The time to go on vacation is approaching, your luggage is soon ready, but you realize at the last moment that you forgot to buy a tube of sunscreen. Is it reasonable to slip last year’s one in your suitcase? Yes and no.
In 2017, the Italian media Altroconsumo decided to conduct its small survey on sunscreens. After doing some tests on several 50+ creams technically expired 12 months after opening them (heating and cooling as during an airplane trip, storage of products at 40 degrees for 15 days, etc.), the result was clear: not only the creams had not changed in appearance and smell, but in addition their protection index (tested in the laboratory) had remained the same.
Choose new sunscreens
And yet, the doubt remains. Whether it’s the effects of heat, water, bacteria or just the passing of time, not all sunscreen is “summerproof”. Or rather, it is not two summers in a row: “pharmacologists explain to us that any product loses its effectiveness in the year following its opening”, explains Jean-Luc Schmutz, Professor in the Dermatology Department of the Nancy-Brabois CHRU. “On the other hand, a product which has not been opened, and which has therefore not been oxidized, would retain its properties for several years. Recently we used masks against Covid-19 whose expiration date has passed …“, he emphasizes.
Given the damage of the sun on the skin, the safest, according to Jean-Luc Schmutz, is still to play the card of precaution. “If you want as much certainty as possible about your protection, I think you should favor the use of new creams. And the same goes for other products, like mosquito repellent. “ Isabelle Rousseaux, dermatologist in Lille and member of the SNVD (Syndicate of Dermatologists and Venereologists) agrees but adds that she “still prefer to use an unopened cream that has passed its date rather than an unexpired cream that has been opened and spent time on the beach. ” A matter of common sense.
Reuse your cream the rest of the year
Don’t panic, however, if you’ve gone on vacation with an open and expired cream: “Over ten days, the consequences are not catastrophic. The photoprotection index, which was for example 50 at the start, will perhaps decrease, and you will get sunburn more easily. Nothing more”, explains Professor Schmutz.
And what about the risks of more severe pathologies, such as skin cancer, if the period is prolonged? “If you use a cream that is not effective enough for a month, then yes, your skin will store UV rays, and you risk more serious things”, he continues. “The consequences can be felt 10, 15 or even 20 years later.” Isabelle Rousseaux further specifies: “Beyond the reactions of the skin, the melanin which is responsible for protecting it risks being overtaken by events, and your cells may become cancerous. It is unfortunately more and more frequent. Today, we sees skin cancer in people who are 30 years old. This was not the case before! “
But one question remains: what to do, in this case, with the creams bought for the summer and not finished? “Use them the rest of the year “, recommends Isabelle Rousseaux. “After all, they’re still moisturizers, and it’ll still be sunny when you get home from vacation. Me, I put it every day, from March to fall! “ In short, ideal for taking a little holiday scent with you.
Read also:
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