Sunscreen Ranker journal
The sunscreen
journal.
Daily, evidence-led notes on SPF, UV filters, and sun protection — every claim sourced, no cap.
- Reef-safe EWG vs. the Industry: How to Read 2025's Sunscreen Safety Scores Sunscreen 'safety scores' shape what shoppers buy — so it's worth knowing what EWG's 2025 ratings claim and why dermatology and industry groups disagree. Read it →
- Formulation EWG's 19th Sunscreen Guide: Only 1 in 5 Passed. Don't Panic. Headlines say only 20% of sunscreens 'made the cut' in EWG's 2025 guide — here's what that number really means for the bottle in your cabinet. Read it →
- Sensitive skin EWG 2025: 80% Fall Short, but 43 Made the Best-for-Kids List Most sunscreens on the shelf didn't make EWG's 2025 cut — here's how to read the kids' list and pick a gentle option for sensitive young skin. Read it →
- Trends Why K- and J-Beauty Sunscreens Own TikTok: The FDA Filter Gap Those weightless Korean and Japanese SPFs going viral aren't just better-marketed — they're built on filters the FDA still won't approve. Read it →
- Application Cloudy Day? Up to 80% of UV Still Gets Through Gray skies feel like a free pass to skip SPF — but most of the UV is still reaching your skin. Read it →
- Skin cancer Don't Tan for Vitamin D: What Dermatologists Actually Recommend The 'but I need the sun for vitamin D' argument is the most common reason people skip SPF — here's why dermatologists say there's a safer way. Read it →
- Formulation Does Sunscreen Expire? The FDA's 3-Year Rule, Explained That half-used bottle from last summer might still protect you — or might not. The FDA has a clear stability standard that settles the question. Read it →
- Skin cancer Melanoma Monday 2025: Why 1% of Skin Cancers Kill the Most Melanoma is a tiny slice of all skin cancers and by far the deadliest — here's the early-warning checklist worth memorizing this Melanoma Monday. Read it →
- UV science Mineral vs. Chemical Sunscreen: Both Mostly Absorb UV The 'physical reflects, chemical absorbs' line you've heard a hundred times is mostly wrong — and the data on so-called mineral products is even messier. Read it →
- Reef-safe Sun Bum Pays $300K and Drops Its 'Reef Friendly' Claim A beach-bag staple just agreed to stop calling its chemical sunscreens reef-safe — the first court judgment of its kind, and a warning about that label on your bottle. Read it →
- Kids & family EU Scientists Say Salicylic Acid Isn't Safe for Kids at Current Limits A new EU safety opinion adds up every product on your child's skin — and concludes today's salicylic acid limits don't leave enough margin for kids aged 3 to 10. Read it →
- Global The EU Just Banned 4-MBC: What It Means for Your Old Sunscreen A once-common UV filter quietly vanished from European shelves on 1 May 2025 — here's why, and how to spot it on a bottle you already own. Read it →
- Global EU Bans 4-MBC in 2025 — Korea Still Allows It. Why? Two trusted regulators looked at the same UV filter and reached opposite conclusions — here's why the EU pulled 4-MBC while Korea kept it. Read it →
- Makeup + SPF On Your Makeup, 'Broad Spectrum' Beats the SPF Number Your foundation's SPF number only tells half the story — 'broad spectrum' is the label term that decides whether it fights aging UVA at all. Read it →
- Sensitive skin On Accutane? Why Your Skin Burns Faster and How to Protect It Isotretinoin can leave your skin burning faster and more unexpectedly than you'd ever expect — here's how to stay protected through treatment. Read it →
- Seasonal The Altitude Rule: Why UV Hits Harder for Hikers and Skiers Every 1,000 meters you climb, UV intensity rises about 10% — which is why a sunny summit can scorch you faster than the beach. Read it →
- Global Bemotrizinol: The First New US Sunscreen Filter in 20+ Years A broad-spectrum filter Europe and Asia have used for decades is finally cleared for the US — here's what bemotrizinol does and why it took so long. Read it →
- Trends Most TikTok SPF Advice Is Right — But the Wrong Videos Go Viral A study of 971 top sunscreen videos found anti-sunscreen content was rare — but it punched far above its weight in engagement. Read it →
- Application SPF 30 vs SPF 50: The 20-Point Jump Is Only ~1% More That leap from SPF 30 to SPF 50 sounds huge — but in actual UVB blocked, it's about one percentage point. Read it →
- Reef-safe 84% of Reefs Hit: The Fourth Global Bleaching Event Ends The worst coral bleaching event on record touched 84% of the world's reefs — and it puts the small, avoidable harm from sunscreen chemicals in sharp context. Read it →
- Skin cancer Tanning Beds Before 35 Raise Melanoma Risk 75% — Here's Why Indoor tanning is marketed as a controlled, safer glow — but the WHO files it in the same top carcinogen category as tobacco. Read it →
- Trends Anessa x Pokémon: How Japan Makes Daily SPF Collectible Shiseido wrapped Japan's No. 1 sunscreen in Pikachu packaging — and it's a smart lesson in how character collabs turn daily SPF into a habit. Read it →
- Formulation Homosalate & Octisalate: The Quiet Workhorses in Your SPF They barely block UV on their own, yet homosalate and octisalate show up in almost every chemical sunscreen — here's the clever chemistry reason why. Read it →
- UV science 95% of the UV Hitting You Is UVA — The Aging Ray You Forget UVB gets the sunburn headlines, but the UV that reaches you all day is overwhelmingly UVA — the wavelength that quietly drives photoaging. Read it →