# Sunscreen: does it expire?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunscreen-does-it-expire/104130>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 17, 2002, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunscreen-does-it-expire/104130 "2002-04-17T13:57:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jdl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@jdl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdl)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunscreen-does-it-expire/104130/1 "2002-04-17T13:57:44Z")

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I have some sample packets of suncreen. The expiry date was about 2 years ago. Will it still work? What is the active ingredient in sunscreen and does it really lose potency? 😕

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunscreen-does-it-expire/104130/2 "2002-04-17T15:26:29Z")

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Yes, it does. Sunscreen doesn’t last very long, does it? I wouldn’t use it past the date on the package.

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**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunscreen-does-it-expire/104130/3 "2002-04-17T20:26:37Z")

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BIG WARNING!!! Sunscreen DOES expire, and it’s useless after it does. When I was a lot younger my family went to a tropical island and our sunscreen had expired. We all wound up with incredibly nasty burns – my sister had a blister on her back almost an inch high.

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**Author:** ![cagiva650](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cagiva650](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cagiva650)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sunscreen-does-it-expire/104130/4 "2002-04-18T01:43:54Z")

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Not only do sunscreens expire but any cream or cosmetic can degrade over time - ever use an old hand lotion and it was all runny and slimy - throw it away!