Why You Still Need Sunscreen

Most of the skin changes we see as we get older don’t come from the aging process but from the sun’s UV rays. That’s true for all skin tones, though changes tend to occur earlier in those with light skin.

Of course, it’s not just about how your skin looks: Shielding yourself from the sun also helps prevent skin cancer. Rates steadily increase with age. Of the 149 people with a history of skin cancer in CR’s survey, 58 percent were diagnosed at age 55 or older.

Basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, rarely affects anyone under 40 and is most common in those 70 and older. Rates of squamous cell carcinoma reach their highest levels in those ages 70 to 79. The risk for melanoma, which can be deadly, rises in adults with each decade, peaking in people in their 80s.

Sun exposure early in life contributes to your risk, but skin cancers “require multiple mutations to arise in the skin cells’ DNA,” says Paul Nghiem, MD, a dermatologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. “When you continue to expose your skin to UV rays, they act like fertilizer for any existing damage, making the cells grow more mutations. With age, the repair process slows down and more mutations stick around.”

The immune system also becomes less robust as you get older, which can contribute to the risk of developing skin cancer. “Sun exposure suppresses the skin’s immune system,” Lim says. “And if it’s not able to mount a strong response, it’s less able to repair DNA damage.”

Staying in the shade, covering up with clothing, and wearing a hat will help shield your skin from the sun. But any exposed skin should be covered with sunscreen, and you should use it every day, something just 11 percent of the people in CR’s survey said they did. Here are some other important tips:

A high-quality sunscreen has an SPF of at least 30. (SPF reflects how well a sunscreen protects against UVB rays.) It should also be broad-spectrum, meaning it shields against both UVA and UVB.

But you can’t just go by the label. CR’s tests over the years show that the protection offered by a sunscreen doesn’t always match the SPF listed on the package. In fact, nearly 40 percent of the products had a CR average tested SPF of less than 15, though all of them were labeled SPF 30 or higher.

We asked the Personal Care Products Association, which represents sunscreen manufacturers, about the differences between CR’s test results and the label claims. A spokesperson for the group said that our testing methods differed from the FDA’s and “can’t be directly compared to a label claim.” But CR’s sunscreen testers note that we use statistical analyses and other methods to validate our results. For details, see the top sunscreens from CR’s tests, below.

We’ve also found significant differences among products in how effectively they block UVA radiation. The standard test for UVA in the U.S. is pass-fail. But CR’s test, similar to the one used in Europe, is more sensitive and allows us to measure the degree of UVA protection each sunscreen provides.

Bottom line: Our 15 recommended products will give you the best protection, but those with an Overall Score of at least 61 are also acceptable.

Our top-performing sunscreens use chemical UV filters, such as avobenzone or octocrylene. These work by absorbing into the skin and soaking up UV rays. Mineral sunscreens—those with only zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, or both—sit on the skin’s surface and deflect UV rays.

Some people prefer mineral sunscreens because chemicals irritate their skin or they’re concerned by reports indicating that some of those ingredients may harm the environment or pose health risks. But our tests have found that mineral sunscreens “consistently fall in the middle of the pack or lower in our ratings,” says Susan Booth, who oversees CR’s sunscreen testing.

And it’s important to balance the possible risks posed by chemical sunscreens with their known benefits.

“We don’t have conclusive evidence that any sunscreen ingredients are causing harm,” says Lim at Henry Ford Health, “but we do know that unprotected sun exposure can lead to skin cancer.”

If you want to play it extra safe, avoid chemical sunscreens with oxybenzone or octinoxate, the two ingredients that have raised the most concern. Just one of the sunscreens in our ratings, La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ultra Light Spray Lotion SPF 60, contains oxybenzone, and none have octinoxate.

If you prefer a mineral sunscreen, choose one that tested at least an SPF 15 and had high marks for UVA protection, such as Badger Active Mineral Cream SPF 30 Unscented or Blue Lizard Sport Mineral Spray SPF 50+ Unscented. Diligently reapplying is especially important with mineral sunscreens.

You can minimize the amount of sunscreen you need by wearing a rash guard instead of a bathing suit, or other clothing that shields your skin. You can opt for UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) clothing, but previous CR tests found that items made with polyester, spandex, or tightly woven cotton without a UPF claim on the label were similarly effective.

For lotions, use a teaspoon-sized dollop on your face and neck and, depending on what you’re wearing, one for your torso, one for your back, and one for each of your arms and legs. For a spray, hold it close to your skin, spray until the skin glistens, and then rub it in. Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or right after swimming or sweating, especially if you’re using a lower-performing product.

In CR’s sunscreen tests, we use the Food and Drug Administration’s sunscreen testing protocol as a model. But as with all products, we do our own scientific, laboratory-based testing to identify differences in performance and give consumers a comparative evaluation.

We buy sunscreens at retailers, the way consumers do, and test three samples of each product, each from different manufacturing batches. 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. A technician applies a standard amount of each product to a 2x3-inch rectangle on a panelist’s back before they soak in water for 40 or 80 minutes based on the product’s water resistance claims. Then we expose smaller sections of the rectangle to five or six intensities of simulated sunlight based on how quickly the panelist’s skin burns without protection. We also use a reference sunscreen with known performance to ensure testing accuracy. A day later, a technician examines the skin for redness and determines the sunscreen’s SPF.

To test for UVA, we apply sunscreen to plastic plates, expose them to UV light, and measure the amount of UVA and UVB rays that are absorbed. This test, like the UVA test in Europe, uses a process similar to the UVA test the FDA requires. But the test we use allows us to determine the degree of UVA protection, while the FDA test does not. The FDA test is pass-fail; a sunscreen that just passes gets the same designation—broad-spectrum—as one that screens out even more UVA.

Our ratings are developed from the average results of all the SPF and UVA tests for a sunscreen, as well as how much the average CR-tested SPF varies from the SPF listed on the label.

Members can access these recommended lotions and sprays.