Summer is almost here. We revisit one of our informative articles on Sunscreen Safety.
Have you ever wondered if sunscreen expires? I went to find out the answer and learned a little more about how much sunscreen you should be using when applying.
Most sunscreens are good for up to 3 years. The have an expiration date printed on them the majority of the time, but if it doesn’t break out the Sharpie and write the purchase date on the bottle.
Do you know how much sunscreen you should apply?
generally, a liberal application is 1 ounce (30 milliliters) — the amount in a shot glass — to cover all exposed parts of the body. If you have a 4-ounce (118-milliliter) bottle, you’ll use about one-fourth of it during one application.
This was kinda of shocking to me (granted I don’t normally put sunscreen on kids as I nanny for teenagers and don’t use a bunch on myself either). Sounds like the multiple bottles you can purchase on sale or through a place like Costco, Sam’s or BJ’s warehouse are the way to go.
To read more on expiration dates and sunscreen please visit:
Is sunscreen from last year still good? When does sunscreen expire?
Have you ever wondered how sunscreen is tested for expiration dates?
Sunscreens are tested in their actual containers, since plastics in the container may leach into the sunscreen and cause a chemical interaction. UVR changes the molecular structure of chemical sunscreens, so sunscreen containers should be opaque.
To read more on this please visit:
These are good pointers. Also, make sure to choose a sunscreen labeled “broad spectrum”. This will give you UVA and UVB coverage (our natural mineral sunscreen is an example) which is important because both types of UV rays cause skin damage.