CHOICE's 2025 SPF Bombshell: 16 of 20 Sunscreens Failed
The biggest sunscreen story of 2025 wasn't benzene, it was discovering the number on the bottle can be wildly wrong, and what that means for how much you reapply.
In June 2025 CHOICE tested 20 SPF 50/50+ sunscreens at a TGA-approved lab and found 16 failed to meet their SPF claims; only 4 met their label, and the worst, Ultra Violette Lean Screen SPF 50+, returned an SPF of just 4 (confirmed at SPF 5 by a separate German lab).
Consumer-testing experts note that two independent labs landing on SPF 4 and SPF 5 for the same product is strong corroboration, and they emphasize that even an accurate SPF 50 underdelivers dramatically when applied too thinly.
Questions we get a lot
How much sunscreen should I apply to actually get the labeled SPF?
Labeled SPF assumes a thick application, roughly 2 mg per square centimeter of skin, which most people fall short of in daily use. Because CHOICE's 2025 test shows some products already underperform in the lab, under-applying compounds the shortfall. A useful rule is about a teaspoon for the face and neck and a shot-glass amount for the body, reapplied every two hours.
Why was the worst result confirmed by a second lab?
After CHOICE measured SPF 4 for the worst-performing product, a separate German lab returned SPF 5, which is consistent corroboration of a serious shortfall. Two independent labs agreeing makes ordinary test variation an unlikely explanation. That convergence is why the result was treated as credible rather than a one-off error.
r/SkincareAddiction: 'If labs disagree on SPF anyway, is reapplying every two hours actually the thing that saves me?'