It is already September and for many of us it is a month of returning to work with our holiday batteries recharged. For me it has always been a month of new beginnings, even more so than January and besides, it is still hot, and we can enjoy the last rays of the sun.
So, every year when autumn comes, we ask ourselves: What do I do with the sunscreen? Do I save it for next year? Does it get bad if I keep it all year round? Let us see what we should do so that the following year we can enjoy the sun again with a cream in good condition.
When we open the previous year’s jar, we have to check the organoleptic characteristics, that is, the characteristics we can experience through the senses. We will check the texture, if it has become more liquid, more solid or if the phases have been separated, do not hesitate to throw it away. Also, the colour, if there has been a change of colour to lighter, darker, more yellowish, greenish… whatever the change of colour is, it indicates to us that something has changed in the formula so do not use it. The smell will also give us a clue about the state of the cream. If it smells more acidic, if it smells rotten or even if it has lost its aroma, do the same as in the previous two cases and get rid of that jar.
In addition, we must know what data we are given on the packaging and labelling because it is information that will be crucial when deciding whether to use the site or not.
- Minimum durability date: This is basically the expiry date. From this date, the manufacturer does not guarantee the good condition of the product, nor its effectiveness, nor its safety even if the product has not been opened and has been kept in optimum conditions. In cosmetic products with an expiration date of more than 30 months, it is not obligatory to put a date after which it is not advisable to use the product, but they should put a deadline for consumption once opened (PAO: period after opening)
- Period after opening (PAO): It indicates the number of months we can have the pot open with a good condition guarantee. It is a symbol of an open jar with a number and an M (3M = 3 months, 6M = 6 months, 12M = 12 months)
In the case of sunscreens, the vast majority are 12M, so we should not use them from one year to the next. In addition, we must take into account that sunscreens can withstand many sudden temperature changes during the summer season, because if we have them in our bag at the beach, in the car or under the sun, it will be at a very extreme temperature and it is also very normal that the cap gets stained with sand with the consequent bacteria and fungi that it can bring. Therefore, the SPF will be altered from year to year and will not correspond to the marking on the packaging due to these reasons.
But is all this real? Or as some media say, is it an invention of the manufacturers to force consumers to buy sunscreen year after year? Unfortunately, this year I suffered from using an out-of-date sunscreen and it is not at all pleasant.
The sunscreen in particular is a spray mist (I am not going to give brands because I used it last year and it worked great) and precisely because it was a spray I thought it was protected from bacteria and this year it would work the same as last year. Well, I applied it to my face and after half an hour of sunbathing it started to give me a reaction and I ended up like in the next picture.
It really had not changed in texture, colour, or smell, but checking the spray, I saw that it was 12M and I had opened it more than 12 months ago. With this I want you to be aware that the sunscreen does not last from one year to another and it is preferable to buy a new one rather than putting our skin at risk, I am clear that I will replenish solar every year so that this does not happen again.
I hope that this post has been useful for you so that next year it doesn’t happen to you as it did to me and I would love you to tell me in the comments if something similar has happened to you or if you have any anecdote with the sunscreen. ????
