You’ve just started your sunscreen last summer and want to finish it this year? Be careful, this common habit could be carcinogenic. Here we’ll explain how.

We know that the sun is good for our morale but it can be very harmful for our skin if we don’t protect ourselves properly from its UV rays! It is essential to apply a solar protection before any exposure… and not just any one. Before applying sunscreen, remember to check the expiration date of your tube. According to a new study, published in the American journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, these sunscreens would become carcinogenic after one year.

Presence Of A Carcinogenic Endocrine Disruptor

To arrive at such conclusions, researchers from the CNRS and Sorbonne University examined sunscreens frequently used in France, from the brands Garnier, Uriage, La Roche Posay and Bioderma. By making them age prematurely, they found that after one year, octocrylene, a sunscreen filter used in cosmetics, was transformed into benzophenone. Classified as a carcinogen by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, this endocrine disruptor is absorbed through the skin. “When it is on the skin, benzophenone can induce dermatitis and can cause cancer, particularly on liver,” explains Didier Stien, one of the authors of the study. Scientists hope to alert manufacturers and consumers on the presence of this endocrine disruptor so check ingredients of the sunscreen, if octocrylene is one of them, be very careful about the expiration date.

All of the sunscreens you have tried so far caused breakouts and you are tired of trying new ones? Here’s the best Korean sunscreen with SPF50+ that won’t cause acne on your face.