Using last year’s sunscreen? Double check it before applying

You've finally made it to the beach, but when you go to apply sunscreen, you realize that it's expired!

So here’s the question: Do you still use it?

"No, you should definitely throw it out," says Dr. Annie Liu , a board certified dermatologist at DermCafe.ca. "I would say to be safe, you should consider that sunscreen to basically not work at all. It basically equates to putting no sunscreen on."

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Once a sunscreen has expired its effectiveness is over, according to Dr. Liu. Wearing expired sunscreen can lead to an unwelcome sunburn.

Expired sunscreen is ineffective, says dermatologist. (Image courtesy of

, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)

"The company that made that product put a specific expiry date on there because they know the ingredients in that bottle will not work past that date," explains Dr. Liu. "So I think of it similar to expired infant car seats or drinking expired milk; It's just not intended to work past that date."

If you put the expired sunscreen on anyways, you could be at risk for impacts that go beyond a simple sunburn.

"Expired sunscreen definitely has an increased chance of damaging your skin, simply because the constituents of that product have changed beyond what they were intended for usage." Dr. Liu cautions. "Definitely, it could cause a lot of skin irritation or other complications."

So if you have expired sunscreen stored away, it's time to replace the bottle.

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(Header image courtesy of wragg via iStock/Getty Images Plus)