About sunscreen expiration dates...
10Earlier today, I conducted a bit of a bodge of a test of sunscreen UV protection decay after expiration. I had a number of bottles and tubes of such products squirrelled away in various spots, and I dragged them all out. I took some UV-sensitive plastic beads, stuck them on a bit of paracord, applied an unscientifically irregular amount of goo to the outside of them, and then exposed the whole batch plus a string with no sunscreen at all, and a string with fresh sunscreen.
Yes, the expiration dates matter.
Worst was a tube of Equate (WallyWorld store brand) that was so old that the date was faded beyond legibility. Call it a zero.
Next worst was the Aussie stuff Meh sold in the blue tubes that expired last August. Better than nothing, but not by much.
Noxzema SPF 50 with an expiration date last September fared much better, visibly causing the beads to take much longer to change color.
There were several others whose brands I don’t recall off the top of my head, but they fared about the same as the Aussie at best, and had expirations ranging from last summer to back in 2017.
The standard to measure against was a spray-on sunscreen freshly purchased on Thursday, which kept the beads clear far longer than any of the others.
Because I wasn’t trying to be rigorous with the test, and the application of the stuff was somewhat irregular, I didn’t try to document anything as I went along, That said, the results were revealing enough that I thought I’d share the Reader’s Disgust Condensed Version anyway.
Use or ignore this data as you see fit.
- 11 comments, 17 replies
- Comment
Interesting. I thought I was going to see pictures of sunburned arms in various degrees of redness. Glad you were smarter than that and used the beads. I’m still thinking my aging skin can handle the baby oil and iodine mixture I’ve been using since the 70’s. Maybe I should think again using my 60 year old brain instead of the 29 year old one that I think I am when I close my eyes.
Thanks for the info!
@Lynnerizer Ha! I was thinking the same thing when I started reading this! Various skin redness levels based on expiration dates.
Can we apply this info to toothpaste exp dates? I use mine way way past exp date. I cant imagine the fluoride ones and the unfluoridated matter.
@luseruser I suppose you could, but I don’t know how well toothpaste would work as sunscreen, expired or not. Maybe the flouride helps?
@luseruser I’ve got two year expired toothpaste.
Paste would be in name only. I’m not sure of the effectiveness of the aluminum fluoride, but it has become watery (still does a decent job of freshening up my toilet).
Interesting
wonder if you did it with oil based vs old school zinc oxide vs whatever else,
Anyone else remember when Bullfrog was the standard?
@Cerridwyn Oh yeah, I remember Bullfrog. Right now I have an expired bottle of zinc oxide an octocrylene-based Blue Lizard Australian sunscreen. What’s cool about this one is that the white bottle turns blue in the presence of “harmful UV light,” and indeed it does!
@Cerridwyn If anyone is considering Blue Lizard sunscreen, you might want to be aware of the 20+ inactive chemical ingredients, some of which are considered toxic in some way by some people who may not be qualifiied to make such a determination. Also, like many sunscreens, this one contains octocrylene; some scientists asked the FDA to ban octocrylene because of its link to benzophenone, a suspected carcinogen.
@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion I just checked the specific Blue Lizard we use for octocrylene and don’t see it…
https://bluelizardsunscreen.com/products/sensitive-mineral-sunscreen-lotion-spf-50
I checked their sport line as well, thinking it would be most likely to have it and didn’t see it there, either.
I am concerned because we switched to Blue Lizard specifically because it’s supposed to be reef-safe and to avoid things like octocrylene…
@Cerridwyn @Limewater Good catch. Their “Active” sunscreen used to contain octocrylene, but it looks like it’s been taken out. I can see why it’s not in their “Sensitive” sunscreen: octocrylene can apparently cause skin irritation in some people. In some products, Blue Lizard has added octisalate which isn’t supposed to be a skin irritant.
I admire the inclination to do something like this very much.
Thanks for doing the test, I always wondered how well they worked after they were expired. You didn’t happen to test any banana boat or Hawaiian tropic did you? We use a lot of that in my house. Where did you get the beads to test?
@Star2236 I believe consumer reports has done extensive testings on sunblocks. (I kinda remember that banana boat did very poorly… but I also have no confidence in my memory.)
There was sunscreen on meh for sale?
@JohnQ118, no, but there was sunscreen for sale on Meh.
@haydesigner @JohnQ118 Not recently, though.
@haydesigner @JohnQ118 @Kyeh
IF we haven’t already given it to my SIL I’d gladly send it to you if you’re interested. LMK. 
I bought a couple tubes and I have absolutely NO IDEA WHY since I’ve never used sunscreen in my life!
Most sunscreens don’t give the protection you expect
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2025/05/just-time-memorial-day-over-77-percent-reviewed-sunscreens-rate
not even kidding, was just asked about sunscreen expiration in the wild. told them I had a definitive answer from a
scientific community that I frequent.
@jouest That’s a bit of a stretch.
Can’t use sunscreen because of sensitivity to many ingredients. As a sailor sun protection is a must have! Solution Sunscreen clothing! Only items certified by the skin cancer prevention society. I buy from COOLIBAR. They are pricey but worth it. You don’t need to remember to reapply and you can spray the gear with bug spray to keep the bugs away as well.
@jkawaguchi What do you do for your face and hands?
@jkawaguchi not that covering up isn’t better but you might manage some of the mineral-only sunscreens. Mostly Zinc/Titanium Oxide in various bases - many targeted at people with sensitivities and/or babies.
@ergomeh are those kind good for the water? Thinking about swimming…
@jkawaguchi the one’s I’ve used survive in the water. They all (mineral or otherwise) usually have something about the need to reapply after swimming. Finding the right combination of sticky and non-allergenic might be challenging - especially if you don’t know what in the base you might be sensitive to.
Hat & gloves! Checkout the website to see the range of options. People with skin cancer need full coverage but also light weight for
hot weather, then warm gear for winter/skiing, sledding &shoveling….coolibar.com Too bad I don’t work for them but their gear it tops
@jkawaguchi Oh, okay.
Good to know. Gearing up for a cruise in August so I need to go through my stash and see what is expired.