Sunscreen Ranker journal
The sunscreen
journal.
Daily, evidence-led notes on SPF, UV filters, and sun protection — every claim sourced, no cap.
- Formulation The 6 (Plus One) Acne Products FDA Pulled in 2025: Lot Numbers to Check If your acne treatment has been baking in a hot bathroom or car, here are the exact products and lot numbers the FDA flagged, plus the storage habit that limits benzene. Read it →
- Formulation The FDA's Quiet 2025 Benzene Promise That Could Reshape Recalls The real fix for repeated benzene scares isn't another recall, it's an agreed-upon way to measure benzene, and in 2025 the FDA committed to publishing one. Read it →
- Formulation Kao's New Bioré Sunscreen Reacts to the Weather on Your Skin Japan's latest SPF launch uses humidity-responsive gel capsules that soak up sweat in the heat and release moisture in dry, air-conditioned air. Read it →
- Sensitive skin Chemical vs. Mineral Sunscreen: Which Is Right for Reactive Skin? One absorbs UV like a sponge, the other reflects it like a shield, and the difference matters most if your skin reacts to everything. Read it →
- Seasonal Yes, You Can Burn on a Cloudy Day: The 80% UV Rule Gray skies feel safe, but most of the sun's UV slips right through the clouds and onto your skin. Read it →
- Global 2025 Was the 4th-Warmest Year on Record. Your Sunscreen Routine Should Notice. With Utah and Nevada setting all-time temperature records, daily sun protection is shifting from a beach habit to a year-round one across the high-UV Mountain West. Read it →
- Trends DIY Sunscreen Looks Cute on TikTok. It Won't Protect Your Skin. Those dreamy homemade SPF recipes can leave you burning, because some of their star oils actually help UV reach your skin. Read it →
- Application Your SPF 50 Is Probably Acting Like SPF 15. Here's Why. The number on the bottle assumes a thick lab-grade layer almost nobody applies, and the fix takes about ten seconds. Read it →
- Skin cancer The ABCDEs of Melanoma: A Self-Check You Can Do Tonight Five letters dermatologists use to tell a harmless mole from a dangerous one, so you know exactly what to look for the next time a spot worries you. Read it →
- Formulation 'Chemical vs Physical' Is a Myth: Mineral Filters Absorb UV Too The tidy story that mineral filters only 'reflect' UV while chemical filters 'absorb' it is largely wrong, and the truth is more interesting. Read it →
- UV science What 'Broad Spectrum' Really Means (the 370 nm Test) 'Broad spectrum' isn't a marketing word — in the US it's a measurable FDA pass/fail line at 370 nanometers. Read it →
- Kids & family One Blistering Childhood Sunburn Raises Lifetime Melanoma Risk The sunburns kids get today can echo decades later — which is exactly why sun protection in childhood is non-negotiable. Read it →
- Formulation Beef Tallow and DIY Sunscreen: 2025's 'Barnyard Wellness' Wave Tallow, raw milk, and kitchen-made SPF are flooding feeds as 'natural' skincare — here's the dermatologist breakdown of what's harmless and what leaves you burned. Read it →
- Makeup + SPF How to Reapply Sunscreen Over Makeup Without Wrecking It You don't have to strip off your makeup at noon to stay protected — here's how dermatologists do the midday top-up. Read it →
- Sensitive skin Why Derms Pick Mineral Sunscreen for Sensitive Skin There's real science behind why dermatologists reach for zinc oxide and titanium dioxide when skin is easily irritated. Read it →
- Seasonal What the UV Index Actually Means: A Plain-English Guide Your weather app says 'UV 8' — here's exactly what that number means for your skin and your plans. Read it →
- Global Palau's Sunscreen Ban: 10 Ingredients Tourists Get Caught With Palau will confiscate your sunscreen at the border, and its banned-ingredient list is far longer than Hawaii's. Read it →
- Trends Does Sunscreen Cause Cancer? What the Evidence Says A viral claim insists sunscreen causes the very cancer it's meant to prevent — here's what the actual evidence shows. Read it →
- Application How Much Sunscreen to Apply: The Shot-Glass Rule The most common sunscreen mistake isn't the brand you buy — it's how little of it you put on. Read it →
- Skin cancer How Common Is Skin Cancer? The 1-in-5 Risk If you think skin cancer is rare or won't happen to you, the numbers tell a very different story. Read it →
- Formulation Why Avobenzone and Octocrylene Are Always Together Flip over almost any US chemical sunscreen and you'll see avobenzone next to octocrylene — here's the formulation logic behind that duo. Read it →
- UV science Is Higher SPF Always Better? SPF 30 vs 50 vs 100 Reaching for the SPF 100 bottle feels safest, but dermatologists explain why the number alone can mislead you. Read it →
- Kids & family SPF 30 vs SPF 50 for Kids: The Gap Is Tiny Before you pay extra for SPF 50 kids' sunscreen, here's how little protection that higher number actually buys. Read it →
- Makeup + SPF Does SPF Stack? Why SPF 30 + SPF 30 Isn't SPF 60 Layering an SPF 30 moisturizer under an SPF 30 foundation feels like SPF 60 protection, but the math doesn't work that way. Read it →