--- title: Users of Jessica Alba's Honest Company Sunscreen Are Getting Sunburnt description: Honest Company sunscreen is getting bad reviews by users posting painful-looking sunburn photos they say they took after using the product canonical: https://time.com/3981643/jessica-alba-honest-company-organic-sunscreen-sunburn/ author: Alissa Greenberg article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-03T07:41:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:26.820Z article:section: Health og:title: Complaints Mount Over Jessica Alba's Sunscreen og:description: Some users of the Honest Company product say they are getting burned og:url: https://time.com/3981643/jessica-alba-honest-company-organic-sunscreen-sunburn/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91b6e15bf5d360e5/69885d83e53abadd584dee1d/472445954.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Fast Company Hosts First-Ever LA Creativity Counter Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Complaints Mount Over Jessica Alba's Sunscreen twitter:description: Some users of the Honest Company product say they are getting burned twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91b6e15bf5d360e5/69885d83e53abadd584dee1d/472445954.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Users of Jessica Alba's Honest Company Sunscreen Are Posting Photos of Epic Sunburns by [Alissa Greenberg](/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Aug 3, 2015 7:41 AM CUT  Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Honest Company Jessica Alba speaks at Fast Company Hosts First-Ever LA Creativity Counter Conference at 72andSunny on May 7, 2015 Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Honest Company Jessica Alba speaks at Fast Company Hosts First-Ever LA Creativity Counter Conference at 72andSunny on May 7, 2015Vivien Killilea—Getty Images by [Alissa Greenberg](/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Aug 3, 2015 7:41 AM CUT Eco-friendly Honest Company’s sunscreen may be “naturally derived,” “unscented” and “non-toxic,” according to the company’s [website](https://www.honest.com/bath-and-body/sunscreen-spf-30 "undefined"), but now some users on social media are claiming that it doesn’t work. The sunscreen, promoted by sometime-movie-star Jessica Alba’s wildly successful baby product company as “providing the best broad spectrum protection for your family,” is getting bad reviews by users online, many of whom are posting painful-looking sunburn photos they say they took after using the product. > [](https://twitter.com/bdatherton/status/605501424261201921) > [](https://twitter.com/DJ%5FDTM/status/627942602403368961) > [](https://twitter.com/LindsyMarshall/status/625103725254696960) In a [statement](http://www.today.com/health/jessica-albas-honest-sunscreen-gets-some-complaints-t36031 "undefined") to the _Today_ _Show_, the Honest Company stressed that the sunscreen is tested by an independent third party with positive results and that “the number of complaints received on our own website about our Sunscreen Lotion constitute less than one half of one percent of all units actually sold at [Honest.com](https://www.honest.com/ "undefined"). We stand behind the safety and efficacy of this product.” A country-wide investigation by [NBC5 in Chicago](http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Angry-Parents-Complaints-About-Popular-Sunscreen-Brand-318367591.html "undefined") found that the sunscreen’s formula was changed at some point, reducing to 9.3% non-nano zinc oxide from 20%. (The majority of zinc oxide sunscreens list their active ingredients at 18 to 25%). Still, the company says it added other components to make up for the difference in zinc. “The Honest Company has been transparent about the amount of zinc since the new formula came out in early 2015 as seen on the website and the new formula’s packaging,” the company told _Today_. \[[_Today_](http://www.today.com/health/jessica-albas-honest-sunscreen-gets-some-complaints-t36031 "undefined")\] **Read next:** [You Asked: Is Sunscreen Safe —and Do I Really Need It Daily?](http://time.com/3056125/you-asked-is-sunscreen-safe-and-do-i-really-need-it-daily/ "undefined") ### 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. 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Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3981643/jessica-alba-honest-company-organic-sunscreen-sunburn/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3981643/jessica-alba-honest-company-organic-sunscreen-sunburn/"},"headline":"Users of Jessica Alba's Honest Company Sunscreen Are Posting Photos of Epic Sunburns","datePublished":"2015-08-03T07:41:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:26.820Z","description":"An investigation by NBC5 in Chicago found that the company reduced the zinc oxide levels in its sunscreen to 9.3%, when the standard is between 18 and 25%","url":"https://time.com/3981643/jessica-alba-honest-company-organic-sunscreen-sunburn/","keywords":["Cancer","Living","Brands","health","jessica alba","Organic","sunscreen","sunburn"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91b6e15bf5d360e5/69885d83e53abadd584dee1d/472445954.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alissa Greenberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91b6e15bf5d360e5/69885d83e53abadd584dee1d/472445954.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fast Company Hosts First-Ever LA Creativity Counter Conference","caption":"Fast Company Hosts First-Ever LA Creativity Counter Conference","creditText":"Vivien Killilea—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cancer/","name":"Cancer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3981643/jessica-alba-honest-company-organic-sunscreen-sunburn/","name":"Users of Jessica Alba's Honest Company Sunscreen Are Posting Photos of Epic Sunburns"}}]}] ```