Old sunscreen – still good or should it go in the trash?
Sunscreen is our most important companion, especially in summer. Many people have at least one tube somewhere in their bathroom cabinet—if not an entire collection of various products to combat the dreaded sunburn.
Bought last year in a value pack or during the summer sale, or left over from your last vacation in the Canary Islands : You can accumulate quite a lot of sunscreen products. It's time to finally use up opened tubes or pack unopened bottles for your next vacation. Before you do that, however, you might be wondering whether you should actually use last year's sunscreen for the upcoming summer season. A closer look at the packaging can help.
Cosmetic products, including sunscreens, must have a best-before date if they have a shelf life of less than 30 months. The German Body Care and Detergent Industry Association (IKW) provides information on this. This means you should check the date on your sunscreen tube before putting it in your toiletry bag. The packaging may contain either the words "Best before" or an hourglass symbol.
How much sunscreen is needed?
Source: Getty Images
If you can't find a date (month and year or day, month, and year), look for the following: For products with a shelf life of more than 30 months, the date rule does not apply. However, they must be labeled with the symbol of an open cream jar.
This indicates the shelf life after opening: The symbol and the "12 M" indication, for example, tell you that this product can be used safely for twelve months after first opening, according to the IKW. To help you remember when you first opened the tube, it's advisable to write the opening date on the packaging with a waterproof marker or ballpoint pen.
If you find such a symbol on the sunscreen tube, it has a shelf life of at least twelve months from the date of opening.
Source: Stawski
However, the best-before date is not an expiration date. "Even if the expiration date has passed, you don't have to throw away the cream or other cosmetic products immediately," writes the specialist portal " haut.de. " Whether it's expired or not, before packing up the opened sunscreen, you should give it a sniff just to be on the safe side. If the cream smells rancid or strange in any way, you shouldn't use it anymore. The same applies if the consistency has visibly changed.
If that's not the case, then from a sunscreen perspective, there's almost nothing standing in the way of your vacation. But how much sunscreen is actually necessary?
If you exercise, you need to apply sunscreen more often.
Source: Getty Images
"The amount of sunscreen needed to achieve the stated level of protection is often underestimated," states the website of the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL). Two milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin are used in the internationally standardized method for determining the sun protection factor (SPF). According to the BVL, this means that an adult's body needs to be covered in about three tablespoons of sunscreen per application . Reapplying sunscreen is important, especially after swimming or sweating. But keep one thing in mind: This only maintains your protection. It does not extend the time you can spend in the sun!
How long you should ultimately spend in the sun depends on your skin type. For very fair, pale skin, "haut.de" recommends an SPF of 30 to 50 plus. Without sunscreen, if you have light brown skin, you may experience skin redness after just 15 to 25 minutes. For children's skin, an SPF of 30 or higher is recommended. Dark skin types only need creams with SPF 10 to 15.
"Even sunscreens with very high SPF cannot completely block UV rays and are therefore only one of numerous measures to protect yourself from UV radiation," the BVL informs. Complete protection from solar radiation does not exist. Claims such as "100 percent protection" or "sunblocker" are dubious, convey a false sense of security, and should not be used.
Reapplying sunscreen after bathing or sweating is important to maintain sun protection – but it does not extend the time you can safely spend in the sun.
Source: Getty Images/iStockphoto
This means that for your next beach vacation, you should also bring a parasol or awning and headwear like a stylish hat or cool cap. Long, lightweight clothing like the obligatory maxi-shirt and sunglasses are also essential, along with your swimwear.
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