 |
| Sunscreen bottles, photograph by the author. |
Have
you ever wondered just how old your bottle of sunscreen is? How old is too old? These are both good questions, and so I
thought I would find the answers.
 |
| Close-up of sunscreen bottles, and their code numbers. Both bottles were manufactured in 2015, the one on the left is from April 1st and the one on the right is from April 15th, and both are now expired1 and should be discarded. Photograph by the author. |
The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires sunscreen to have a three-year
shelf life, during which the sunscreen must remain at its original
strength. When the sunscreen has a shelf
life of three years, the FDA doesn’t require the manufacturer to print an
expiration date on their sunscreen bottles.
So, if there isn’t an expiration date on your bottle of sunscreen, it
should be good for three years2.
However, if the sunscreen expires in less than three years, the
manufacturer must print an expiration date on the bottle.
If
there isn’t an expiration date printed on your sunscreen bottle of sunscreen, and
you want to know if it is expired or not, you can call the customer service
number that's printed on the label. By
calling this number and giving them the code number printed on the label, or on
the bottle or on the cap, they can tell you whether your bottle of sunscreen
has expired or not3.
So,
if you know your bottle is older than three years or is past the expiration
date printed on the bottle, throw it out!
But time isn’t the only factor, how and where it has been stored also is
a factor on whether your sunscreen is still good or not.
To
stay in good condition sunscreen must be kept out of the sun and away of
excessive heat and humidity. When you
are out, at the beach or in the wilderness, put your sunscreen bottle in the
shade, wrap it up in your towel or put it back into your pack, when you are done
with it.
If
your sunscreen has a foul smell, if the color doesn’t look quite right, if it
is runny or if it has crystalized, it probably expired, so throw it out!
 |
| A quote from a lecture I gave, graphic by the author. |
Below
are some talking points from a lecture, that I gave a year ago, on how to protect
yourself from the sun while out in the wilderness.
· Remember,
people with dark skin tones who rarely become sunburnt, can still develop skin cancer,
and will benefit from sunscreen.
· People
taking medications, since sun sensitivity is increased by acne treatments,
antihistamines, antibiotics, some anti-inflammatories, and herbal supplements,
always double check all your medications for cautions about the Sun.
· And
children, who have thinner more sensitive skin.
· Additionally,
people need sunscreen when…
Ø They
are in high elevations, because the higher in elevation you are, the thinner
the atmosphere and the more intense the UV rays.
Ø They
are in equatorial or polar region because the Sun is more directly overhead in
the Tropics and there is less atmosphere to reduce harmful UV rays at the
Poles: UV rays are less intense in the mid-latitudes.
Ø They
are on or near snow or water because you can be burned by reflected UV rays,
even if you are in the shade if you are near snow or water.
Ø It
is a cloudy day, because unless the cloud color is very thick, enough UV rays
can penetrate the cloud cover to burn you.
Ø They
are outside during peak daylight hours, which are between 9:00 am to 3:00 pm,
because solar rays are more intense at midday.
So, get up early, and then take a siesta at midday, to avoid the sun.
·
SPF is a rating
that indicates a sunscreens effectiveness against ultraviolet B, or UVB rays,
which are the most damaging type of light and cause sunburns and
skin-cancer.
·
Sunscreen Labeled as Broad Spectrum will
shield skin from both UVB and UVA rays.
And according to the FDA a Broad-Spectrum sunscreen’s UVA protection is
roughly proportional to its UVB SPF rating protection level.
Ø SPF 15 blocks 93% of UVB rays, and is the minimum
rating recommended by Skin Cancer Foundation.
Ø SPF 30 blocks 97% of UVB rays and the Skin Cancer
Foundation recommends SPF 30 or higher for extended outdoor activities.
Ø SPF 50 blocks 98% of UVB rays, and according to “How to Choose and Use Sunscreen”, SPF
ratings above 50 aren’t useful, as nothing blocks 100% of UVB rays and a SPF100
sunscreen, which blocks 99% of UVB rays, blocks only 1% more UVB rays than a
SPF 50 sunscreen4.
·
The SPF rating is also a gauge of how much
time a person can be exposed to the Sun before being burned. So,
if you would normally begin to burn in 10 minutes, and you use a liberal dose
of SPF15 sunscreen, you would be protected from sunburn for 150 minutes.
·
Water Resistant
means that the sunscreen works well despite the presence of water or
sweat. The FDA testing determines one of
two ratings, water resistant for 40 minutes and water resistant for 80 minutes.
·
Applying
sunscreen on top of a DEET based insect repellent, can reduce the effectiveness
of the sunscreen. A study of persons who
applied a 33% DEET repellent followed by a SPF 15 sunscreen, found an average
33% decrease in SPF, although the insect repellent maintained its potency5. If you are going to apply DEET after putting
on sunscreen, wait 15 minutes after applying the sunscreen to apply the insect
repellent6.
·
Some products
contain a combination of sunscreen and DEET and will deliver the SPF stated on
the label, however these products are generally not the best choice, because it
is rare that the need to reapply sunscreen and repellent occur at the same
time.
Almost
everyone uses too little sunscreen and almost no one puts it on correctly, so
use the guidelines below. The way you
use a sunscreen is more important than its SPF, as SPF 30 sunscreen used well
is better than a SPF 50 used poorly.
· Apply sunscreen 15 minutes before Sun exposure
· Apply sunscreen first to your most vulnerable areas,
such as the nose, ears and back of hands and neck since these areas tend to
receive more sun exposure than other areas.
· Use massively more sunscreen than you think you
should: a rule-of-thumb is, for a person wearing shorts and a tee-shirt, use 1
ounce of sunscreen (a full shot glass) and cover ALL exposed skin.
· Pack enough sunscreen for the entire trip, and since
according to dermatologists, two people on a four-hour hike on a sunny day
should use an entire 4 fl. oz. tube of sunscreen, which is only two
applications of two ounces, one ounce per person. So, for long trips, instead of multiple tubes
of sunscreen, plan on staying out of the sun or wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts,
and a wide-brimmed hat.
· Reapply at least every two hours, even though time
is a factor in SPF Testing, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
which regulates sunscreens, recommends that you reapply any sunscreen every two
hours, regardless of its SPF.
· Toweling off your skin after swimming removes
sunscreen, so reapply after toweling.
So,
go out and enjoy all that warm weather and all that sunshine, just be smart and
use your sunscreen, because nobody wants to get pre-cancerous lesions frozen off
their face!
 |
| After cryo-therapy to have a pre-cancerous lesion frozen off my face, probably caused by too much Sun, photograph by the author. |
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE.
Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1
I called the customer service number at Banana Boat®, 1-800-SAFESUN, and they
explained that the first two numbers are the year in which was the product was
manufactured and that the next three numbers are Julian date on which it was
manufactured, so the 91st day of the year is April 1st
and the 105th date of the year is April 15th.
2 With
new bottles of sunscreen, if there isn’t an expiration date printed on the
bottle, you should write the purchase date on the bottle with a permanent marker.
3 This
code number records the date, batch, and location of where and when your bottle
of sunscreen was manufactured.
4 Andy Chien, MD, PhD., David Kulow, “How to Choose and Use Sunscreen”
5
Paul S. Auerbach, Benjamin B. Constance, Luanne Freer; Field Guide To
Wilderness Medicine, 4th Edition,
6 “How to Use Insect
Repellents”
Sources
American Academy of Dermatology, “Can I use
the sunscreen I bought last summer”, [© 2020 American Academy of Dermatology
Association.], https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/sun-protection/sunscreen-patients/sunscreen-faqs, accessed July 14, 2020
Andre, Tifani; Bolitho,
Carley; Smith, Scott F.; “How to Choose Sun Protection (UPF)
Clothing”, [© 2020 Recreational Equipment, Inc.], https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/sun-protection.html, accessed January 15, 2018
Auerbach,
Paul S., Constance, Benjamin B., Freer; Luanne; Field Guide To Wilderness
Medicine, 4th Edition, [Elsevier Mosby, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; 2013], page 480
Chien, Andy, MD, PhD., Kulow, David; “How to Choose and Use Sunscreen”, [© 2020 Recreational Equipment, Inc.], https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/sunscreen.html, accessed January 15, 2018
Fayed, Lisa; medically reviewed by Gallagher,
Casey MD; “Does Sunscreen Expire?”, updated on January 27, 2020
[© 2020
About, Inc. (Dotdash)], https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-do-you-know-if-sunscreen-has-expired-514400, accessed July 21, 2020
Gibson, Lawrence E., M.D.; “Is sunscreen from
last year still good? When does sunscreen expire?”, May 23, 2019, [© 1998-2020
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER)], https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/sunscreen-expire/faq-20057957,
accessed July 14, 2020
“How to Use Insect Repellents”, [© 2020 Recreational Equipment, Inc.],
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/insect-repellents-tips-on-using.html, accessed January
15, 2018
“SPF
vs. UPF- What is the difference?”, February 10, 2017, [© 2020 Sungrubbies], https://www.sungrubbies.com/blogs/news-articles/spf-upf-rating-differences,
accessed January 27, 2018
U.S. Food & Drug Administration,
“Sunscreen: How to Help Protect Your Skin from the Sun”
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/sunscreen-how-help-protect-your-skin-sun, accessed July 14, 2020
Weisberger, Mindy; “Is Expired
Sunscreen Better Than No Sunscreen?”, June 11, 2018, [© Future US, Inc. 11 West
42nd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036], https://www.livescience.com/62783-does-expired-sunscreen-work.html, accessed July 14, 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment