Sunscreen hall of shame: Which products should you avoid?

Besides a good book, the other must-have item in your beach bag this summer is a bottle of sunscreen. The risk of skin cancer is greater today than it was 20 years ago and continues to rise, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. But before you grab any old bottle off the drugstore shelf, keep in mind that not all sunscreens are created equal.

The Washington, DC-based Environmental Working Group recently analyzed 1,700 products for its 2015 Guide to Sunscreens. It came up with some disturbing results.

A staggering 80 percent of lotions and sprays it reviewed offer inadequate protection against dangerous ultraviolet radiation or contain harmful ingredients.

SPF of “50+” a red herring

The non-profit EWG pulls the trigger on sunscreens claiming to have a sun protection factor (SPF) greater than 50+. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has called SPF values of  50 and up “inherently misleading” and has even proposed prohibiting the sale of these sunscreens.

Here’s the problem: sun worshippers may understandably assume that they get twice as much protection from SPF 100 sunscreen as from SPF 50. In fact, the extra protection is negligible. When applied properly, SPF 50 sunscreen blocks 98 percent of sunburn rays, while SPF 100 blocks 99 percent.

SPF protection tops out at 30 to 50.

Lack of protection against UVA

People are exposed to two types of ultraviolet rays when they’re out in the sun. UVB rays are the main cause of sunburns. UVA rays aren’t as strong, but they are more prevalent, making up most of the sun’s natural light.

UVA, which penetrates the skin more deeply than UVB, has long been known to play a major role in the skin’s aging and wrinkling as well as damage to the eyes (cataracts). However, studies over the past two decades show that UVA damages skin cells called keratinocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis, where most skin cancers occur, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. UVA may even initiate the development of skin cancers.

The SPF in sunscreen helps protect against UVB but not UVA. That’s why you need to find a sunscreen that delivers “broad spectrum” protection.

An F for vitamin A

Although the Canadian Cancer Society doesn’t believe that retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A, poses a cancer risk, the EWG finds current evidence, while not definitive, at least troubling.

Vitamin A is an antioxidant added to skin products to supposedly slow skin aging. But its effects seem to differ when used in night creams indoors and on skin exposed to the sun. 

A study published in 2012 by the National Toxology Program (NTP), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, suggests that retinyl palmitate that may speed the development of skin tumours and lesions when applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight. An earlier NTP study found in sunlight, retinyl palmitate can form free radicals that damage DNA.

According to the EWD, the sunscreen industry adds vitamin A to nearly 18 percent of the beach and sport sunscreens, 17 percent of moisturizers with SPF, and 13 percent of all SPF-rated lip products in its 2015 sunscreen database.

Potentially harmful chemicals

Many sunscreens contain oxybenzone, sometimes called benzophenone-3. According to the EWG, it acts like estrogen in the body and can disrupt the hormone system. It’s also associated with endometriosis in women and alters sperm production in animals.

(The Canadian Cancer Society dismisses its potential risk, saying on its website: “A small number of studies have shown that oxybenzone can cause minor changes to cells in basic laboratory studies – but there is currently no evidence linking it to cancer.”)

Sunscreen Hall of Shame

In its latest sunscreen guide, the EWG came up with 11 spray sunscreens (which can be inhaled) and 12 sunscreen lotions that have more than one of the above strikes against them.

11 Worst Spray Sunscreens

These sunscreens are aerosol sprays with SPFs above 50+ that also contain oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate.

- Banana Boat Clear UltraMist Ultra Defense MAX Skin Protect Continuous Spray Sunscreen, SPF 110
- Coppertone Sport High Performance AccuSpray Sunscreen, SPF 70
- Coppertone Sport High Performance Clear Continuous Spray Sunscreen, SPF 100+
- CVS Clear Spray Sunscreen, SPF 100
- CVS Sheer Mist Spray Sunscreen, SPF 70
- CVS Sport Clear Spray Sunscreen, SPF 100+
- CVS Wet & Dry Sunscreen Spray, SPF 85
- Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Sunscreen Body Mist, SPF 70
- Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunscreen Spray, SPF 100+
- Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunscreen Spray, SPF 70
- Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunscreen Spray, SPF 85+

12 Worst Sunscreen Lotions

These sunscreen lotions claim SPFs above 50+ and contain oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate.

- Banana Boat Sport Performance Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 100
- Coppertone Sport High Performance Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 100
- Coppertone Sport High Performance Sunscreen, SPF 75
- Coppertone Sport Sunscreen Stick, SPF 55
- Coppertone Ultra Guard Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70+
- CVS Sport Sunstick Sunscreen, SPF 55
- CVS Sun Lotion Sunscreen, SPF 100
- CVS Sun Lotion Sunscreen, SPF 70
- Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Daily Liquid Sunscreen, SPF 70
- NO-AD Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 60
- NO-AD Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 85
- Ocean Potion Protect & Nourish Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70