--- title: Sunscreen and SPF: Here's What You Should Know description: The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its 2015 sunscreen guide. Here's what they found about SPF canonical: https://time.com/3883293/sunscreen-spf/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-19T13:00:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:08:00.682Z article:section: Health og:title: 80% of SPFs Don't Really Work or Have 'Worrisome' Ingredients: Report og:description: The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its 2015 sunscreen guide. Here's what they found about SPF og:url: https://time.com/3883293/sunscreen-spf/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7448a7e7fdd8af2b/69884d1bcd1bba74846fb048/482438313-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4100 og:image:height: 2306 og:image:alt: 482438313 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 80% of SPFs Don't Really Work or Have 'Worrisome' Ingredients: Report twitter:description: The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its 2015 sunscreen guide. Here's what they found about SPF twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7448a7e7fdd8af2b/69884d1bcd1bba74846fb048/482438313-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 80% of Sunscreens Don't Really Work or Have 'Worrisome' Ingredients: Report > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=e9392ad3-8fc9-400e-ba1a-54ea7a001a99&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Know Right Now: Research Finds Most Sunscreens Ineffective [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Research Finds Most Sunscreens Ineffective](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DPTj9QpV.m3u8) (1:05)  _Published 2015-05-19. Researchers have found that 80% of sunscreens either don't work effectively or contain harmful ingredients. Find out more by watching today's Know Right Now._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 19, 2015 1:00 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 19, 2015 1:00 PM UTC Summer is around the corner, and when it comes to sunscreen, it’s important to know how to stay covered. Yet new research published in the _Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology_ shows that many Americans aren’t protecting their skin as much as they should. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked people how often they use sunscreen when out in the sun for over an hour and only 14% of men said they regularly slathered on sunscreen. Women, at 30%, were twice as diligent about putting on sunscreen—while men were more likely than women to report never using sunscreen. The problem isn’t only compliance. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) [released its 2015 sunscreen guide](http://www.ewg.org/2015sunscreen/) on Tuesday, which reviewed more than 1,700 SPF products like sunscreens, lip balms and moisturizers. The researchers discovered that 80% of the products offer “inferior sun protection or contain worrisome ingredients like oxybenzone and vitamin A,” they say. Oxybenzone is a chemical that can disrupt the hormone system, and some evidence suggests—though not definitively—that adding vitamin A to the skin could heighten sun sensitivity. The report points to Neutrogena as the brand most at fault for promising sun protection without delivering. The EWG says that Neutrogena claims its [baby sunscreens](http://www.neutrogena.com/product/pure+-+free-+baby+sunscreen+lotion+broad+spectrum+spf+60-.do?) provide “special protection from the sun and irritating chemicals” and is labeled “hypoallergenic,” but it contains a preservative called methylisothiazolinone that has been deemed unsafe for use in leave-on products by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety. The company also boasts of high SPF levels like SPF 70 or SPF 100+, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [says](http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm258416.htm) there’s only notable protection up to SPF 50, the report adds. Neutrogena did not respond to requests for comment by publication time. In the new report, EWG also provides a [Hall of Shame](http://www.ewg.org/2015sunscreen/hall-of-shame/) of products that don’t deliver on their sun protection promises, as well as a database for users to search how protective their particular sun products are—and find one that works. To stay protected this summer, the researchers suggest, use sunscreens with broad spectrum SPF of 15 or higher, limit time in the sun, wear clothing to cover exposed skin and re-slather your sunscreen every couple hours. ### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered  You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? 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