The best expert-vetted sunscreens of 2026

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

(CNN) — It’s time to stock up on sunscreen, but few choices on store shelves today are both safe and effective, according to an annual report by the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a nonprofit health and environmental advocacy organization.

Now in its 20th year, EWG’s 2026 Guide to Sunscreens analyzed 2,784 products and found only 550 — about 20% — deliver safe and effective protection against the harmful rays of the sun.

The new guide, released May 19, lists the best baby and child sunscreens, including those which are a good “bang for the buck” and the top recreational sunscreens designed for outdoor activities such as sports or spending time at the beach.

In addition, consumers can find top-rated daily use sunscreens, including moisturizers with sun protection factor (SPF) and the best lip balms with SPF in the report.

To be recommended by EWG, sunscreens must protect against both UVA and UVB, two types of ultraviolet rays known to damage DNA and age the skin. Due to inhalation risks, sprays and powders are not included. Manufacturers cannot claim over 50+ SPF or use federally banned marketing claims such as “waterproof.”

Consumers are often drawn to more expensive products that reach SPF levels of up to 100+, which claim to block 99% of UVB rays. Yet there’s little difference in effectiveness — a cheaper 50+ SPF sunscreen can block 98% of rays, according to the report.

For some products, SPF numbers may also be inflated. A peer-reviewed study by EWG scientists found, on average, sunscreens provided only a quarter of the UVA protection and 59% of the UVB protection stated on the labels.

Recommended sunscreens in the new guide also avoid retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A; and chemicals suspected to cause cancer, skin irritation, allergic reactions or reproductive harm, developmental issues or neurotoxicity.

“Retinyl palmitate is part of the retinoid family that dermatologists recommend to fight wrinkles and other signs of aging. Those products come with warnings not to expose skin to the sun,” said Alexa Friedman, a senior scientist at EWG.

“In 2010, about 40% of products contained retinal palmitate,” Friedman said. “Today that’s dropped down to 3%, which is good news for consumers.”

Mineral versus chemical sunscreens

Of the 550 products recommended by EWG, 497 are predominantly made from minerals that sit on the skin and physically deflect and block the sun’s rays. Because they are not absorbed into the dermis, mineral-based sunscreens cause little skin irritation or toxicity.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved two minerals for use in sunscreen — zinc oxide and titanium dioxide — which used to be known for the chalky, white cast they left after being applied to the skin. New, innovative formulations and tinted options now on the market have mostly removed that concern, experts say.

Chemical sunscreens, however, are designed to soak into the skin and work by creating a chemical reaction that absorbs ultraviolet radiation as energy, dispersing it as heat. A dozen types of chemicals were used for decades in sunscreens without concern. Then, in 2019, FDA scientists found six of the most commonly used ingredients could enter the human bloodstream at unsafe levels after only one day of use.

Those chemicals then remained in the blood days after application stopped. In fact, two of the ingredients — homosalate and oxybenzone — stayed in the bloodstream above safety thresholds for more than two weeks.

The European Union is regulating homosalate as a potential endocrine disrupter, a chemical that can interfere with the body’s hormones and cause adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological or immune effects.

Oxybenzone is a well-studied endocrine disrupter linked to birth defects, reproductive and thyroid hormone changes and skin allergies. It’s been found in human breast milk, blood and urine — one study found oxybenzone in over 97% of US urine samples.

Due to its impact on the environment, oxybenzone has been banned in Hawaii, Key West, Florida, the US Virgin Islands, Thailand and other countries. Studies have found increased coral bleaching and reef death, as well as genetic damage to marine life.

Over the last 19 years, the number of products using oxybenzone has dropped from 70% to only 5%, according to the 2026 guide. Despite this change, the guide could recommend only 53 chemically based sunscreens containing few concerning ingredients.

The Personal Care Products Council, which represents industry, told CNN via email that questioning the safety and efficacy of sunscreen products undermines decades of evidence-based research.

“Suggesting that only a limited number of sunscreens are safe and effective discourages sunscreen use, which can harm public health, especially for those with repeated sun exposure, said PCPC’s chief scientist Dr. Jaap Venema.

David Andrews, the chief scientific officer for EWG, told CNN in an email that “the FDA itself, not EWG, determined that 12 of the 16 chemical filters currently on U.S. shelves lack sufficient safety data to be classified as safe and effective. That is not EWG’s opinion. That is the FDA’s own finding.”

Federal action delayed

Under Trump appointed FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the FDA proposed new sunscreen regulations in 2019 that asked manufacturers to research the safety of oxybenzone, homosalate and 10 other chemicals to see if they should be considered GRASE, or “generally regarded as safe and effective.”

At the time, those 12 chemicals had been used in sunscreens for decades — and are still used today. To date, those studies have not been announced, nor has the FDA passed any updated regulations.

A spokesperson for the FDA told CNN in an email the FDA is reviewing the public comments it received. “These timelines can vary depending on the volume and substantiveness of the comments received. The FDA cannot comment on the exact timing of the final order, nor on the specific content of that final order.”

Despite the historical lack of regulation, there is a sunny spot: The FDA announced in December it may allow US manufacturers to use bemotrizinol, a popular chemical ingredient used for decades in Europe.

“BMT is a filter that provides adequate UVA protection, is not easily absorbed into the skin, and has the most robust safety data on any UV filter to date,” said Friedman. “This is the first innovation change we’ve seen in the last 20 years.”

While it’s technically illegal to sell non-FDA-approved sunscreens in the US, consumers have been purchasing European and Asian products online for some time, citing their lightweight feel, better protection and availability to a larger variety of skin tones. That cosmetic touch is important, experts say, as many people avoid sunscreen due to its heavy, greasy feel.

More than sunscreen

Sunscreen should actually be toward the bottom of your list of sun protection options, experts say. Consider a “layered approach”: wear clothing made from tightly woven fabric, sunglasses and wide-brim hats and combine sunscreen with staying in the shade during the hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun is at its hottest.

Sunscreen lives up to its SPF only when it is applied correctly, and many people don’t apply enough of it, experts say. One ounce of sunscreen, enough to fill a shot glass, is considered the amount needed to cover exposed areas of the body, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

The academy recommends applying sunscreen to dry skin 15 minutes before going outside. Remember to reapply sunscreen to yourself and your children every two hours or immediately after swimming or sweating.

Children are especially vulnerable to the sun — babies under 6 months should not be exposed to direct sunlight at all. Sunburns in babies can be medical emergencies, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Just a few bad sunburns in childhood can raise the risk of developing the deadliest form of skin cancer, called melanoma. Toxic chemicals used for decades in sunscreens can harm developing bodies and brains.

Ignore dangerous social media messages

Don’t fall for any social media hype that tries to say the sun “does not cause skin cancer.” Ultraviolet radiation is a “proven human carcinogen,” causing squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and melanoma, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Unless accelerated by a tanning bed, skin damage can take years, if not decades to develop, experts say, leaving today’s unwary youth at risk for early skin aging and lethal skin cancers such as melanoma.

“Melanoma is the deadliest cancer known to man,” said Dr. Kelly Olino, clinical director of the Smilow Melanoma Program at the Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut, in a prior CNN interview.

“Melanoma is the only type of cancer where, if it is two millimeters in size, we say ‘Goodness, this is serious,’” she said. “If you had a two-millimeter colon cancer, we’d be having a parade saying, ‘Wow, we got this one really, really early.’”

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