Only one quarter of sunscreens on store shelves are safe and effective, new report says

CNN Only one fourth of sunscreens on store shelves in the United States deliver safe and effective protection against the harmful rays of the sun according to an annual assessment which analyzed more than sunscreens available for purchase in Our criteria include the ability of the sunscreen s functioning ingredients to provide balanced protection against both UVA and UVB rays as well as any hazardous chemical ingredients in the product mentioned David Andrews acting chief science officer at the Environmental Working Group or EWG a consumer organization that has produced the annual sunscreen guide since Issued Tuesday the Sunscreen Guide lists the best baby and child sunscreens including those with the best bang for the buck highly rated daily use sunscreens including moisturizers with SPF the best lip balms with SPF and the top recreational sunscreens designed for outdoor events such as sports or spending time at the beach There are nearly products we are recommending consumers seek out as their first option Andrews stated We want people to wear sunscreen and at the same time recognize there are other tactics to protect their skin as well seeking shade wearing wide-brimmed hats lightweight long-sleeve shirts and pants and covering up your feet are very effective strategies especially if you re concerned about sunscreen ingredients Choosing not to protect your skin from the sun an idea promoted by a few Tiktok influencers should not be an option according to Dr Kathleen Suozzi a dermatologic surgeon at Yale School of Medicine Extensive research has shown that UV radiation from the sun is a crucial cause of skin cancers such as melanoma It s really indisputable at this point Suozzi explained CNN in a prior interview UV radiation has both UVA and UVB and we know that both of them damage the DNA in skin cells Concerns with chemical sunscreens Sunscreens come in two types chemical and mineral Chemical sunscreens are designed to soak into the skin as a chemical reaction absorbs ultraviolet radiation as force and disperses it as heat Testing issued in by the US Food and Drug Administration ascertained seven chemical ingredients avobenzone oxybenzone octocrylene ecamsule homosalate octisalate and octinoxate were absorbed from the skin into the bloodstream after a single day of use The concentration of the seven chemicals in the blood increased each day after application and remained above FDA safety levels a week later Two of the chemicals homosalate and oxybenzone were still above safety thresholds at day Once in the bloodstream these chemicals can enter waterways via wastewater threatening coral reefs and aquatic life Due to the increasing devastation of their coral reefs Hawaii Key West Florida the US Virgin Islands Bonnaire Aruba and Palau an island in the Pacific have banned the use of several chemical sunscreens particularly oxybenzone Oxybenzone has also been linked to lower testosterone levels in adolescent boys hormone changes in men and shorter pregnancies and disrupted birth weights in babies However the use of oxybenzone use has fallen dramatically according to EWG s Sunscreen Guide Once in of non-mineral sunscreens oxybenzone is now in only of products Andrews commented The Personal Care Products Council which represents sunscreen manufacturers disagreed with the assessment s findings This summary sows consumer confusion and poses a serious exposure by undermining constituents trust in products that are scientifically proven rigorously tested and highly effective at protecting against harmful UV radiation announced PCPC chief scientists and executive vice president of science Alexandra Kowcz in an email Safety of mineral-based sunscreens Mineral-based sunscreens work differently Instead of being absorbed into the skin the minerals physically deflect and block the sun s rays Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the two FDA-approved mineral sunscreen ingredients and they do not appear to harm marine ecosystems Andrews reported Of the products we tested for this year s document use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide up from just in Andrews explained That s good news for consumers and the milieu However particular mineral products may contain chemical boosters designed to artificially raise the sun protection factor SPF the statement revealed Using chemical boosters may conclusion in a lower concentration of evolving mineral ingredients at the expenses of consumer safety Andrews declared We want to ensure these sunscreens are providing the SPF advertised on their labels as well as balanced UVA and UVB protection Particular of these boosters such as the solvent butyloctyl salicylate or BOS absorb UV rays much like chemical sunscreen ingredients Andrews commented Yet they re marketed primarily as solvents that improve how a product feels on the skin and reduce the white cast that mineral sunscreens can leave behind he revealed BOS is structurally similar to octisalate one of chemical sunscreen ingredients the FDA has identified as needing more safety records Andrews added However BOS is not regulated as an evolving ingredient and hasn t undergone the same level of safety evaluation EWG first raised concerns about SPF boosters in an August letter to then FDA Commissioner Robert Califf urging the agency to investigate sunscreen ingredients that may enable manufacturers to advertise higher SPF values for their over-the-counter sunscreen products without offering users truly enhanced protection from UVA and UVB rays The agency should also investigate any correlation between protection from skin reddening immunosuppression long-term skin damage and cancer the letter explained To date no action has been taken by the FDA Andrews mentioned Additional consumer protection proposed by FDA still in limbo The FDA proposed updated rules for sunscreen safety in Industry was required to provide additional testing on sunscreen chemicals of concern including the seven which FDA testing displayed are easily absorbed into the bloodstream That has yet to be done Andrews stated The FDA proposal also required manufacturers to test spray sunscreen products to prove aerosolized chemicals cannot be inhaled into the deep lung that testing has also not occurred he announced When the FDA tested aerosol cosmetics a meager years ago they revealed chosen products did have very small particle sizes that could be inhaled in the deep lung and lead to realizable fitness harms Andrews noted The same concern applies to spray sunscreens According to the US Environmental Protection Agency inhalation of such particles can cause serious healthcare effects in individuals at greatest jeopardy such as people with heart or lung ailment people with diabetes older adults and children up to years of age Yet aerosol sunscreens remain popular among consumers of the sunscreens tested were sprays despite feasible inhalation risks and the difficulty of providing even and adequate coverage with a spray Andrews noted An Australian analysis ascertained that even under light breeze conditions of say - to -miles-an-hour a essential portion of an aerosol sunscreen just blows away he commented I was at a soccer contest last weekend and when someone sprayed sunscreen I felt like it went over the entire field I m not convinced they got any sunscreen on themselves The FDA also called for a cap of SPF on sunscreen products in the proposal saying any benefit over is extremely minor Therefore labeling sunscreens at levels higher than SPF could be misleading consumers by providing a false sense of sun protection the FDA mentioned That too has not been accomplished and consumers continue to spend money on these products Andrews noted One of the primary drivers of consumer purchasing is the highest SPF number workable he disclosed Consumers are not getting the message that higher SPF values don t offer a clear benefit CNN reached out to the Department of Robustness and Human Services which oversees the FDA for comment but did not hear back before publication