Sunscreen Ranker Independent ranker

Good reads. Sunny days.

Practical reads to help you choose, apply and understand sunscreen.

Formulation 21 Mar 2025 SPF 30 vs 50 vs 100: What the Numbers Actually Block Read article →
UV science 20 Mar 2025 How to Read the UV Index: What Each Number Means and When to Cover Up
Kids & family 19 Mar 2025 Treating a Child's Sunburn at Home — and When to Call the Doctor

Latest blog posts

Makeup + SPF 18 Mar 2025 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 article →
Skin cancer 17 Mar 2025 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 article →
Formulation 16 Mar 2025 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 article →
Formulation 15 Mar 2025 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 article →
Kids & family 14 Mar 2025 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 article →
Sensitive skin 13 Mar 2025 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 article →
Formulation 12 Mar 2025 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 article →
Filter chemistry 11 Mar 2025 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 article →
Formulation 10 Mar 2025 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 article →
Formulation 09 Mar 2025 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 article →
Formulation 08 Mar 2025 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 article →
Sensitive skin 07 Mar 2025 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 article →
Seasonal 06 Mar 2025 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 article →
Global 05 Mar 2025 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 article →
Trends 04 Mar 2025 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 article →
Application 03 Mar 2025 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 article →
Skin cancer 02 Mar 2025 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 article →
Formulation 01 Mar 2025 '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 article →
UV science 28 Feb 2025 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 article →
Kids & family 27 Feb 2025 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 article →
Formulation 26 Feb 2025 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 article →