chemical<\/span><\/h3>\n

You\u2019ll also want to consider the type of sunscreen you buy. There are two types, differentiated by the sunscreen ingredients: mineral (also known as physical) and chemical.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n