Sun Protection Cream - Shelf Life

Can anybody tell me if sun protection cream goes off? I have several bottles of different factors for the past few years and as with most people on holidays use a bit of the higher factors for first few days then lower factor for another couple of days and then lower again for last few days. As a result you are left with several three quarter full bottles. Are these still ok for use after 2-3 yrs.

Is there a best-before date on the bottles?

I believe the older they are, the more reduced their Factor protection will be. Was told it halves every year, but dunno if this is true.

There is a small symbol on the label which looks like a bin with 12M in it. I presume it means "bin it after 12 months"

From www.netdoctor.co.uk

"Can you use the sunblock cream left over from last year?"

"If a product has a shelf life of more than two-and-a-half years, the manufacturer is not obliged under cosmetics legislation to quote an expiry date.

So can we use the sunblock cream we bought last year? Not with safety.

Try to smell it and look at it. If it smells off or if it separates, it is either full of bacteria or has been destroyed in some other way and should therefore be discarded.

The reason why the product does not last for the two-and-a-half years may be that it has been left in the sun longer than is good for it. "

This time last year I rang the helpline number on the back of the garnier sun protection cream bottle as it had a code on it and I was'nt sure if it was still ok from the previous summer as I wanted to use it on my child. It did say 12mths from manufacture and even if you buy it new - it could be old stock!

They were most helpful, so it might be worth doing the same.