Expired sunscreen: can we reuse that of last year?

Does sunscreen expire, or can it be reused the following summer? That's the big question we ask ourselves every year when summer arrives. The warm weather is back, your next sunny getaway is approaching, and you're hesitating to take that tube you barely started last year with you, wondering if going a little past the date after opening would be so bad for your skin. We explain why you shouldn't risk it.

It's generally known that sunscreen helps protect our skin from the sun's UV rays, which can do it a lot of harm by causing more or less intense burns (the famous sunburn), pigmentation spots, accelerated ageing or even more serious skin diseases such as skin cancer. On the other hand, it's not always easy to understand how its protective action works.

To put it simply, the protective principle of sunscreen is based on the combination of several filters at the heart of its formula. There are two types, each with a slightly different mode of operation: mineral filters, which reflect UV rays like a mirror, and chemical filters, which absorb UV rays. Some suncare products can even combine the two.

At NUXE, we use chemical filters in all our sun protection products; these filters capture the sun's rays as they come into contact with our skin, preventing them from penetrating and burning it, and thus enabling it to tan while being protected from the harmful effects of UV rays.

The effectiveness of the cream and its protective action therefore depend essentially on the stability of these sun filters, which guarantee your skin optimum protection - provided you apply a sufficient quantity of cream before exposure and, of course, every 2 hours!

To ensure that the sunscreens remain active and protect your skin, sunscreen generally only needs to be kept for a few months after opening. So how do you know whether your cream has expired or can still be used? You need to refer to the after-opening period, which indicates the number of months you can keep your cream and apply it without risk to your skin once it has been opened.

To find this date, nothing could be simpler: just look at the side of the product until you find a little pot-shaped pictogram with a number on it: bingo, it indicates the number of months you can safely use your product after opening. At NUXE, the effectiveness of all our sun protection products is guaranteed for up to 9 months after opening.

Once this period has elapsed, however, you shouldn't let your cream lie dormant in the cupboard for several months, and for good reason! After a certain time, the stability of sunscreens is no longer fully guaranteed, and their protective action can diminish, opening the door to the "vanilla strawberry" effect of sunburn and other skin risks of all kinds. So, since we're not kidding around with the sun, we apply the golden rule of the precautionary principle and change our sunscreen every year, to ensure that our skin is protected in every way.

While it's important to be careful with your sunscreen after opening, that doesn't mean you have to throw it away every year. Here are a few tips to help you avoid throwing away your cream at the end of the summer:

• Use it while you're out on the town or outside when you return from vacation: this allows you to finish off your cream and continue protecting your skin until the end of the season.
• Apply it after your day care (if it doesn't already have a sun protection action): the sun aggresses the skin all year round and is responsible for its premature ageing, so applying sun protection at the end of your routine from time to time is a good way to finish your tube once the vacations are over.

But if you apply your cream generously and evenly every 2 hours, after every swim, you shouldn't have much left at the end of the summer! And because we've thought of everything to make you want to apply your cream regularly, our laboratory has created NUXE SUN sun care products that combine effectiveness, thanks to Water and Sun Flowers, Water Hyacinth and Kau Pe Flower, which protect your skin from UV rays, dehydration and premature ageing, and sensoriality, thanks to their multiple textures: silky cream, satin oil, light fluid, spray or melting milkt, there's bound to be a skincare NUXE SUN treatment just for you! Another reason to fall in love (and not the least): their fragrance, with its addictive sun-kissed notes of sweet orange, tiare and vanilla, transports you straight to the sun. In short, a sweet vacation scent you won't be able to live without!

And because helping to protect the planet is just as important as protecting your skin, our formulas contain only 3 sunscreens*, have been tested on marine ecosystems** and are water-resistant***, limiting the dispersion of filters in water. So what are you waiting for?