Does sunscreen really expire?

[villanelle75]

I have 792 partly full containers of suncreen, due in large part to the fact that i never want to talka half empty on on vacation for fear of running out.

I'd love to use up the odds and ends lurking my my cabinet, some of which probably only have 2 or 3 applications left, but I am afraid that it won't be effective.

Does it really expire and if so, how old is too old?

[ellidew]

YES!! My dh used expired sunscreen on his chest and back while vacationing once and ended up with large blotches of white and dark skin. Seriously, he had spots. It looked awful and took through winter to completely fade away until his skin tone was even again.

I can't answer the how old is too old question but if it's expired it's expired. If not for simple vanity reasons then I think it's safe to say it's ineffective post expiration date and to properly protect your skin buy some that isn't expired.

I can solve the 792 partly full containers problem: Throw them away!!! lol. ;) I know it's hard to just throw money in the trashcan but it's not worth it in this particular case.

[BTB]

Yes, it really expires. If there's a date on the bottle and it's past, toss it. Some brands don't have dates on the bottle, no one's truly "studied" this but theoretically it lasts 2-3 years. If you can't remember when you bought it, toss it. :)

[HGMorgann]

I got a horrible burn on expired sunscreen. I applied it religiously every 2 hours or so but still burned w/ blistering. ouch.

[shopaholic]

most sunscreens now do print a date right on the bottle. If it doesn't have a date I would pitch it.