Important Sunscreen Mistake Warning All Parents Should Read

Next time that you get ready to go outside in the summer, make sure that you are checking these on the back of the bottle, or else you might be in some trouble. Double-check the expiration dates on the back of the sunscreen lotion.

• Make sure that you do not have any expired sunscreen in your house! I put some expired sunscreen on and it was an absolute disaster. I did not even know that the lotion expires. It probably has been in the house for 10 years, now that I am looking back on it, and I got absolutely fried.
• Experts say that you are basically just moisturizing your skin if your lotion is expired since there is no UV protection in the sunscreen anymore.

Did you know that there is a law that requires sunscreen companies to put a warning on the bottle if the lotion doesn't protect against a certain SPF?

Sunscreens that are not broad spectrum or that lack an SPF of at least 15 must carry the warning: "Skin Cancer/Skin Aging Alert: Spending time in the sun increases your risk of skin cancer and early skin aging. This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging", according to the FDA website.

It's that time of the year when you know the sun is out, but not high temperatures so it doesn't FEEL like you need sunscreen.

What is the highest SPF that you can buy? Well, there is a 100 SPF that is on the market, but there are experts, according to Baystate Health, that say it doesn't help significantly more than an SPF 50.

There's not that much difference in the protection, despite the big SPF difference.

The highest SPF is 100 and blocks out 99% of UVB rays. But experts don't necessarily think SPF 100 sunscreen is the best choice. This is only slightly better than SPF 30 and 50 (which is blocks 98% of UVB rays)", according to Baystate Health.