2023-07-22 04:00:00
Many sunscreens contain octocrylene, a chemical compound that filters out UV rays. But over time, it degrades into benzophenone, a compound suspected of being carcinogenic.
It’s a summer vacation essential. Sunscreen is strongly recommended in case of exposure to UV rays emitted by the sun. But if some vacationers are tempted to take their half-used sun protection tube to the beach the previous year, it’s not a very good idea.
If the gesture is economical, the National Medicines Agency (ANSM) invites you to “respect the expiry date and the storage period after opening indicated on the packaging”.
“Indeed, over time the filters tend to degrade and thus reduce the effectiveness of the protection”, explain the health authorities.
Compounds that break down
“Sunscreen products are products that undergo particular temperature rhythms and constraints”, insisted Dr. Christine Lafforgue, dermo-pharmacologist, with the Allo Doctors site. “It’s hot, I come home, they’re at room temperature, I come out, they go back to the sun, these are life cycles that disrupt the formulation and accelerate the degradation of all the molecules inside.”
This is not without health consequences. In question, octocrylene, a chemical compound used in many sunscreens to filter UV rays. If this is effective, it gradually degrades into benzophenone, a compound suspected of being carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting, concluded a Franco-American study in 2021.
“Even in a closed tube, the product is transformed”, specifies Marc Perrussel, dermatologist oncologist and practitioner at the University Hospital of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) at Parisian.
Adverse effects on the environment
Beyond the health component of octocrylene, its harmful effects on the environment and in particular on corals have also been pointed out by the National Health Security Agency (ANSES). The latter moreover transmitted last May to the government a request for restriction of theoctocrylène, according to information from France info.
However, there are more and more sunscreens that do not contain this component which degrades into benzophenone.
In any case, it is advisable to respect the expiry dates written on the sun protection products and to keep them away from humidity, heat and light to limit their deterioration.
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