Sunscreen Ranker journal
The sunscreen
journal.
Daily, evidence-led notes on SPF, UV filters, and sun protection — every claim sourced, no cap.
- UV science 2025 Trial: Polypodium + Red Orange Cut UVB Redness 46% A 2025 clinical trial gives the 'sunscreen pill' real numbers — but dermatologists are clear it supplements, never replaces, topical SPF. Read it →
- Sensitive skin 82% of Rosacea Patients Say Skincare Makes It Worse (2025 Survey) If your sunscreen stings, you're not imagining it — a 2025 survey of over 1,100 rosacea patients explains why, and points to a safer default. Read it →
- Filter chemistry EU Declares Benzophenone-1 Unsafe in Cosmetics (April 2025) Benzophenone-1 isn't a UV filter you slather on — it's a hidden cosmetic stabilizer, and in April 2025 EU scientists ruled it unsafe. Read it →
- Kids & family New Jersey Now Requires Every School to Adopt a Sunscreen Policy Signed March 31, 2025, New Jersey's new law lets students keep and reapply FDA-approved sunscreen at school with written parental permission — no doctor's note needed. Read it →
- UV science How to Check the UV Index Where You Live (Free EPA Tools) The EPA's free SunWise app gives location-based daily and hourly UV forecasts — plus ZIP-code lookups, a 4-day map, and email UV Alerts to plan your day. Read it →
- Makeup + SPF How Much SPF Foundation Would You Really Need for the Number on the Label? SPF is tested at 2 mg/cm² of product, but most people apply only a fraction of that in makeup — so your SPF 30 foundation isn't delivering SPF 30. Read it →
- Sensitive skin Does Sunscreen Cause Acne? Myth vs. Poor Formulation Choices Skipping SPF to avoid breakouts backfires — the right non-comedogenic formula protects skin without clogging pores and actually helps prevent post-acne dark spots. Read it →
- Seasonal The Broken-Cloud Effect: Why Partly Cloudy Skies Hit You With More UV The most dangerous sky isn't the clearest one — scattered clouds can boost surface UV-B above clear-sky levels, sometimes by 40%. Read it →
- Global Why the US Has Only 16 Sunscreen Filters While Europe Has ~30 Even after the FDA approved bemotrizinol in 2026, US formulators can use just 16 UV filters versus roughly 30 in Europe — here's why American sunscreen feels behind. Read it →
- Trends Beef Tallow as Sunscreen? Why the 'Natural SPF' Trend Offers Zero Protection The viral beef-tallow 'natural sunscreen' trend has a fatal flaw: tallow blocks no measurable UV, leaving skin fully exposed to burns and cancer risk. Read it →
- Reef-safe Santa Clara DA Sues Banana Boat Maker Over 'Reef Friendly' Labels Prosecutors say 'reef friendly' on the bottle may be meaningless unless it's a true mineral formula — here's what the March 2025 lawsuit alleges and how to read past the marketing. Read it →
- Application The Two-Hour Rule: Why High SPF Doesn't Buy You More Time A bottle of SPF 100 doesn't last any longer than SPF 30 — you still need to reapply every two hours, and after swimming or sweating. Read it →
- Skin cancer Does Sunscreen Prevent Melanoma? What the Nambour Trial Proved A landmark randomized trial in Australia found daily sunscreen users developed roughly half as many melanomas as people who used it only sometimes. Read it →
- Formulation SPF 30 vs 50 vs 100: What the Numbers Actually Block SPF 30 blocks about 97% of UVB and SPF 100 about 99% — the gains shrink fast, so how much you apply matters more than the number on the bottle. Read it →
- UV science How to Read the UV Index: What Each Number Means and When to Cover Up Turn that abstract weather-app number into a daily decision: at a UV Index of 3 you need protection, and at 11+ skin can burn in minutes. Read it →
- Kids & family Treating a Child's Sunburn at Home — and When to Call the Doctor Cool compresses, fluids, and acetaminophen handle most mild childhood sunburns — but blisters, fever, or chills mean it's time to call the pediatrician. Read it →
- Makeup + SPF The Correct Order: Exactly Where Sunscreen Goes in Your Routine Sunscreen goes after your skincare but always before makeup — here's the derm-backed layering sequence that settles the primer debate for good. Read it →
- Skin cancer Free Shade for Playgrounds: Inside the AAD's 2025 Shade Grant Your child's school or daycare can get up to $8,000 to build permanent shade that blocks more than 90% of UV — here's how to apply before the 2025 deadline. Read it →
- Formulation CeraVe and the Benzene Lawsuits: What L'Oréal's 2025 Fight Really Means A viral 'CeraVe causes cancer' claim spread in 2025, here's the gap between what the lawsuits allege, what Valisure measured, and what the FDA actually found. Read it →
- Formulation FDA vs. Valisure: The 2025 Fight Over Whose Benzene Numbers to Trust When an independent lab and the FDA report wildly different benzene levels for the same product, whose number should you believe? In 2025 that became a legal battleground. Read it →
- Kids & family Almost 950,000 Babyganics Kids Sunscreens Recalled in 2025 If you bought a 'Totally Tropical' Babyganics kids sunscreen, check the bottle, here's why it was pulled and how a Class II recall differs from a more serious one. Read it →
- Sensitive skin FDA Finds Benzene in Six Acne Products, Including Effaclar Duo If you layer benzoyl peroxide under sunscreen, here's a calm rundown of which lots were pulled and why the FDA called the cancer risk very low. Read it →
- Formulation Why Benzoyl Peroxide Can Make Its Own Benzene in a Hot Car Unlike sunscreen, benzoyl peroxide can chemically generate benzene when it gets hot, which turns the 2025 testing story into a lesson about where you keep your skincare. Read it →
- Filter chemistry FDA's 2025 Benzene Sweep: 6 Recalls, and Why It Should Reassure You The same benzene panic that hit sunscreens in 2021 reached acne products in 2025, but the FDA's own numbers are more reassuring than the headlines suggest. Read it →