Many Sunscreen Products Are Only Half as Effective as They Claim to Be, According to New Research; What You Need to Know About Protecting Yourself

There are a lot of brands of sunscreen – it can be hard to know which one to chose. We asked dermatologist Dr. Snehal Amin to break it down for us.

"Most of the products we tested reduced UV radiation only by half of what would be expected from looking at the SPF on the label," said lead author David Andrews, Ph.D. All of the products tested were labeled as providing "broad-spectrum protection," an imprecise term that suggests that they protect against both UVA rays and UVB rays. The sunscreens used in this study were purchased online from Amazon, or in-store at CVS, Target, and Walmart in Connecticut. 31 of these products were bought in Fall 2018, and 20 were bought in Fall 2019.

Most sunscreens available in the U.S. underperform against both UVA and UVB rays, but they perform particularly poorly against UVA raysthe kind of sun exposure that causes aging, immune harm, and elevated cancer risk. Ultraviolet radiation can increase the risk of developing three different types of skin cancers, including basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma.

The Environmental Working Group study found that sunscreens were less than a quarter as effective at protecting against UVA rays as the labeled SPF values suggest. "And that's a public health problem," said Dr. Andrews. Even when products labeled with the same SPF were compared, researchers found significant variation in the UVA protection they actually offered.

SPF value is based on how well sunscreens reduce skin redness the day after exposure. This metric therefore focuses on protection against UVB rays at the expense of prioritizing protection from cancer-causing UVA rays. Though sun protection products were originally geared toward protecting against sunburn, the connection between skin damage from sun exposure and skin cancer is now better understood.

The study authors suggest that the testing of sunscreens should be made uniform, and should focus on a new measure of sun protection based on UV radiation testing instead of SPF.

Choosing the Right Sunscreen

Dr. Cecilia Larocca of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute knows how essential sunscreen is. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, she called it "one of the most important things you can do to minimize your risk of melanoma and other skin cancers." But it doesn’t end thereDr. Larocca also emphasized how crucial it is to choose the right product.

Dr. Larocca recommended using a minimum of SPF 30. "The truth is that when you put on sunscreen, most of us don't even put on enough sunscreen to actually get the true SPF that's listed on the label," she said. "In general, we only put on about half of what the SPF is, so if you put on an SPF 60, you're likely to get an SPF 30 effect."

In addition to selecting a sunscreen with a minimum 30 SPF, Dr. Larocca also advocates for choosing a product that offers broad spectrum protection. From the Environmental Working Group study, though, we know that sunscreen labels can be misleading in their claims of broad spectrum protection.

Beyond sunscreen, Dr. Larocca advises wearing a hat and sunglasses outside. The biggest mistake most Americans make, however, is forgetting to re-apply. Sunscreen should be re-applied after every two hours spent in the sun, and for Dr. Larocca, this usually means applying twice a day.

Dermatologists recommend using a minimum of SPF 30 to protect yourself from harmful sun rays and reapplying every two hours.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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