Study: some sunscreens don’t work as advertised

Consumer Reports study shows some sunscreens falter after water exposure

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — A new study shows that some sun screens may not be working as well as they claim.

Consumer Reports says one-third of the sunscreens they tested did not offer the protection promised on their label.

11 of the 34 products tested failed to perform as advertised after being exposed to water.

Many of the poorest-performing sunscreens are from cosmetic companies.

Dr. Stephen Webster from Gundersen Health System says it’s better to trust sunscreens from pharmaceutical companies because they’re held to a higher standard.

“Those are very closely regulated by the FDA,” said Dr. Webster. “The cosmetic companies that are getting into it, I don’t want to say anything bad about them, but I don’t think they have the same rigorous scrutiny that the FDA does on the products coming out from pharmaceutical companies.”

Doctors recommend using sunscreens that have an SPF of 30 or higher, offer “broad spectrum” protection and are water-resistant for 40 or more minutes.

Sunscreens that tested the best in the Consumer Reports study include:

La Roche-Posay Anthelios 60 Melt-in Sunscreen Milk, SPF 60 Vichy Capital Soleil 50 Lightweight Foaming Lotion, SPF 50 Coppertone Water Babies, SPF 50 Equate Ultra Protection, SPF 50 No-Ad Sports SPF 50

The worst-performing sunscreens in the study were:

Vanicream SPF 50 Goddess Garden Organics Sunny Body Natural 30 Yes to Cucumbers Natural SPF 30 Elta MD UV Aero SPF 45 Aloe Gator SPF 40

8 of the 11 products that failed the testing had an SPF below 30, despite claiming SPFs above 30.