According to a new, rather alarming report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a whopping 75 percent of the sunscreens out there might not be “safe and effective.” Yes, three-quarters! Your trusty SPF 5000 might be doing diddly squat, or worse.
The EWG assessed over 1,700 SPF products for their 2025 guide – sunscreens, moisturizers, lip balms, the whole shebang. And they basically found that most of them are failing. Why? Well, it’s virtual smorgasbord of reasons.
Many products offer crap UVA protection (that’s the stuff that causes deep skin damage and aging, not just sunburns), they might contain sketchy chemical ingredients that could mess with your hormones (looking at you, oxybenzone, though thankfully you’re less common now), or they make misleadingly high SPF claims that give you a false sense of invincibility. The FDA, in their infinite wisdom, only really gives the thumbs up to mineral ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as being generally safe and effective.
Those super-high SPFs? Often misleading, offering barely more protection than an SPF 50 while potentially lacking in that crucial UVA defense. And spray sunscreens? Convenient, sure, but you risk inhaling the stuff and probably aren’t applying enough for decent coverage anyway. It’s enough to make you want to live in a cave.
So, what’s a sun-loving, skin-cancer-fearing individual to do? Don’t despair and become a hermit just yet. The EWG recommends looking for mineral-based sunscreens, checking for broad-spectrum protection, not falling for the super-high SPF hype, and using their guide to find products that actually pass muster.
Remember, sunscreen is just one tool in the sun-safety arsenal. Hats, sunglasses, seeking shade during peak hours – it all helps. Now go forth and try not to get burned, literally or figuratively, by your sunscreen.