(NEXSTAR) — Summer is nearly here, and forecasters are already predicting it’ll be a hot one. You may already be taking advantage of early-season heat, breaking out the shorts and sunscreen from last year.
While the shorts may still fit, you may want to think twice about using last summer’s sunscreen.
Sunscreen is, of course, created with the help of ingredients that do wane in effectiveness over time. Before applying any sunscreen you find in storage, Dr. Shilpi Khetarpal, a dermatologist with the Cleveland Clinic, recommends checking the expiration date.
Like food, after the expiration date has passed, the quality of the sunscreen has likely decreased. According to Khetarpal, sunscreen does lose efficacy past the expiration date.
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If we’re beyond the expiration date printed on your sunscreen, it’s best to purchase a new bottle, Khetarpal previously told Nexstar.
For most sunscreen users, experts suggest a broad spectrum option with an SPF of at least 30. A water-resistant sunscreen is also ideal if you’ll be swimming or sweating.
You may also want to check the ingredients. Sunscreens with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide work like a shield, reflecting the rays off your skin. Those with chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate work more like a sponge, absorbing the sun and breaking it down.
It’s worth noting that oxybenzone and octinoxate are among a group of chemicals commonly used in sunscreen that are not considered GRASE, or “generally recognized as safe and effective” by the Food and Drug Administration. Instead, the agency says “additional data is needed to show” sunscreens containing the chemicals “are GRASE.”
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The FDA notes, however, that this does not mean oxybenzone and octinoxate are unsafe to use in sunscreens. More information is necessary to determine whether they are GRASE. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises using sunscreens with less than 5% of either.
Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are considered GRASE ingredients because the FDA “has found sufficient safety data … to support a proposal that sunscreen products containing these ingredients (at concentrations of up to 25%) are GRASE.”
