Don’t panic! You can be a sunscreen detective. If you bought it last summer and it’s been sitting in a cool, dark drawer, you’re probably fine. But if you can’t remember buying it—like, at all—just throw it away. Your skin is worth more than a $10 bottle of SPF.
A handy trick: write the purchase date on the bottle with a marker. Future you will thank present you when you’re packing for a beach trip. You’ll look like a sunscreen wizard.
Can you extend its life? (Spoiler: nope)
You might be tempted to store it in the fridge. Don’t bother. The fridge won’t undo the damage already done. It’s like putting a wilted lettuce back in the fridge and hoping it becomes crisp again—it doesn’t work.
What you can do is store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. That’s the sunscreen equivalent of giving it a nice spa day. But it still won’t live forever.
And please, don’t mix old sunscreen with new lotion to try to save it. That’s like mixing expired milk with fresh milk and hoping for a delicious cereal. Just... no.
Does sunscreen expire? Dermatologists reveal all | Woman & Home
