--- title: Best Sunscreen: Which Products Work as Advertised? description: Not all sunscreens were created equal when it comes to preventing sunburn, according to a study of sunblock lotions. canonical: https://time.com/4340120/sunscreen-spf-uv/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-18T15:55:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:38:16.601Z article:section: Health og:title: Nearly Half of Sunscreens Don't Work as Advertised, Report Finds og:description: Not all sunscreens were created equal og:url: https://time.com/4340120/sunscreen-spf-uv/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4526db8fe3a3e4a2/698854e355a8591ea9a8c899/sunscreen-suntan-lotion.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: sunscreen-suntan-lotion og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nearly Half of Sunscreens Don't Work as Advertised, Report Finds twitter:description: Not all sunscreens were created equal twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4526db8fe3a3e4a2/698854e355a8591ea9a8c899/sunscreen-suntan-lotion.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Nearly Half of Sunscreens Don't Work as Advertised, Report Finds by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White May 18, 2016 3:55 PM UTC  Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White May 18, 2016 3:55 PM UTC Not all sunscreens were created equal when it comes to preventing sunburn, according to [a study](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/consumer-reports-which-sunscreens-live-up-to-product-claims-keep-skin-safe/) of sunblock lotions. A _Consumer Reports_ investigation found that [43% of sunscreens did not live up to the their labels](http://time.com/money/4338398/sunscreens-spf-ratings/), according to CBS. _Consumer Reports_ tested 65 sunscreen products with an SPF of at least 30, which is the minimum level recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology. Products were tested by having people apply sunscreen to their backs, sit in water for the specified water-resistant time and expose themselves to UV light. They were then checked for redness the next day. Sunscreens that performed the worst were ones that contained titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as active ingredients, while top performers [contained ingredients like avobenzone](http://time.com/4082272/coral-reefs-sunscreen-oxybenzone/), according to Trish Calvo, _Consumer Reports_‘ deputy food and health editor. The study also dismissed waterproof sunscreen as a myth, telling CBS that “no such product exists.” Banana Boat, CVS and Shiseido disputed the results, according to CBS, with Shiseido saying there were “significant flaws” in the testing methodology. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4340120/sunscreen-spf-uv/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4340120/sunscreen-spf-uv/"},"headline":"Nearly Half of Sunscreens Don't Work as Advertised, Report Finds","datePublished":"2016-05-18T15:55:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:38:16.601Z","description":"Not all sunscreens were created equal","url":"https://time.com/4340120/sunscreen-spf-uv/","keywords":["products","sunscreen","consumer"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4526db8fe3a3e4a2/698854e355a8591ea9a8c899/sunscreen-suntan-lotion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4526db8fe3a3e4a2/698854e355a8591ea9a8c899/sunscreen-suntan-lotion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"sunscreen-suntan-lotion","caption":"sunscreen-suntan-lotion","creditText":"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/products/","name":"products"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4340120/sunscreen-spf-uv/","name":"Nearly Half of Sunscreens Don't Work as Advertised, Report Finds"}}]}] ```