--- 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=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4134 og:image:height: 2325 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=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Nearly Half of Sunscreens Don't Work as Advertised, Report Finds > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=e95a76af-d8bb-44d4-90b9-ccbd3d990bdb&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) 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"}}]}] ```