What should I do if the water and oil in sunscreen separate? Can I still use it?

Sunscreen is essential in summer, otherwise you will get tanned as soon as you go out. So what should you do if the sunscreen separates into water and oil? Can sunscreen that separates water and oil be used?

What to do if sunscreen separates water and oil

It is normal for sunscreen products to experience a small amount of oil-water separation. The “water” mentioned here is actually sunscreen, which is a type of oil. You can tell it’s oil when you drop it on your skin.

Because sunscreens are oily and insoluble in water, emulsifiers and stabilizers are added to ensure that the paste is mixed evenly. But this does not completely stabilize the paste. If it is left standing for too long, separation will occur.

As long as the sunscreen is used within the shelf life, it is safe. Just shake it vigorously before each use and you will be fine.

Can sunscreen with water-oil separation be used?

Water and oil are not soluble in each other. The combination of water and oil is called emulsification, but emulsification is not a permanent state. Emulsifiers only temporarily make water and oil blend together. No matter how good a product is, the emulsification will loosen one day, and the water and oil will separate.

The emulsification of a good product may be maintained for two years (although the emulsification has been loosening during these two years, it is not observable to our naked eyes); after two years, the separation of water and oil is likely to be seen by us.

If the water and oil in a sunscreen separate, it has gone bad and its sun protection effect will be reduced. When using this type of sunscreen, the sunscreen is not evenly distributed on the skin, which allows the sun's rays to get through and damage the areas of skin that the sunscreen is not fully covered. However, since all sunscreens are bound to eventually go bad, using up a bottle within its shelf life is the best explanation to your skin.

This is the introduction to the method of separating water and oil in sunscreen, which can be used.