{"id":753585,"date":"2026-08-29T13:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T13:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/753585\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T13:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T13:12:11","slug":"nhs-shares-how-to-check-your-sunscreens-expiry-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/753585\/","title":{"rendered":"NHS shares how to check your sunscreen&#8217;s expiry date"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n  If you have leftover sunscreen, you should check if it will last until next summer before storing it away.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  If you do not check, you could end up forgetting when you opened your bottle of sunscreen when you need it again.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Sunscreen can become less effective over time, so it is important that you know how to tell if it has expired.\n<\/p>\n<p>  How to tell if sunscreen has expired<\/p>\n<p>\n  On why sunscreen does not work forever, Dr Conal Perrett, Consultant Dermatologist at <a href=\"https:\/\/thedevonshireclinic.co.uk\/?ref=ed_direct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Devonshire Clinic<\/a>, said: \u201cSunscreen is designed to provide a specific level of protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation, but like any skincare product, it does not necessarily remain effective indefinitely.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cOver time, the active ingredients can degrade, particularly if the product has been exposed repeatedly to heat, direct sunlight or large fluctuations in temperature.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cThis is why checking the expiry date, or the period-after-opening, is important.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cYou want to know that the product you are relying on is still capable of providing the level of protection stated on the bottle.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cSunscreen is not something where it is worth taking a chance, particularly because you may not be able to tell simply by looking at the product whether its protective properties have deteriorated.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The NHS has released advice on staying safe in the sun, including how to check if it is out of date.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/live-well\/seasonal-health\/sunscreen-and-sun-safety\/?ref=ed_direct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NHS website<\/a> says you should be able to find the expiry date on the sunscreen bottle.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  It is marked by an open jar, an M, and a number, which indicates how many months the sunscreen will last once the bottle has been opened.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Dr Perrett also shared some things to look out for to tell if the sunscreen is out of date.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He said a change in the product\u2019s appearance, texture or smell is a good reason to stop using it.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  If the sunscreen has separated, become more watery or lumpy, has changed colour, developed a strange smell or is no longer applying evenly, you should throw it away.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He added: \u201cHowever, it is important not to rely on these signs alone.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cA sunscreen can potentially look perfectly normal while being past its recommended period of use.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cChecking the expiry information and considering how the product has been stored are therefore just as important.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Will you be checking your sunscreen before putting it away for next year? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you have leftover sunscreen, you should check if it will last until next summer before storing it&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":753586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-753585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}