To buy new suncream this year?

[deliakate]

does it expire? Some friends talking about getting new cream and tossing out the old lot - seems a bit silly to me. Do you???

There's a marking in there somewhere saying how long you should keep it once open looks like a bottle being opened. I'll be buying new but only a tiny bit left and I'm a cm so not taking the risk for the sake of a few pounds.

Yes it does degrade with time.

I bought new sunscreen in April and cursed last year's summer! It never bloody happened.

Then again, when I bought chain-thingies to go on my shoes, the winter and snow didn't really happen either.

There is a symbol on it which tells you how long you can keep it, called a period-after-opening, it looks like <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=Bx6LAjz_ePrJGM:&imgrefurl=bestmensskincare.wordpress.com/tag/skin-care/&docid=R0C1MUqlR9n-DM&imgurl=bestmensskincare.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/pao_symbol.png%253Fw%253D350%2526h%253D350&w=350&h=425&ei=wrJ5T6WyNY_R8QOKs-HVDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=779&vpy=151&dur=1710&hovh=247&hovw=204&tx=100&ty=171&sig=109128702486392266285&page=1&tbnh=148&tbnw=122&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&biw=1024&bih=509" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this.

Everytime I buy sunscreen I write on the bottom in permanent marker the month and year I bought it and then when the period of use is up I bin it, its usually 12 months, occasionally 18 months.

Also, when buying sunscreen try to get one that has a good UVA protection, not just a high SPF. It doesn?t burn the skin like UVB rays but is very damaging. Check sun creams for a high star rating (3 being the lowest, 5 the highest), shown by a circle containing the letters UVA with stars.

Buying a decent brand isn't enough to be sure it has the UVA protection, most of the Nivea creams only have a 3 star UVA rating, which is the lowest, despite it being Nivea and pretty pricey.

Boots make all of their Soltan products with the full 5 star UVA rating and are well priced.

They recommend you bin it after 12 months after it's been opened. I've used some a little older than this before and it's worked fine. I wouldn't leave it much longer than that though.

Google tells me that the active ingredients expire at around 3 years, unless they're exposed to very hot temperatures in which case it might be less. And that if it smells funny or is lumpy/generally looking manky it's definately off.

3 years ref

the NHS website also says 2-3 years

I buy new every other year - i.e. I buy in bulk for one summer holiday and then any left over gets used at home and for the next summer. Usually the ones I get are OK for 18 months after opening.

I heard something on the radio (R4 so it must be true ) saying that after 2 years (from opening) it should be replaced.

Ah. I have various opened bottles in the cupboard, some from last year and some from the year before! Best get some new, I think.

We don't need much in Yorkshire, to be fair.

I assume that, as the manufacturers have put a "good for 18 months after opening" label on the tube, the product is good for at least that length of time as the company wants you to buy new, not use up old stuff.