There’s an elixir that can keep your skin from looking old before its time and protect you against the most common type of cancer—it’s called sunscreen. But we’ve discovered major differences even among products made by the same brand, and our tests found that sometimes the protection offered by a sunscreen doesn’t match the SPF listed on the label.
In this article
- Best Sunscreens: Lotion Sprays
- Finding the Right Sunscreen for You
- How CR Tests Sunscreens
More on Sunscreen
Best Mineral Sunscreens
Best Spray Sunscreens
Find a Reef-Friendly Sunscreen
Does Sunscreen Expire?
We tested dozens of sprays, lotions, and sticks in the lab to determine how well they will protect your skin against radiation from ultraviolet A and B rays from the sun. UVA rays are primarily responsible for aging, while UVB rays are the ones that mostly cause sunburn. (Protection against UVB is represented by a sunscreen’s SPF.) Both types contribute to skin cancer risk. Our sensory specialists also objectively evaluate the scent and feel of each sunscreen and provide a description so that you can choose a product that appeals to you.
Whatever your issues with sunscreen—whether you think it’s greasy or gloppy, you don’t use enough of it, or you’re just overwhelmed by the number of products to choose from—our advice and ratings can help. CR members have access to our full sunscreen ratings. And make sure to check out our sunscreen buying guide for smart shopping tips.
Best Lotion Sunscreens
Over half of the sunscreens in our ratings are lotions. With lotions, you can easily see how much you’re applying. Use about a teaspoon per body part or area that’s not covered up with clothing: 1 teaspoon for your face, head, and neck; 1 for each arm; 1 for each leg; 1 for your chest and abdomen; and 1 for your back and the back of your neck. If you’re in a bathing suit, you’ll need about an ounce of lotion to cover your body. That’s about the amount that fills a shot glass.
Best Spray Sunscreens
Spray sunscreens are popular for their convenience. But they can be problematic when it comes to application, because you can’t measure how much you’re using as accurately as you can when applying a lotion sunscreen. Spraying the sunscreen into your hand and then applying it to your body helps ensure better coverage. Or hold the nozzle close to your skin and spray until your skin glistens, then rub in the sunscreen. Do this even if a spray is labeled “no rub”; smoothing it into your skin increases its protection. Never spray your face, because you could get sunscreen in your eyes or inhale it. Instead, spray it into your hands and rub it onto your face.
Finding the Right Sunscreen for You
While top-notch protection is the first thing to think about when choosing a sunscreen, there are other important factors to consider.
Price
We include the price per container and the price per ounce so that you can weigh the costs when you’re choosing a sunscreen.
Spray vs. Lotion
It’s easier to make sure you’re getting adequate coverage with a lotion than with a spray because you can see how much you’re using. And proper spray application isn’t always easy, especially when it’s windy. Oftentimes you end up protecting the air more than your skin.
There are also health risks to using sprays for some people. Inhaling the mist can cause lung irritation. And sprays can be flammable, so be sure to stay clear of any heat source—such as a grill—when using a spray.
Consumer Reports recommends using a lotion on kids rather than a spray, but if you choose to use a spray, be very careful when applying it. Children are more likely to inhale the mist, so the best thing to do is spray it into your hands and rub it onto your child’s skin. At the very least, have children close their eyes and mouth and turn their head while you spray.
Chemical vs. Mineral
All the sunscreens at the top of CR’s ratings contain chemical active ingredients, such as avobenzone. Some people may prefer to use a mineral (or natural) sunscreen, those with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, or both. But our tests over the years show that mineral sunscreens don’t offer as much protection against the sun’s harmful rays.
Scent and Feel
For many people, the way a sunscreen smells and feels on their skin is as important as the UV protection it provides. So in addition to our performance tests, our trained sensory panelists also evaluate sunscreens for scent and feel. (Sensory testing isn’t factored into our Overall Score.) What people prefer is subjective, so we can’t say, for instance, whether a sunscreen that has a tropical aroma is better than one with a classic beachy aroma. But our panelists objectively describe the scent and feel of every sunscreen we test so that you can pick the best product for you.
Environmental Concerns
A majority of the sunscreens in our ratings don’t contain oxybenzone or octinoxate. These two chemical active ingredients are highly effective UV filters, but they’re the ones that are most often flagged as being potentially harmful to coral reefs.
How CR Tests Sunscreens
We test only water-resistant, broad-spectrum sunscreens labeled SPF 30—the minimum that dermatologists recommend you use—or above. CR’s tests over the years show that the protection offered by a sunscreen doesn’t always match the SPF listed on the package. Although many of the sunscreens in our current ratings still have an average SPF of over 30, almost 40 percent of them averaged below SPF 15 in our tests.
CR uses a testing protocol that’s modeled on the one the Food and Drug Administration requires sunscreen manufacturers to use. But as is the case with other products we test that have government or industry standards, we use those standards as benchmarks and develop our own methodology to identify differences in performance and give consumers a comparative evaluation.
“We buy the sunscreens for our tests off the shelf, the way consumers would,” says Susan Booth, who oversees our sunscreen testing. “We use three samples, preferably with different lot numbers, of each product.”
For SPF, we test the sunscreens on three people, which is fewer than the FDA’s protocol calls for, but we use a statistical analysis to verify our results. We also test only after water immersion because if a product holds up on wet skin, it should hold up on dry skin.
To check SPF, a technician applies a standard amount of each sunscreen to a 2x3-inch rectangle on each panelist’s back. Then the panelists soak in a tub of water for 40 or 80 minutes, depending on the product’s water-resistance claim. Afterward, smaller sections of the rectangle are exposed to five to six intensities of UV light from a sun simulator for a set time based on how quickly the panelist’s skin burns without protection. (We also use a reference sunscreen with known performance to ensure the accuracy of the testing.) About a day later, a trained technician examines the areas for redness and determines the SPF.
Photo: John Walsh/Consumer Reports Photo: John Walsh/Consumer Reports
In order for a sunscreen to be labeled broad-spectrum, the FDA requires that it protect against UVA and UVB rays. To test for UVA protection, we smear sunscreen on plastic plates, pass UV light through, and measure the amount of UVA and UVB rays that are absorbed. That information is used to calculate our UVA score.
This test is similar to the critical wavelength test the FDA requires sunscreen manufacturers to do in order to label their products broad-spectrum. But that is a pass/fail test, and just as you can pass a test with either an A or a D grade, some sunscreens do a much better job of defending against UVA than others. The test we use, similar to the one used in other countries, allows us to measure the degree of UVA protection a sunscreen provides.
Our ratings are developed from the average results of all the SPF and UVA tests on a particular sunscreen, as well as how much the average CR’s tested SPF varied from what’s on the label.
@consumerreports Sunscreen is a year-round product to use ☀️. We test them each year to help you make the best purchasing decision 😎. See ratings + reviews at cr.org/sunscreen #sunscreen #skincare #skintok ♬ original sound - Consumer Reports
Trisha Calvo
Trisha Calvo has been the deputy editor for health and food at Consumer Reports since 2013, focusing on nutrition and food safety, frequently editing food safety investigations. Previously, she was an executive editor at Rodale Books and the executive editor at Shape magazine. You’ll often find her in her kitchen creating deliciously healthy dishes.
